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Consider a method that you’ve always used or an approach you’ve historically taken in your fund drives.
We have different themes/giveaways each day during our week-long drivesHow could that be done differently or changed to strengthen your drive?
Sometimes it seems like too many different giveaways, and we need to make sure we’re offering things that aren’t just “extra” but draw people inWhat is the common pushback you receive to making such a change?
We’ve always had a lot of extra stuff to offer donors, people like extra stuffMake the case for change or share alternative ideas.
Having a few quality extras may draw in higher donors who don’t just need free t-shirtsPersonas:
AB – 20 year old college student, loves live music and discovering new bands, not a lot of spare money to spend but tries to donate once a year at the lowest level during the fund drive to get our latest t-shirt, doesn’t tend to sign up for volunteering but does enter to win show tickets on a regular basis
CD – 50 year old lawyer, loves our community involvement, is a sustaining member at a significant dollar amount but not necessarily a “major donor,” enjoys the swag but that isn’t a primary donation motivation, occasionally a station volunteer at eventsWhile we definitely push to have people become sustaining members, someone like AB feels comfortable with a one time donation rather than breaking it up monthly. We do try to explain the benefit of sustaining vs. one time, especially for those who are habitual lump sum donors. On the other hand, working with someone like CD to get them from a high level donor to a major donor might involve the hurdle of how it benefits them.
I am also wary of overloading members with emails, but we try to be aware of targeting different groups for different emails. During active drives we do send out to all members a few times, though.
I am also working on a lapsed member campaign for my station with this coming drive. We tried one over the summer that was pretty lackluster, but I have a different target group this time (sustaining members who never fixed bad payments vs non-renewers).
How long has your station conducted on-air fundraising?
Have you been involved in the planning process?
What other elements of fundraising do you need to be aware of at your station as you plan your on-air campaign?We’ve been on the air for 26 years, and I’d imagine there’s been some level of on-air fundraising that entire time. I first started volunteering for the two major annual fund drives (spring and fall) 11 or 12 years ago.
I’ve been in my current position since the end of December, so this is the first year that I’ve been really involved in the planning process for all of our drives!
As we begin planning for our fall drive, I think we need to have an updated map of how far our signals reach so we can make sure every potential donor is reached. We also need to make sure everyone is on the same page as far as hourly goals and talking points.
Hello! Overseeing is perhaps not the best word but the most succinct one – I compile the spreadsheets of the items that people are getting, pack them, and ship them out. I also keep an inventory and help with ordering.
Hi Sonsera! I love that there are a handful of us in here who have moved into full time positions at our stations after previously being fund drive volunteers.
Hi! We tend to keep the same momentum going – I’m not sure that cutting anything out during the slow time would help drum up excitement, but maybe other people have had success with that.
Hello! I’m Liz and I’m the development assistant at WNRN, a AAA station in Central Virginia. I’ve been with the station for over a decade in volunteer and part time roles centered around on-air fund drives, but I’ve only been in my current full time position since December 2021. I also oversee all membership fulfillment for fundraising gifts.
I think the biggest pain point around on-air fundraising is what to do for those dreadfully slow hours and how to entice lapsed members back to the station.
I’m hoping to gain insight from others on what they do during fund drives. I’m really only familiar with what we do for our drives, so an outside perspective is always welcome, especially from the pros!
