Many fundraisers shudder at the mention of the dreaded “T word” of fundraising—Telephone fundraising. However, telephone fundraising can be very productive for the nonprofit and rewarding for the constituents on the receiving end of the call, if a few basics rules of good telephone fundraising are observed: 

  We never call strangers, telephone fundraising calls we only call known constituents-alumni, parents, members of the organization, current or past donors, or users of your services.
    We always precede the phone call with a letter from your organization, legitimizing the phone call and setting the stage for "the ask."
    We always have a volunteer sign the letter; it is much more effective than a letter signed by a staff person.
    If you have less than 1000 names to call,  we will make the campaign very effective.
    We don't utilize word for word  scripts as they sound too much like canned presentations. Our callers are trained to get all the key points across but in a conversational manner.
    If your organization has more than 1000 names to call, you will most likely want to use a professional telephone fundraising firm.    It is unethical for professional solicitors to work on a commission basis, so we employ an "amount per name" or other flat fee arrangements.
     We always ask for a specific amount in the call, and this amount should be based on previous giving history when there is a history with the donor.
    We follow up promptly with phone calls, sending out a pledge form and acknowledgement of the call's results immediately after the call.