Fight the Right Action Kit Effective Fundraising Against the Right Part 2 of 2 ----- by Linda Lee Welch, Fundraising Director, Campaign for a Hate-Free Oregon ----- Direct Mail Direct Mail is a multi-purpose fundraising tool. Done well it not only raises money for your cause, but raises awareness of your issue. One of the most expensive forms of fundraising, it must be approached with some caution and realistic expectations about the results. Successful direct mail solicitations often yield at best a 3% return rate with varying sizes of contributions. With careful list selection and well written letters you will probably see the return rate rise and contributions come in at a fairly substantial rate. In developing your direct mail plan, consider the costs involved. The bulk of the expense comes in printing and postage. If it's possible to get printing donated, direct mail becomes more attractive early in the campaign than if you have to pay all the up-front costs. Next consider how the printed material will be assembled and stuffed in envelopes. If you have a large enough space to accommodate volunteers, this is a task suitable for large numbers of people who don't need any particular skill. Mailing parties are often the first access for a campaign volunteer. Many volunteers choose to become further involved in the campaign after an initial positive exposure folding and stuffing. LISTS There are many brokers who will sell lists of names to your campaign. Always check references on these companies. Some will provide you with wonderfully accurate lists and others with less desirable ones. Purchase lists only when absolutely necessary. Many organizations, candidates, and businesses will gladly negotiate a one-time use of their list for a one-time use of the campaign list at the conclusion of the campaign. Present list exchange proposals as early as possible in the campaign. Many organizations require board decisions on mailing list usage and waiting for a board meeting can take more than a month. Get your agreement in writing to protect both parties. Have both organizations articulate when the lists may be used and for what purposes, when the campaign will receive the list, and when the campaign will produce its list for the other organization's use. If the list you acquire is large, test a portion of the list before sending out the complete mailing so that you have some idea of how the list will perform. If you're getting a 1% response rate with your test section, you'll have to decide if the size of the gifts is large enough to warrant a full mailing. The decision to use in-state lists as opposed to national ones depends on how much visibility your issue is getting on a national basis. If you have a statewide initiative that is attracting national media attention, national lists will do much better for you than if you have a local ballot measure that is not receiving much coverage. In any case, it's usually better to use the best in-state lists you have first. You will almost always have a higher rate of return than with national lists. Experiment with national lists and see what the crossover issues are. Women's rights and pro-choice organizations often have lists that perform well for gay and lesbian civil rights causes. Other civil rights organizations may perform well on your issue. When using a national list, mail to prospects in your state first, then to adjacent states who will feel a vested interest in keeping your ballot measure out of their back yard. It's also a good idea to develop a sample letter for people to mail to their own lists. Many people have large personal or professional lists that will produce good results with a well-written letter. Encourage people to mail to their own lists. It's a good contribution and helps people feel more involved in the campaign as well. THE LETTER There are scores of books and consultants to assist you in writing your letter. There are just as many philosophies regarding the number of pages, the variety and number of ink colors, placement of bold and underlined passages, etc. The key issue is to make the reader feel emotionally connected to your campaign. You may be able to do that in two, four, or six pages and in one, two, or three colors of ink. Communicate your passion for the issue in language the recipient of your letter will understand. The letter you send to your state's gay and lesbian community should be different than the letter you send to a pro-choice list. Don't miss the opportunity to build bridges between constituencies. For example, illustrate how gay and lesbian civil rights and choice issues are integrally connected and why supporting lesbian and gay issues ultimately results in advances for the reproductive rights movement. A cover letter or quote from the spokesperson or candidate whose list you're using gives your letter added credibility. Find a way to illustrate the broad-based coalition supporting your campaign. One way is to list the board, steering committee or community council on the letterhead. Another would be to have quotations from people whose support of your campaign will be meaningful to the recipients of your letter. THE ENVELOPE Think about the direct mail you receive in your home or office. What gets some opened while others go directly to the trash? Often a compelling statement, question, or image makes the difference. Take time in designing your envelope so that it gets opened! THE RESPONSE DEVICE A fancy name for the return envelope you'll include to make sure that contributions come rolling back in! It's easiest to use an envelope with all the information printed under the large flap. Be sure