Great Fundraising ideas can include your friends, and this social media era, it is much more acceptable to ask friends to help you support a cause. Still, asking friends to help you and your preferred nonprofit can be a delicate matter and it should always have the relationship front and center.

Your relationships with your friends are important and should be honored and valued. When you’re asking your friends to help you on a cause, you have to consider who you would like to ask carefully. You have to think about your relationship (meaning, if it’s a close or more distant relationship), and then you have to plan how you’re going to ask for your friends’ involvement in your organization’s goals, fundraising events or programs.

Always being mindful to keep the relationship in the forefront will be the best way to ask your friends to support your cause successfully.

What to Consider When Asking Your Friends to Get Involved

When you’re looking to ask your friends to participate in your favorite organization, there are some things you can do to minimize any awkwardness and get them Involved.

• Don’t Ask for Money: One of the best ways to have your friends join your cause is not to ask them for money, initially. Unless your organization is in great need for funds, you should never lead with an ask for money. Here are some ideas for getting your friends involved in your cause without making the first ask about money:
  • Inform your friends about your organization by helping them understand the impact you’re making in your community. Education and information is the first step to creating a fundraising relationship!
  • Ask friends to volunteer their expertise for an hour, especially if they’re professionals with financial, marketing, or fundraising knowledge.
  • Ask friends to review your marketing material for your event or campaign.
  • Ask friends to attend an event where they can see the work you’re doing in the community.
  • Create a structured ad hoc focus group and ask your friends to provide their unbiased views on a particular project that you’re developing or the overall direction of your organization.

• When You Do Make a Financial Ask: Longer term relationship-building and engagements between your friends and the group you would like for them to support are going to be more rewarding and meaningful than a quick ask for money that will garner you a token amount of support. However, when you decide that the timing is right for a financial ask, you want to make sure you follow these steps:
  • Create a list of the friends you will be asking (working with the friends who are closest to you or have the greatest capacity to give and work your way out from that group to people who are not as close to you, etc.).
  • Prioritize your list.
  • Determine an appropriate ask amount for each of the individuals on your list.
  • Make your ask personal. In other words, the higher the gift amount, the more personal your ask should be. The best way to ask for a donation is in person, then it’s via a phone conversation and finally through a message such as an email.
  • Be prepared for “no.” If you’re asking your friends to support your cause, you should expect that you will have friends who will help you, but it’s important also to expect some who––for whatever reason––will not choose to get involved. Thank them and remember that it’s okay.

Learn More About How to Get Your Friends Involved

To find out more information about getting your Friends Involved in your nonprofit, church, school or civic group, watch Joe’s video and see what he has to say about getting friends involved by clicking here. 

To learn more about marketing and fundraising, please follow Joe on our Facebook page or visit our YouTube channel.

© 2017 Funds2Orgs. All Rights Reserved.

The post Community Involvement: Getting Friends Involved with Your Fundraising Efforts appeared first on Funds2Orgs.