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How to be the Best Possible
Personal Solicitor
by Jack Donovan
Make your own thoughtful, proportionate gift first.
Let your own gift be generous. I don't mean give until it hurts; rather give a gift that you can feel good about, a gift that makes you proud. Only you can determine what is appropriate. Whatever your circumstances-your income, assets, and obligations-if you give this thoughtful consideration, and establish for yourself a gift level just slightly above your comfort level, something of a reach, it will empower you as a solicitor. When you talk with others about their giving, you will be credible and clearly vested in the project. You will feel proud of your own contribution. You can say to them, I have made a significant gift, a gift of which I am proud. I would like you to do the same thing. So you see, your gift empowers you to ask others to make a gift of which they too can be proud.
Understand your prospects' interests. Research, listen and match the organization's work to your donor's interests.
The key here is to understand that people are more likely to give to a project that embraces their personal interests. This is not to say you allow the donor to run the institution or the organization, or determine the parameters for the project; but if there is a portion of the project in which your donor prospect has an interest, you are much more likely to succeed in your appeal. If a donor is interested in the needs of children, talk about the way in which the project addresses those needs. If your donor's interest is in finding a cure for cancer, focus on the part of this project that is relevant to cancer and its cure. Know your prospect. Know your prospect's interests and focus on those parts of the project.
Make a personal appointment. Refuse to discuss the matter over the phone. Schedule the appointment in a private, formal setting.
It is often difficult to get a personal appointment. Your prospect may say, "Jack, is this about fund raising? If it is, I am going to send a check, but I really don't have time to get together and talk at length about it now." Your most important job, however, is to secure an appointment. How do you respond? The key is to be honest, but engage the deeper concerns of community and this individual's involvement. You might say, "Yes, this is about fund raising, but more importantly it is about an important community project. It is about a plan, about a challenging opportunity. It's important enough that I would very much appreciate ten or fifteen minutes of your time, so that I can explain the dimensions of the project. Make your own judgment after that, but please allow me to come to your home, just take ten or fifteen minutes of your time to talk about this important project. Could I see you Tuesday or Wednesday sometime in the morning?" Not sometime next week or next month. Be specific and timely. Tuesday morning. Wednesday afternoon. In your office, at your home. Not in the hall, not in the library, not in the parking lot, not on the run. Get in the door, shake hands, talk earnestly and face-to-face.
Describe the case thoroughly and with enthusiasm. Be specific: What human needs will be met as a result of your prospect's gift.
Let's be honest: Nobody gives to brick and mortar. Nobody gives to support institutional needs. What people really care about are human needs and how they will be met as a result of this project. How many patients, for example, will be seen in a convenient, supportive, helpful environment? How many children will be healed in an environment that is right for children? How many individuals will be able to receive care in their community as a result of our project? Describe the case thoroughly: Discuss its genuine objectives and how it will reach them. Don't speak in jargon; rather paint a picture in human terms. What will be done for people, and why is it that this organization can do the job better than anyone else? Why are we the ones who must meet the challenge? Who else is involved? What assurance do I have that these objectives will be met? What proof can you show me, what compelling data will convince me to become a committed supporter for this project?
Use your own gift to help leverage the prospect's gift. For example, "Mary and I didn't think we could make this kind of a pledge either, but we did, because we know how important it is."
The first response to an appeal is often, "Oh, I don't have that kind of money. I couldn't make that kind of gift." How should you respond? Tell your own story. Explain that, "When Mary and I were asked for a gift, we frankly didn't think we could make a significant gift, one that would make any difference. But the more we thought about it and the importance of the project-and when we realized we could pay this pledge over a period of time-we decided we could realize our dream of supporting the project. We knew we could work it out."
Put yourself on the prospect's side. Let them know you understand their reservations. Personalize your plea by explaining your own decision process.
Don't be demure: Respectfully ask the donor to consider a dollar amount that has been suggested by the campaign's evaluation committee.
Respectfully ask prospective donors to consider a dollar amount that has been suggested by the campaign's evaluation committee, give them time and expect objections. Consider: You are asking your donor to consider a serious gift because you know that gifts that are not "stretch" gifts, gifts that are not real investments, will not reach the goal. There is no likelihood, for example, that you will reach a multi-million dollar goal with $1000 gifts. So it’s important to suggest what it will take to be successful.
Don't be shy. Explain what it will take to reach the campaign goal. There is, after all, no sense raising any money if you do not raise enough to realize the project. You have to spend enough to get the job done. Don't try to tell prospects what to give, but do explain what it will take to achieve this lofty goal. Give the prospect time, do not expect an immediate answer, and do expect objections. "We can't do that, that's more money than we can give away." "We are putting two kids through college." The truth is, there is never a good time to give money away. Most people are engaged in something that is financially challenging at the time you ask for a gift. Maybe they are getting married, getting divorced, buying a house, buying a practice, about to retire, or putting those children through college. Many other things seem to have higher priority than philanthropy. Yet, given time, these very people will, given explanations and a compelling rationale, respond positively to your request.
Expect "No" for an answer.
Expect to make at least two calls, and for the donor to object several times, and even to say "no" as many as three times before he/she says yes. Obviously there is a point at which you have to take no for an answer. But even then, you should ask to talk again in a couple of months, your reasoning being that the project deserves universal support. Expect prospects to object several times and to ask that you leave the pledge card; they will mail a gift. Remember, though, that your job is to personally secure a response that the campaign might succeed in a timely fashion. In our experience, if we loose our focus, very often the prospect will delay and the campaign will not achieve its goal. Employ strategies that will draw prospects closer to the project. Invite them to the hospital to meet some of the physicians, or some of the executives or administrators, or others who are involved in meeting the campaign challenges before they say "yes" or "no." Very often prospects, given enough time and gentle prodding, will revisit their decision.
Ask the prospect to consider funding a specific part of the project.
You might point prospects to a commemorative opportunity. "We are hoping you might consider a gift that would allow us to name the lobby after you or your parents, or allow us to acknowledge your gift in some sort of a public way. We might put a plaque on the wall. We could hang a portrait of you and your spouse. Your gift at this level will allow us to do this." In this way you ask for a gift that is challenging, probably reflective of the committee's suggested level, but you have done so in a way that offers an added value, an added enticement, to the prospect.
