Help! Anyone have a fundraising script?

kdangel518

I have a list of animal shelters, food pantries, and churches in my area that I am going to start calling to offer fundraisers. Before I do so I would like to have at least a loose script so I don't stumble over my words, lol.

I have such a hard time coming up with what to say though! Does anyone have a script or suggestions to use? I am just at a loss...

This is what I have so far...

"Hi, this is Kara with The Pampered Chef. Could I please speak with the person in charge of your fundraising?"

When that person gets on the phone...

"Hi, this is Kara from The Pampered Chef. I understand that you are responsible for handling the fundraising for your organization. Are you familiar with TPC?"

if no, tell them about TPC, if yes...

"I am calling you today because I wanted to offer your organization assistance with fundraising through TPC."

That's about it. Not sure how good it is, how far it will get me, or how much more information I need to provide (I am thinking call them, see if they're interested, if they're a yes or maybe then I can send them a packet and follow up with another call to discuss further...)

Thoughts? Feedback? TIA!

Sheila

I really should do more PC Fundraisers! I've raised money for Special Olympics, MDA and then worked for a tax office (1 season before our big move to Japan) who offered fundraisers to local organizations (basically a referral fee ... they passed out coupons with their organization's name which gave the customer a discount & cash back to the organization for the referral. I've been very successful at promoting all three of them.

I recommend that when you call, don't start off with "Could I please speak with the person in charge of your fundraising?". It sounds too much like a marketing call and the person who answers the phone may be trained to say that they are not interested & end the call. You have to use terminology that will get the chairperson on the phone and willing to listen to what you have to say.

And don't limit your calls to who you listed!!! Think about day cares, private schools, Schools (every level! The elementary schools might like to raise money for their library, where as the coaches, band cheerleading sponsor, etc. would like to earn money for their extra curricular activities), kids sports of ALL ages (baseball, football, t-ball, basketball, etc.) ... sororities, fraternities (doesn't have to be in a college town! Could be the Mason's, Eastern Star, etc.) ... think outside the box.

Let's say you are calling ABC Daycare. Whoever answers the phone, ask for their name (if they don't volunteer it) and WRITE IT DOWN so you don't forget it during the conversation. Then refer to them by name. So let's say Mary answers the phone. You would want to say something like "Mary, my name is Kara and I'm an Independent Consultant with the Pampered Chef. (don't pause ... keep going!) I have a fund-raising opportunity for ABC Daycare (you want to make it personal by naming their organization!) where your employees could take catalog orders and earn 10-15% of the show sales for ABC Daycare. It's a GREAT opportunity for your organization to raise money with no out-of-pocket expense!!! (sound excited) Who would be the best person at ABC Daycare to be the chairperson for this opportunity?" (now is when you do a short pause for her to give you a name & let's say she says Grace - write it down!) Great is Grace available to chat for a moment? (if not) When would be a good time for me to call Grace? The point to going into detail with the person who answers the phone is to get them excited & they could potentially make the sell for you to get Grace on the phone. You'd be AMAZED what a difference it makes if the first person is excited. I've had great success with the other 3 organizations by using that approach.

Once they agree, you would probably want to do up some type of flyer explaining the program with your name, phone number, e-mail & web address for the online show. Give them PLENTY of catalogs & outside order forms (enough for the parents to flip through at the daycare, but you don't really want to give them a catalog for EVERY family to take home. The flyers & web page can do that job for you. Encourage them to hang flyers near the door(s). Have them send home a flyer with all the parents to get out the word, encouraging the parents to spread the word to friends and family. Obviously, the more they market, the more they can earn for their organization. It's all about THEM!!! If you make that clear from the beginning, you'll have much more success!

Good Luck!!!

kdangel518

Sheila that is SO helpful, thank you so much!

My problem is that I worked in a biz to biz call center for a few months prior to my current f/t job, and granted, it was 3 years ago, but I still get stuck in that "Could I please speak with the person in charge of xyz" and qualifying them before I give too much info!

It's different b/c in that type of setting the goal is to make X amount of calls per day and get x amount of leads vs. this is just me trying to get leads out of everyone possible so a different approach makes sense!

Thank you thank you!

And yes, I do plan on expanding my list as much as possible- thanks for all your great recommendations! Right now these are all the biz's I have gotten contact info for, so this is where I'm starting, but I will definitely continue to expand, esp. now that school is back in!!