3 Secrets To Fundraising

By Bill Scott,
The Bill Scott Group

In just a few weeks stations will be gearing up for their fall fundraiser. To be honest, many of you have already begun preparing for your fall fundraiser. A good fundraiser requires lots of preparation. I'll be getting out my suitcase in a few weeks and it won't go back into my closet until the week before Christmas. I'll see many of you on the fundraising trail this fall.

So lets look at the 3 secrets to fundraising

1.) Don't Be Afraid to Ask For Money: Not long ago a friend was holding a conference call about a stations upcoming fundraiser. The majority of the staff made the comment that they didn't like asking for money and that sharathon was the necessary evil in order to survive. I love my friend's response, it was priceless. My friend said, "Then you have already lost the battle." The Bible has a few hundred verses on salvation, prayer and a number of other things but thousands of verses on money. If you have invested in your community, seen lives changed, than why wouldn't you ask for money in order for that to continue. The Bible is clear that you are blessed when you give, why would you steal that from your listeners? Your fundraiser can be full of ministry, fun, worship and giving. Stand tall in asking for donations and you'll be surprised how your listeners respond. Ask expecting the phones to ring.

2.) Create An Event: Your fundraiser needs to be the biggest event you put on all year. Promote the fire out of your fundraiser, make it sound bigger than life. Promote results from the last year. Share what you've done as a station, where you've been, how you have impacted the community and the families that live in your area. People want to be a part of a winning team. Don't wait until your fundraiser to begin to share why listeners need to get involved. Spend a couple of weeks talking about your fundraiser and how great it's going to be. You need to do this until you are sick of hearing about it. Perhaps at that point your listeners have actually heard about it once or twice. One of our local stations just held a huge event, perhaps the largest that they hold each year. I was amazed that neither my wife nor I ever heard them talk about the event, not once. Now in fairness, I am sure they promoted the fire out of it. I am just pointing out how easy it is for your listeners to miss your event. So make your fundraiser bigger than life and have a blast!

3.) Stories, Stories, Stories: There is nothing that will seal the deal for a donation more than listener's stories. When you touch the heart of your listeners, they open their wallet and give. Your listeners have a lot of choices and who they can give too. There's nothing that can replace a listeners story. You can read stories but the icing on the cake is when you actually have the listener sharing their own story. It would be wise all year long to be recording stories of your listeners. Use remotes to capture some great stories. Have your announcers always recording calls and saving anything that has a life changed story.

At the end of the day, there are more than just three secrets that will make your fundraiser a success. Prayer, of course, goes without saying. I hope you have an awesome fundraiser this fall. For great insights and tips follow me on my blog at BillScottGroup.com and ShareMediaServices.com.