SolveYourProblem
eBusiness Series:
Fundraising
Essentials For Your Non-Profit:
How To Raise All The Money You Want
( 34 pages )
Raising
Money & Fundraising
Person to person
Talking to another
person is one of the most challenging forms of communication
for most us, especially if we are naturally shy. However,
if you are fundraising for your non-profit, this is a form
you will have to master (especially if you are canvassing
door to door!). You need to make sure that each person in
your group who deals with the public (this includes sellers
at the bazaar, door to door volunteers, and marathon organizers
- anyone dealing with donors and potential supporters) has
good personable manners. Attributes of good person to person
contact include:
-
Eye
contact: Making occasional eye contact (not
staring) lets people know that you see them and that
you are listening to them. It makes the people you
are talking to feel more comfortable.
-
Manners: Being
polite and kind helps put people at ease and allows them
to focus on what you are saying.
-
Good
body language: Good
body language means that your movements and posture
(the way you use your body) is pleasant rather than
jarring. Smooth movements and a minimal of hand movements
put your listener at ease and allow him or her to focus
in what you are saying. A hunched posture, shoulders
raised nervously and jerky movements will make your
listener uncomfortable and may cause him or her to
try to avoid you - not exactly the reaction you want
if you are fundraising!
-
A
smile: Smiling
gives a listener the message that they are liked and
accepted. It also makes you seem less threatening.
-
Good
distance: Standing too close or far away can
put your listener on the defensive.
-
Congruence: If
your voice is pleasant and kind but you are scowling
or your movements are agitated, you will not seem very
trustworthy. Your movements, body language, voice, message,
and appearance should match.
-
Pleasant
voice: A well-modulated voice that is easy
to hear and understand will go a long way in making
someone listen to you.
-
Pleasant
speaking style: If
you are personable (making small comments or engaging
with a listener in some way) will put your listener
at ease and will help ensure that your request for
fundraising is listened to. Simply listing your group’s
mission and request for money will not inspire anyone.
A lively speaking style, a joke, or even a comment
on the weather will make you seem less like an automaton
and more like a person who should be listened to.
-
Appearance: Although
looks are obviously a personal issue, a clean-cut and
pleasant appearance is still most likely to result in
“yes” responses to fundraising. People simply do not
trust people who look dangerous or frightening to them.
For some lucky
people, these basics of talking to others are automatic -
they seem to make friends wherever they go. For everyone
else, person to person contact is a learned skill. You may
not think it has much to do with fundraising. But if your
style of communication is unappealing to people, you will
not be able to make much headway in fundraising.
If you can appeal
to people by communicating with them, you are more likely
to succeed as a fundraiser.
It does not take
much to acquire people skills that can help you fundraise.
Practice talking, smiling, and making eye contact in the
mirror (yes, it feels silly, but it really works). Better
yet, video tape yourself and note what areas of personal
communication you need to work on. There are toastmasters
clubs that can help give you some tips and practice with
oral communication, and these are well worth checking out
if you want to become a master communicator who can convince
donors to support your group.
 
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