Everyone's a fund raiser, but personality does count


From early childhood onward, every one of us is in the business of raising funds. "Mom, can I have an allowance?" "Dad, why can't I have a bigger allowance?" are fund raising questions common to everyone's life experience, rich or poor, North American or South Asian, boys or girls.

In a well-ordered household, the recipient of an allowance usually has to do something in return - wash dishes, tend the garden, fetch the water or whatever. Nothing voluntary there.

As we grow older, most of life's activities for the average person consist of searching for ways to trade our time, energy, labor and expertise for the funds we need to pay our way.

Unfortunately there are a lot of people on this planet who do not have enough time, energy, labor or expertise to offer in exchange for the money they need to pay their way. On the other hand - and indeed, very fortunately - there have always been people who are willing to trade their time, energy, labor and expertise in exchange for the funds that other people need. They are the willing volunteers.

Being a willing volunteer, however, doesn't necessarily mean being an effective volunteer, especially a fund raising volunteer. To be effective fund raisers, willing volunteers must prepare themselves just as carefully as if they were being paid for what they do.

Reams have been written telling volunteer organizations how to construct fund raising campaigns, how to choose names, how to prepare pamphlets and so on. However, having just visited over sixty companies on a fund raising mission, from major banks to corner stores, I have learned a great deal that isn't taught in those "How To Raise Money" manuals.

Volunteer's personality important
No matter how beautifully organized a campaign might be, the response from  the prospective donors can be seriously affected by the personality of the volunteer who actually makes the personal call. In short, just as adhering to some rules of etiquette at the table make eating a pleasant social exercise, so can adhering to some rules of etiquette turn a volunteer's visit into a pleasant social exercise rather than a grim cap-in-hand encounter.

I have learned that what I wear, what time the meeting occurs, how punctual I am, how well prepared I am (so that I don't have to read from notes), how well I show that I understand the prospective donors' history of giving, their policy regarding community involvement and so on - all this must be radiated by the volunteer through personal contact. The merits of my case may elicit a small donation, but the first personal impression I leave may very well raise the size of that donation considerably.

Volunteers must also remember that there is a lot of competition out there. One major Canadian company I visited receives a request for a donation every 10.4 minutes of every working day in the year!

Next time I'll offer some suggestions as to how to make your visit a memorable one - in the very best sense of the word - with my Eight Rules of Etiquette for Fund Raising Volunteers.

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