September 10, 2009

Online: 6 Secrets To Success Of “athon” Events

Your event participants have paid their registration fee for your “athon” program, picked up information about training and the event, and have a URL and password for their personal fundraising Web page. They now have everything they need to get started.

But many people hate to ask for money, so what exactly should they do to move from participant to fundraiser? You need them to get cracking if you want to reach or exceed your fundraising goal. You can increase the likelihood of your participants being more successful by following these six best practices:

1. Start early. According to Noel Beebe, product manager at Convio in Austin, Texas, “Research into what turns participants to fundraisers shows that for the many people who procrastinate, this might be the best piece of advice to give them. Simply put: the earlier they start fundraising, the more money they will raise.”

Give your participants plenty of time to ramp up fundraising efforts -- from getting organized and creating lists to developing a schedule and customizing emails. By getting a head start on these various activities, they’ll have a longer window during which to solicit donations.

2. Contact everyone you know. “Too many people limit themselves to their email address book. There are plenty of other people out there who they know and could reach out to for support,” said Beebe. Participants should develop an exhaustive list of potential donors. Add names from clubs or organizations to which they belong (e.g., a running club, a church congregation).

Although email is clearly the easiest, fastest, and most cost effective way to contact prospective donors, have participants scour their offline address book, too. Grandma doesn’t have an email address? No problem. Just add her to a separate list of people who should receive a letter by regular mail. The letter should provide detailed instructions of how to make a donation online through the web page or offline by mailing a check.

According to Beebe, “The research shows some of the most generous online cities in America are retirement communities, so don’t assume they won’t donate online.”

3. Participants need to make sure they ask their employer about policies related to soliciting donations in the workplace. Some companies might allow them to send an email from a work email address, or post a sign in the lunchroom or on the exterior of their cubicle. However, other companies might not allow fundraising in any form. It’s better safe than sorry. After all, you want your participants to spend their spare time fundraising and training, not begging HR for forgiveness.

4. Customize your emails. While your organization will provide participants with an email template to solicit donations, make sure it offers the flexibility and simplicity needed for participants to customize for friends and family. To maximize donations, customize this template so that it sounds as though it was written by the individual; it’ll be far more effective than some canned version. Tell your participants that the ideal email should mention:

And, of course, the email should also include a link to their personal fundraising Web page, as well as the URL in case a recipient has a problem with the link.

5. Create a schedule. Creating and following a schedule means that participants will be better organized and disciplined, and deliver results will make it worth the extra effort.

The schedule should include target dates for a series of emails. Below is a sample schedule that should help to bring in the donations without overwhelming prospective donors.

Participants can also try a more targeted approach to emails by excluding all individuals who have made a donation. Depending on the amount of time they’re willing to dedicate to fundraising efforts, they might consider taking an even more sophisticated approach by dividing the list of prospective donors into groups (e.g., past donors, new list members, family, fellow members of a club) and sending different emails to each audience. “Some of the most successful fundraisers use this tailored approach and found it to be more effective than a ‘one size fits all’ strategy,” explained Beebe.

6. Ask, ask, and ask again. One of the most important aspects according to Beebe is the ask. “If we want to turn participants to fundraisers they need to ask, ask, and ask again at every possible opportunity. The only way that people can make a donation is if they are given the opportunity to do so.”

During face-to-face interactions or phone calls with friends, family, neighbors, or other prospective donors, have participants mention their fundraising progress and goal. Give people a chance to donate, but leave the ultimate decision up to them. Just don’t take it personally if they don’t give. “Fundraising professionals are often told 'no' but they don’t stop asking,” added Beebe. “Don’t let your participants stop asking either.”

Customize your personal fundraising Web page. “The most compelling fundraising Web pages include text, a personal story, and photos,” said Beebe. ”The combination of these three elements will enable participants to convey their passion for the organization in a way that motivates web page visitors to make a donation.”

***

This article is from NPT Instant Fundraising, a publication of The NonProfit Times.

Subscribe to The NPT Instant Fundraising eNewsletter or any of our other enewsletters and get the latest news and ideas related to fundraising delivered to your inbox.