Campaign Tip of the Day - Fundraising Fundamentals, Part 1

I am the worst person when it comes to fundraising. I hate asking for money. Don't you feel the same way? Then you are not alone. It is the single most difficult thing any candidate, no matter how seasoned, has to do. And yet, it may be the most essential.

The most important fundraising fundamental is the phone follow up. Yes, you have sent your appeal letters on your attractive letterhead with remit envelope enclosed. You've sent our your eblasts with the handy link to your Pay Pal account. You've Put a "Here's how you can help (Your name here) win" page on your website, and a large Donate button on every page. But the money is not coming in fast enough to keep up with the expenses. Mailings are expensive. Your wemaster wants to be paid, and the post office does not extend credit.

What are you doing wrong?  Simple, all these efforts will net you only a fraction of what they could without the all important follow up phone call.  Listen up! You must, I repeat, must be prepared to pick up the phone and dial the numbers of the people you have reached out to. You must do it yourself. Especially if they are likely to be high donors. In the down ticket race, that is usually $100 or more.

Remind them of the letter or email they received, then ask for what you think they can give.  In our next Tip of the Day, we will go into detail on how to make that all important "ask." Until then, make sure you have entered as many of your potential donors' phone numbers as you can find into your data base, so you are ready to start dialing.