How Queer Nonprofits Can Engage Your Teams to Increase Year-End Contributed Revenue
Dear Queer nonprofit leaders and fundraising professionals,
I am also a Queer nonprofit leader and fundraising professional, for the past 12 years. This blog speaks to straight-led nonprofits and professionals a lot (because they need to be told how to do better in serving the LGBTQIA+ community), so I want to provide this important conversation for the small Queer nonprofits or small development teams who need a little boost for their year-end fundraising.
The world may seem against us right now, but there are millions of people fighting the good fight. And they want to help you! So, among a time that may leave you feeling hopeless and defeated, let’s give them something to do!
This conversation stems from a fundraising training from Queer For Hire: what is peer-to-peer fundraising and how do you successfully do it? These details are good for emerging fundraising professionals or teams who need education before fundraising. By the end, you and/or your team will all have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be successful in raising money for your vibrant neighborhood Queer community nonprofit organization.
What is peer-to-peer fundraising?
This graphic will come into play in a minute, but first, simply, peer-to-peer fundraising is the act of a fundraiser leveraging their personal networks to raise money and awareness for a common mission. I added awareness in this definition because -- as we will learn in a few minutes -- access to a cause is an important piece of fundraising. Potential donors cannot access causes if they are not aware of them.
If you direct your attention to the image above, you’ll see a bunch of rings with a bunch of people in them. The center ring is the person on your team who is fundraising (whether it’s a fundraising professional, staff or board member, or community volunteer). THEY have a network of like-minded people -- the next ring, the fundraiser’s network. And each of THOSE folks has a network of like-minded people -- the outer ring, the network’s network. Think WHISPER DOWN THE LANE. Except there is no one at the end. The line just keeps going and going and going.
Peer-to-peer fundraising is tapping into the power of RELATIONSHIPS. Human nature often leads us to build connections with people who think like us -- we unintentionally create a network of people with common beliefs, interests, values, passions. Have you ever been in a situation with another person and someone is telling a story and you both realize – wait! I know that person too! What a small world! It’s actually a very large world, just a very connected world.
With all that being said, we can’t start peer-to-peer fundraising with the whole large world as our starting point….
Who is in your network?
So who is in YOUR network?
Effective community-centered fundraising (which is the most effective for peer-to-peer fundraising, as opposed to donor-centered fundraising) focuses on finding people with lots of PASSION as opposed to people with a lot of MONEY. In fact, the most money given away in the U.S. is from middle, working, and poor class communities. This happens to be most people – it only makes sense that the MOST people give away the MOST money. These are the two types of donors – the HAVERS and the GIVERS. The Havers HAVE. The Givers GIVE. The Givers have, but not like the Havers. And the Havers give, but not like the Givers, because, on a massive scale, there are not as many of them.
There are also the Never-Asked-ers. These are the folks that are...never asked. The most common reason people never donate money is because…..? They are NEVER ASKED. And that’s just plain science. And typically, the Never-Asked-ers are also the Givers. When asked, Givers tend to give at a rate of 76%. The point is: just ask!
Thinking back to the peer-to-peer circle graphic – think about who you know. Allll of the people. Now who do THOSE PEOPLE know….and on and on and on….
I want you to do a little exercise. Not the physical kind, although if you need to straighten your posture or roll your shoulders right now, go right ahead. For the exercise, you’re going to have 60 seconds to think in your mind about AS MANY people as you personally know. Don’t think about if they would give or if they can give. Just think about how many people you personally know and keep a COUNT of that number. Ready...60 seconds….go!
Did you count? What was your final number of people you know in just 60 seconds? You just created a network in just a minute. Now imagine each of those people is the center of the peer-to-peer network graphic. That’s how many networks, all connected!? It’s really almost incomprehensible. THAT is your peer-to-peer team!
How do you ask for money?
So you know what peer-to-peer fundraising is and you have your network. Now how do you ask them?
One of the reasons peer-to-peer fundraising is so popular and successful is that people donate to people! People hear a story they relate to, they sympathize with, or simply from someone they care about...they are likely to support however they can. My bestie, sibling, partner is asking me to donate to a cause that is really important to them? Well, my best friend is really important to me, so yes, I will give them money!
But you won’t be able to ask everyone the same thing. And this is where relationships come into play even more. You’ll see more success if you cater the ask to the individual. Before you are ready to make the ask, determine three things:
1) Their level of access to the cause – is the ask more appropriate coming from you or someone in your network?