it's designed so that you won't lose any information required by your state- - name, address, occupation or employer if needed, amount of contribution, method of payment (give VISA and MASTERCARD options whenever possible), and terms of payment (one time, monthly, etc.). Be creative with this envelope as well. Sometimes people scan the response envelope before they read the letter. If you're in the media phase of your campaign, list the amounts requested next to the television or radio shows on which ads bought by that contribution will run. If the pressing need is development of door hangers or hiring of community organizers, use those as illustrations of what their gift will purchase for the campaign. People will often stretch a little more to help purchase the piece of the campaign they think will make the biggest difference. TRACKING RESPONSES Remember to code response envelopes so you can tell how the lists are performing. If a list produces exceptional results in the beginning of the campaign, you may want to mail to that list again during the final stretch. Color coding the response envelopes is an easy way to track lists. One way to do this is to take a stack of envelopes and a thick marker and draw across the bottom. Keep a master list of the color codes for your bookkeeper and for the people coordinating the folding and stuffing. CASH FLOW Once you are able to produce and send out your first direct mail piece, you will begin to see a consistent flow of cash into your campaign. Large direct mail campaigns usually produce many contributors who you can then approach for additional gifts, but it's essential to be sure that direct mail gives you the best rate of return for your investment. Ask people for money more than once. Few people give as much as they can the first time they are asked. Constantly evaluate the rate of return, size of gifts, profit margin, and the educational benefits of your mailings. A well-run direct mail campaign is a big asset and a poorly managed one is a drain on valuable resources. TELEPHONE FOLLOW-UP You'll greatly increase your rate of return if you are able to follow up your mailing with telephone calls. You can do this with your own phone banking volunteers or by hiring a firm that specializes in telephone solicitation. You won't have this option with all of your lists but try it whenever possible. THE ESSENCE Use a good list. Write a passionate letter designed for your audience. Include a response device which gives people a variety of payment options and articulates how their contribution helps the campaign. Include the letter and color coded response device in a creatively designed, compelling envelope that is sure to be opened by most recipients. Wait for the cash to roll in. Do follow-up phone calls to the people who let this opportunity to participate in contributing to your campaign get by them! Organizations and Foundations Part of your campaign fundraising plan may include soliciting organizations and submitting proposals to foundations. This kind of fundraising is very cost-effective as there is little overhead involved in writing letters of request and meeting with staff and boards! Make your requests early in the campaign so that you're sure to meet deadlines! ORGANIZATIONS Approach local, state, and national progressive organizations that share a similar agenda first. Keep in mind several things you might ask for in addition to a financial contribution. Office space, use of a computer, copier or fax machine, a mailing list, technical assistance, the loan of a staff person or key volunteer are just a few of the ways an organization can assist you in addition to a cash contribution. As you build a broad-based constituency you will become aware of other organizations who have an interest in your campaign. As you develop a good working relationship with representatives of local organizations, find out how they can assist you in approaching their national affiliate if they have one. A request for financial or technical assistance from a local organization often carries more weight than a request from your campaign. It's important to keep organizations informed about the progress of the campaign and to suggest ways for them to continue their involvement. Co-sponsoring fundraising events is sometimes a good way to lend credibility to your campaign and gives an organization a focused way to give additional financial support. They can promote the event through their usual outlets, giving you faster access to people who will be interested in the event. Nurture your relationship with organizations. Too often we forget about an organization after we've received its financial contribution. There's much more that an organization and its membership can provide to a campaign. Find out what each organization can best contribute. Ask your media committee to regularly submit updates for organizational newsletters to keep their members informed on the campaign. People need to know what's going on and how to get involved. Newsletters of organizations are a great way to spread the word. FOUNDATIONS: Profit & Non-profit Developing proposals to submit to foundations can be time consuming, so it's best to work on this at your earliest opportunity. Determining deadlines and gathering the material for a proposal can be done by volunteers. Write a core piece that can be modified according to the requirements of the foundation. Include a description of the political climate and the issue (ballot measure, initiative, recall, etc.), an analysis of what needs to happen to effect change, and a list of the steering committee and the participating coalition groups. The