Fundraising Done Well

An overview from the Green Party National Party Office

To start with..

Introductions

What we will achieve with the next hour

Enthuse ‘you’ to do more in your local party around fundraising and to be confident in asking everyone!

Give an overview of fundraising

Introduce what channels of fundraising you can use

What is a fundraiser?

An entrepreneur

A stimulator of social change

Someone who enthuses people

Someone not afraid of asking…

A great administrator

What is a donor?

Someone you may not know yet…

Someone who needs persuading

Someone who asks why (what, where, why?)

Someone who needs to be asked (how do I give?)

How do we connect the two?

The Fundraiser

EntreprenuerStimulator of socialChangeSomeone who may enthuse peopleNot afraid of askingA great administrator

The Donor

Needs to be foundNeeds persuading

What, where and why?Needs to be asked

Shared interests – The

Green Party and it’s

Ambitions

£: Trust is built, why and what should give is identified

Information is provided, need is demonstrated and an ask is made

How do we find more donors?

Set up events and CiviEvent – automatic sign up and logging onto your database

Pushing out requirements for your campaign via social media (one mechanism; crowdfunding)

Gathering of email addresses from canvassing efforts and putting

Researching people and businesses in your local area

By asking people in person, via email, via letter and via telephone.

How do we build trust?

We create a ‘Case for Support’ which doesn’t change

We send information regularly which doesn’t always ask for money but eludes to a need.

We prepare budgets for our appeals which are agreed at the highest level and set in stone, so that when we ask there is no confusion.

We know what difference a donation will make and where the money will go (we understand our need better than the donor….)

We keep the donor up to date with what’s going on

‘Case for support’

Inform

Ask

IdentifyThank

Building trust: The ‘Case for Support’

Key facets to a ‘Case for Support’

- A broad statement which will never change and will be used in every fundraising approach

- It should always complement the ‘need’ for an appeal

National Party ‘Case for Support’:

‘The Green Party is not funded by a few donations from companies or individuals like other parties. We are funded by membership fees and

donations. Membership fees cover the running costs of the organisation, whilst donations allow us to actively campaign and grow.’

What a local party ‘Case for Support’ may look like:

‘Our local party only gets16% of membership fees paid by members which allow us to set up regular meetings and buy tea and coffee. We fundraise so that we can mobilise volunteers and provide them with

necessary materials to encourage people to vote Green’

Building trust- How to determine abudget for need

1. Speak to the treasurer:

I. Find your current financial position

II. Find out who’s been asking them for money and for what- talk to these parties separately where necessary.

2. Talk to campaigners:

1. What’s missing from the campaigns

2. What is needed with the number of volunteers on the street

3. Create a ‘Bare Bones’ and ‘Blue Sky Budget’

4. Take this to your local party meeting and determine if there are any other needs and add them in.

5. Circulate the budget via email and get this agreed.

Item Description When needed

Cost

Website We need an effective website which will be able to; publicise what activities we’re undertaking, deliver our key messages, recruit volunteers/supporters/members.

Immediately No cost generally

Production of leaflets We will be canvassing every household in our constituency 3 times during the campaign. We need leaflets with different messages throughout.

6 weeks £2,50010 weeks £2,50014 weeks £2,500

Production of posters Distribute to every one of our members and supporters a poster for them to put into their window. Will

8 weeks £50012 weeks £50014 weeks £500

Hiring launch venue Launch our campaign from a venue so that we can publicise the activities of our campaign throughout

6 weeks £750

Freepost Pay for the distribution of a freepost to target constituencies

14 weeks £3,000

Campaign Manager Paying for a part time Campaign Manager 10 weeks before the election

6 weeks £3,000

Total Basic Budget £16,750Billboards Deposit for billboards for locations around

the city4 weeks £500

Paying for hire of billboards 10 weeks £2,500Campaign bus Buying and funding a campaign bus to go

around the city10 weeks £5,000

Campaign office Paying for campaign office to manage volunteers

6 weeks £7,000

Focus groups We want to test the groups in the local area by have 3 focus groups for those living in 3 of our constituencies. This will pay for a venue and drinks/food during the meeting.

4 weeks £1,000

Direct mailing to target constituencies

We want to mail the 50,000 people in our target constituency to garner their support and give them key messages tailored to issues local to them.

12 weeks £15,000

Newspaper inserts Paying for advert to go into local newspaper 2 weeks before the election

12 weeks £1,500

Total ‘Blue Sky Budget’: £33,000

Building trust- Demonstrating your ‘need’ and becoming a social entrepreneur

You now have a budget – this is boring to a donor….

e.g. Budget: £1,000 needed for 50,000 leaflets – BORING!!!

