By George Ruotolo, Chair & CEO, Ruotolo Associates
As some of you may know, my experience as a fundraising consultant dates back to the early 1970s. At that time, an integral part of fundraising in community, religious, and institutional organizations was the involvement and active utilization of volunteers. Their charge was to reach out to their fellow organization members and solicit their gifts for a capital campaign.
We have found 50 years later that much of this activity and behavior has disappeared. While it is said in many studies that volunteerism is increasing, I think the difference is that campaign committee members are open to a level of involvement in fundraising efforts, but they appear to abhor having to ask their friends or other potential donors for a gift.
Our role at one time was to provide training to these individuals, increasing their comfort level with the task of asking for a philanthropic gift.
There is an old adage in fundraising that “people give to people” as opposed to being solicited by Major Gift Officers or with consultants’ involvement. I believe it is a dynamic that we should not turn our backs on, but instead, look for more and creative ways to actively engage volunteers in the art of asking.
What we do at Ruotolo Associates is to adjust the actual process of the ask, by having volunteers involved in attending solicitations and affirming the campaign’s case, but not actually making the request, which can be done by a staff person, or in concert with a consultant. Also, we have used the written word as a replacement for the verbal ask by having the volunteer speak of the campaign’s needs and leave the prospect with a letter that stipulates the ask either specifically or in a range.
This does lighten the load of the volunteer to actually “make the ask”. It is hard to objectively evaluate how impactful the volunteer ask is, and I would encourage us all to not turn our backs on the importance of this solicitation strategy. I am sure there are many who will read this and think this is a tactic that should be long forgotten. I feel it is worth reenergizing this approach where the prospects can be motivated and encouraged by their friends, colleagues, and organization members.
By involving volunteers in the solicitation process, we tap into the power of peer-to-peer influence. Prospects are often more motivated and encouraged when approached by friends and fellow organization members. As we continue to evolve our fundraising techniques, let’s not forget the value of personal connections and the unique role volunteers can play in driving successful campaigns.