foundation will request other information and you can tailor your proposal to meet their needs. Because many foundations are unable to contribute to organizations participating in the electoral process, some campaigns find it useful to form a non-profit entity to carry out educational activities. The political organization creates and implements the campaign while the non-profit focuses on short and long term educational goals. Separate organizations meet several needs. One is that donors have an option of supporting social change and getting a full tax deduction. Having an educational and political component also gives people the option of participating, both financially and with volunteer hours, in the kind of work that most appeals to them. It's important to separate the short-term goals of winning elections and the long-term goals of educating people about gay men and lesbians. Both can be done concurrently, but there are different strategies that achieve each set of goals. Check with other campaigns to find out which foundations have given money to political organizations. By doing a little networking you'll probably find untapped resources that no one ever had time to get to in the heat of their campaigns. If you don't get the proposals ready in the beginning of the campaign, it's not likely that you'll find time and energy to write a thoughtful, articulate proposal, gather all the supporting documents and submit it by the deadline. If you have all the pieces ready as suggested above, you have a better chance of being able to get a proposal off to a foundation when you find one willing to fund political activities. Event Fundraising In a political campaign, fundraising through special events can be fun and profitable. It can also be your worst nightmare and a drain on your financial resources. Special events usually require an up-front financial investment that is sometimes difficult to obtain at various stages of the campaign. Events require careful planning and detailed follow-through to insure the best results. One of your goals should be to have fun creating the event. If your committee loves what they're doing, this will translate to the people in the community you hope to attract to your event. Your budget will give you an indication of what size fundraising events you need to hold. If you have a small budget you'll want to produce smaller events than if you're trying to fund a $2 million campaign. Because events are so time consuming and volunteer intensive, many organizations put their energy into just a few large events a year. The key is to choose carefully and appropriately for your needs. If you are in the middle of a time-limited campaign, you don't have the opportunity to make many costly mistakes. There are people who love producing special events. Find them! Form a small committee to brainstorm the kinds of events that will be successful for you. Invite people with event production experience and anyone else who loves "details" to serve on this committee. Develop realistic budgets for the events that are most appealing to your committee and determine how many you need to hold to meet your financial goal. Do a cash flow time-line so you know when you will have expenses and when you expect to receive income. You'll need advance money for things like printing, advertising, and postage. If you have a large donor or a business who can afford to loan you the up-front production expenses, you may want to consider this option. Other organizations can occasionally help with this as well. You may consider co-sponsoring a few of your early events, giving the campaign added credibility and the co-sponsoring organization recognition for supporting your campaign. You could also solicit contributions from underwriters for your event. Typically an underwriter provides a large contribution and, in exchange, you promote their business on all of your advertising material. Events do more for your campaign than raise money. Many people feel like they want to "do something." Participating in a rally, a house party, or a walk-a-thon are ways to give people the opportunity to meet that need. Just writing a check is not satisfying enough for some donors. They want something in return for their money Ņan auction where they can purchase something, a fun party, a way to be more involved in the campaign. For others, an event is a way to "check you out" before making a larger contribution. If you do the event well and deliver an effective message, you'll have many more prospective donors available. Some of the people who turn out for events will be people whose names won't appear on any lists. They may not belong to any other organization but felt a strong need to participate in this campaign. Your event can be the point of access for many people new to your issue or to the political process. In your brainstorming session, make sure you know what you want from your event in addition to money. Do you want maximum media coverage? Are you looking for volunteers? Do you need to boost the spirits of your supporters? You can craft an event to meet all of these needs and more, but only if you know what you want. Don't be afraid to articulate what you want to accomplish. It doesn't matter whether you want people to be emotionally moved or to just have fun...your planning will create the response. Be su re you know which one you want! Keep a clear focus on creating your event. Set conservative, attainable goals, plan carefully, and you'll succeed in creating an event that meets all of your expectations. ----- To request the complete Fight the Right Action Kit, call NGLTF at 202-332-6483, TTY 202-332-6219. .