Unfortunately, nobody has unlimited money. If you do, hello, Bill Gates, it sure is lovely to see you here. For the less financially encumbered, you may need some other ways to achieve those lofty dreams of yours, like “steady incomes” and “financial security”. Wow, just shoot the last rhinos while you’re at it, so demanding. Like the ancient philosopher Jon “Socrates” Bon Jovi said, “These days the stars seem so out of reach, /These days, there ain’t a ladder on the streets”.
Unless, of course, you know how to run a successful fundraising campaign. Many businesses know how to do it (from corporate giant Amazon in its early days to Bekins Moving Solutions), and how hard can it be, really, if you read these four simple tips?
Manners maketh man
Nobody will give money to you if you’re aggressive, rude, dismissive, demanding, or negative in any way. Put yourself on the other side of the fundraising equation: if someone comes to your door rudely demanding money, will you give a single penny to them? You would not. Unless you didn’t want to go to prison for a very long time for tax evasion, but that’s a completely different can of worms that we’re not going to get in to right now. Basically, be polite, it really gets you places.
Find a decent middleman
There’s no way you can collect any substantial amount of cash by yourself. Fortunately for you, there are people you can talk to, for example the Global Faces Direct not-for-profit fundraising company. Many hands make light work, and the more work you can do in the time you have equals more money for your latest endeavour. Choose well, check as many reviews as you feel you need to, and do your homework.
Advertise as much as you can
Thanks to this beautiful thing called the Internet, we have this ability to easily and instantly connect with other humans from all over the world, watch videos of cats falling down staircases, be insulted by celebrities, watch remixes of videos of cats falling down staircases, watch the slow decay of society as we know it, and bring attention to the causes we believe are important at that point in time, specifically, in this particular case, the “I Need Money” cause. More donators mean more donations, and more donations means you get more money in the end. No downsides!
Be engaging
If you don’t enthral your future donators, they will not be your future donators. Captivate them with an in-depth description of what exactly you hope to achieve with the donation you are asking them for, go into detail, and be as descriptive as possible. Don’t fall into the old trap of only giving a sentence or two of vague background as to what you’re doing. Write paragraphs, if you have to. Pack in as much detail as you possible can, and try not to repeat yourself too much.