How do we make it appealing? – Think about the difference it will make…. (be a stimulator of social change…):

‘1,000 will be spent on 50,000 leaflets for our campaign. 50,000 leaflets will allow us to give a leaflet, in person, to every single voter in Cotham Ward. Our 50 activists are desperate to get out our message and this money will help them and voters realise there is a real alternative – The Green Party’

Note: It is good to condense your ‘need’ into 5 or 6 points. This may mean that you want to pull together for instance leaflets and freepost and digital activities.

Demonstrating ‘need’ for a regular giving appeal

This is quite different….

Regular giving means transformation change by; professionalising the party, having money for an office and buying a printer which you maintain.

It’s a very different proposition to a ‘single gift’ appeal - therefore you shouldn’t really ask for both – one or the other as the leading ask…. You can say ‘Can you give £10 a month. Of course, whatever you can afford, be it a smaller regular donation or a single gift will still make a huge difference…’

Again- you need to sell why and what regular giving can do for a local party…. (most just say ‘we need it’- this isn’t enough…):

‘We only need 100 members giving £10 a month and we can have a headquarters for the Bristol Green Party. This will allow us to have a home for volunteers, a place for our printers and a ‘hub’ to drive election campaigns.’

Or:

‘Every year we need £10,000 in addition to our income from membership dues to allow for us to have leaflets to do year round canvassing…’

Now I know all these things what do I need to do now… ask!!!

Medium Method of appeal To whom When used

Website Brought to ‘donate page’ on website by coming to website either through web searches, media or social media. May also give as part of becoming a member.

Anyone All times

Newsletters In the regular e-bulletins there should always be an option to donate. Members/Supporters

Bi-monthly (email), Quarterly (mail)

Social media During appeals you can keep on telling people how much money has been raised toward an appeal and attract them to give by directing them to a giving page, which explains the appeal.

Anyone During appeals (around/build up to elections)

Email Actively asked for a donation toward a particular cause. Use specific ‘donate’ pages for specific appeals where donations may be made. 3-7 emails may be used in a single appeal with an end date.

Members/ Supporters Toward elections, for specific causes (max 3 times/yr)

Mailing Actively approached to give toward reactive or regular giving appeal. Will focus efforts on previous single donors and those without email address.

Mostly members, but some supporters

2 times a year.

Telephone Actively approached to ask for a regular or single gift toward an ongoing or reactive appeal. Segmentation required for this type of appeal. Small scale often too expensive.

Mostly members, but some supporters

3 times a year (to different segments), every year

Events Used events as engagement exercises. These may result in people giving but may include paid for dinners, drinks or free events where people may hear more about what the Green Party is doing. These events may range from fayre style events with a coconut shy with faces of politicians to serious engagement dinners. Events are generally expensive in terms of a return on investment but can be very effective to build contacts.

Those identified as prospective ‘high value donors’

6 – 12 times a year (Donor Forum Events to form back bone at National Party level)

Face to face approaches

Used to a small number of individuals to identify what their interest in the Green Party is. This is to help build knowledge of what these individuals may want to give to and so we may have the opportunity to discuss potential large donations (1k+).

Those identified as ‘high value donors’ through events

As much as possible.

Using systems to deliver elements of

fundraisingWhat are the best systems and why/when should they be used

Mechanisms of Fundraising

Crowdfunding Email Direct Mail Phone Face to face0

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Personal Average Size of giftEase of delivery Percentage response from audienceRisk of going wrong

VideoCrowdfunder page

Av Donation£10

Online pro-cesser(PayPal or Direct Debit)

Av Dona-tion £40

ChequesOnline pro-cesser

Av Dona-tion £60

Phone sys-temCallersDirect Deb-its

Av Dona-tion£100

Bank ac-count

Av Dona-tion Varies depending on ask £1,000

Getting it right

Project Page

• Think of Audience

• Title

• Video/Image

• Profile Candidate(s)

Project Pitch

• First Paragraph

• Identify Who

• Graphics

• Clear project spend

• Emotive

• Ask to share

• Declaration

Launch

• Pre warn

• Social Media

• Members mailout

• Press release

• Landmarks

Gifts

5 Every little helps!

10 A big thank you on the Green Party website.

20 Special edition 'Invite the Greens' badge

35 Green Party mug or similar

50Vote Green badge + personal note on postcard/ signed poster from Caroline or Natalie

75 Meet and greet with local candidate

100 Photo on the wall of funders in the HQ

150-200 Meet and greet event/ breakfast with Caroline or Natalie

Declarations

• £50 limit – Candidate Project

• £500 limit – deposit based or broader GE