Fundraising for a large campaign, like a capital or endowment campaign, usually involves asking for large amounts of money from a smaller group of donors. These big asks are important because of the size of the potential contributions and because of the limited amount of donors who can contribute. Failing to convert one ask can have significant consequences, thus it is important to use an ask technique likely to succeed. Face-to-face solicitation is that technique.
Face-to-face meetings with prospects are most effective for your fundraising efforts if two representatives of your organization meet with a single donor - ideally, the meeting will include the donor, the development director and a board member the donor knows. Meetings between a single representative and the prospect also are effective, however.
There are four components of the face to face ask: the opening; the involvement; the presentation; and the ask. During the opening, the representatives are introduced to the donor. This generally takes place weeks or before the other steps. The involvement is a conversation between the representatives and the donor about the organization, and, almost anything else the donor wants to talk about. This conversation can take place during the course of the face to face meeting or prior to it. The presentation and the ask both occur during the actual meeting. The presentation is the part where organizational representatives explain the needs of the organization, and the ask is when the prospect is asked to make the donation.
After the representatives make the ask, they should say nothing else during the course of the meeting. Make the ask once and only once. Resist the urge to follow up during the meeting; that will come after the meeting. In order of effectiveness, the best solicitation follow ups after a personal meeting are:
* Personal letters; best with a telephone call to follow up. * Personal phone calls; best with a follow-up letter. * Personalized letter * Impersonal letter * Impersonal telephone * Special events
If executed properly, your targets are going to feel comfortable enough with the organization and valued enough by the organization to make the large donation. The face to face ask can then be used as a foundation on which to build a long-term donor relationship, and that may help your organization even more than the single donation gained.