Thoughts on collecting for charity

Thoughts on collecting for Charity

How to get the money without losing your sanity to stress

With the big spring marathons coming up athletes are starting to commit to charities to deliver donations.  These donation ‘goals’ are getting bigger and bigger.  What used to be $1,000 is now $5,000 or $7,500.

It can be very stressful for athletes, especially those with no experience in fund raising to be staring at this big number they have committed to deliver in 2 – 3 months in addition to training for the event itself and all the inherent logistics.

First, understand the risk.  You may be held personally responsible for what you don’t raise.  Can you afford it?

Second, make sure you are at least partially committed to the event and the charity before you sign up.  If it is a charity that you have an personal or emotional attachment to, that you can wrap your heart around that is great.  It will allow you to tell an authentic and compelling story to potential sponsors.

Third,  prepare your story.  Why are you doing this?  Why is it important to you?  Why should I care?  Who are you helping?

I’m not talking about a catalogue of description here.  I’m talking about a story.  “I’m raising money for cancer research.” Is not compelling.  “When I was 5 I watched my Grandmother die from cancer and a swore that if I ever got a chance I would make that right…” that’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about.  Put emotion in it.  Put a narrative in it.  Put names and faces in it.  Include a call to action at the end.  “Please help me in some small way in my quest to end cancer…”

This narrative will be the base of all your content and campaigns.  Take the time and write this narrative.  Have it edited for impact.  Employ a copy writer if that isn’t one of your skill sets, but only after you have emptied your heart and told your story.  Make it lean and mean.  This is your differentiation.

From this story you will create call scripts, blog posts, emails, 144 character mission statements, speeches and all the other content that you will need to launch in your campaign in the next 2 – 3 months.

Fourth, determine your target market.  You can’t pitch to everyone.  Create a plan.  Who is in your network?  What are the attributes of the person who would be moved to donate by your story?  Are you going to get lots of small personal donations or a few big corporate donors?  Define who they are.  Find out ‘where they live’ and how to get your message in front of them.

Fifth, come up with a sales plan.  Lay out the calendar and mark at least two events a week for the next 2 – 3 weeks.  Events can be blog posts, parties, and calls, whatever.  Budget these activities so that you can measure progress and follow up.

You want to have a continuous stream of compelling content to your target audience over the life of the campaign.  It can’t be repetitive, intrusive or overwhelming.  It has to be compelling content with a call to action.  You can create this content, or you can curate content.  You don’t have to write every piece you can forward an article on cancer progress, for example, with a call to action.

Sixth, use technology to enable your outreach.  You need to take your narrative and give it a home where people can go when they are ready to take action.  Most charities have websites but many times they are dysfunctional.  You probably want to set up a ‘just giving’ page or something similar that you can direct people to.   In the best case you could set up a simple web page with your narrative and a simple URL to give people.  Don’t use technology until you have the narrative completed.  Make it compelling and easy.

Seventh, Work your social networks.  Many times people get stuck when they run out of family and friends to ask.  You should use your email lists, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  Don’t just launch a one-time solicitation letter.  Come up with a compelling hook that they will click through on.  Like ‘Find out why I’m crying this morning…” (with a cute animal picture).  Ask your social networks for referrals to other people and groups.

Eighth, write a speech version of your narrative.  Practice it until it is nuanced and compelling.  Shop all your local groups and clubs for opportunities to present your narrative.  It should only be a 5 minute story with a call to action.  Record it to audio and send that around to your lists.  Record it on video and post it to youtube and send that to your lists. This is video message is very personal and pwerfula nd should be done in the latter stages of the campaign.

Ninth, ask for help.  Find people you respect and ask them for help.  You are not begging your friends for money.  You are telling your story and asking them for help.  That help can be a donation but it can also be a referral or access to a person’s social network or advice on what to do.  Your goal is to start a conversation, not to ask for money.

That’s all I have for you today!  Good luck with your donations!

Chris,