2) Determine their level of interest -- are they a lurker, supporter, or advocate?
Lurkers are people on the side lines. They kind of watch but don’t really get involved. Maybe they like our facebook posts, but they never donate or go to any programs.
Supporters are people who will drop some cash on a fundraiser, maybe they attend a service or program.
Advocates are folks who are very passionate about the cause – they show UP and they show OUT. They attend events regularly, invite their networks, they are a sustaining monthly donor, and they are always speaking publicly about the great things the cause accomplishes. They are the people who volunteer to fundraise!
3) Finally, determine their likelihood of giving – have they given before? Have they supported other similar causes? How involved are they?
And one kind of practice that can be helpful in determining what to ask is start asking the person you know best – YOURSELF! The benefits of that little internal practice is two fold. First, people are generally more likely to respond more positively to being told to do something if the person asking them has already done that thing themself. And second, then you have a starting range and benchmark to ask your network.
You’re ready to ask. Here are 5 steps to make ANY ask.
Step 1: Know exactly what you want
I have my network, I know who I can start asking, now I need to figure out WHAT to ask, so I start by asking myself “what can *I* give right now?” I can give $50. Congratulations! You just made your first ask! And asks get easier the more you do them, so your second one will be even easier! I know friend 1 has volunteered for the cause before and they make more money than me so I can ask them for $75. Friend 2 likes our facebook posts but I’ve never known them to attend an event or donate before, and I know they also lost their job in the pandemic, so I’ll ask them for just $15. We know what we want.
Step 2: Prepare the conversation!
Practice in a mirror, practice with a pal, re-read and re-read your message, have someone proofread your message. If you STAY ready, you aint gotta GET ready. You’re ready!
Step 3: Deliver with CONFIDENCE!
You already have the confidence you need. It’s right there, inside of you! You just have to allow yourself to feel it!!!! Practice makes better! Confidence is a choice.
Step 4: Reiterate what you THINK you heard.
Friend 1 said they would love to support the cause! They would love to support the cause. That sounds like a YES to me. But maybe they just don’t want to tell you no. So just to be sure….“Thank you so much friend 1 for supporting the cause with a gift of $75! That truly makes a world of difference for our cause!” Clarifying what you think you heard back to them will show that you are listening, and it will steer the rest of the conversation in the intended direction. Either they say oh no sorry I didn’t mean I can donate. OR they’ll say happy to help! It’s ALWAYS best to clarify.
Friend 2 (they’re the one who likes our facebook posts but I’ve never known them to attend an event or donate before, and I know they also lost their job in the pandemic) said they can’t spare any money for the cause. And they feel really bad about it and wish they could support. So they can’t donate. But they want to support. “It sounds like you are really passionate about the cause and want to support in any way you can. It’s OK if you can’t donate. You CAN support in other ways…”
Step 5: Plan your next move at the ask.
Your next move could be various different options. You could plan to THANK them for their support. Maybe you’ve asked them on Facebook but you don’t have their address. Thank them in the moment for their support and then inform them we will send them an official thank you letter to their address…. Maybe they said they can support once they get paid next week. Ask them if it’s OK to follow up with them then. Maybe you want to invite them to an upcoming event or program so they can see firsthand the impact their support makes on the community.
If they CANT donate, like I said, there are other ways to support. Recruit them as a fundraiser. Start a fundraising team. Cultivate the power of your several peer-to-peer networks. Several people making direct and active asks are better than one….
And that’s that! You have everything you need to start a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign. You can download the presentation template mentioned in this blog as well as other resources and vidoe classes for FREE in our Learning Qurve Library under Resources and year-end fundraising – the training presentation template is included in the Package #3, plus it comes with a FREE 1-hour consultation with me to support your year-end fundraising efforts.
Sincerely,
Queers
Queer For Hire provides fundraising support and LGBTQIA+ diversity training for nonprofits, professionals, and corporations.
Learn about our Fundraising Services <here> – we’ll lead or support your fundraising efforts, whether you need general support or want to focus on raising money from and for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Learn about our Fundraising Trainings <here> – we can coach your board, staff, and fundraising team on how to fundraise and how to engage LGBTQIA+ donors.
Learn about our other services <here> or our resources <here>.
