If people are willing to be generous to Haiti, they are willing to be generous to your favorite parochial school. You have to ask the right way if you want their help.
Are you concerned about the affect that the appeals for Haiti are likely to have on fundraising? We believe the appeals will be helpful.
The public now understands that texting a donation is safe and secure. While it is a bit early to begin using texting for a small parochial school when it becomes practical the public will be ready.
Haiti received help from people who have minimal interest normally. They participated because they were helping the face used as part of the appeal. Perhaps it was a child looking lost, a mother with a child in her harms, or a man crying. Whatever it was it reached their hearts. Engaging their hearts energized their giving.
Now that their hearts are open to helping others, how will you use this opportunity to engage them to help your school?
We can thank Haiti for awakening generosity in people. Some of the givers were reluctant or absent givers before the earthquake. How will you cultivate their generosity, keep it awake, and help it to thrive?
Study the appeals from the most successful organizations. The appeals are simple and direct. “The people in Haiti need food.” or “The people in Haiti need medicine.” The next statement is, "Go to www.???.xxx or text Haiti to ?????."
Notice how simple the appeal is? It is all about the people and the need. There is minimal if anything about the organization managing the relief effort. How simple is your appeal? Is it about the students and their needs or is it about the school and its needs?
There are people who have an emotional attachment to one or more of the relief agencies. More people are like me and don’t have an emotional attachment to any of the relief agencies. The same is true for a parochial school.
There are alumni, parents of alumni, staff, and retired staff in most churches with schools. However, most of the people in the church lack an emotional connection to the school. Almost everyone has an emotional attachment to children. The less said about the school and the more said about the students, the more generous the donor’s response will be.
Remember the generous response from the world to Haiti was during an economic downturn. If people are willing to be generous to Haiti, they are willing to be generous to your favorite parochial school. You have to ask the right way if you want similar results.
Next Step:
Devise your next appeal on behalf of the students now while generosity is flowing
Engage people’s emotions
Simplify the appeal and make it all about the students and their needs
Develop a plan for cultivating the current and new donors to ensure they stay connected
Haiti is already starting to disappear from the headlines. As it fades, the generosity that it catalyzed will fade.
Move quickly. Make it simple. Make it emotional. Your success will impress your skeptics. Your success will increase sustainability.
As always, contact us if you want help. We use a special process that offers a guarantee. For more information about our process and guarantee, you can click here.
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