Wednesday Wisdom: Friendraising vs. Fundraising

Wednesday Morning, Wednesday Wisdom, Inspiration, Motivation for Women Entrepreneurs

The sweetest little boy, accompanied by his mother, approached me during my 4-hour volunteer shift. He was pointing at the small basketball net with a rainbow-colored basketball in his hands. The basket was too tall for him to throw the ball into, so I helped him and his mother adjust it to his height. With twinkling eyes and deep dimples flashing, he excitedly and proudly dunked the ball and then waddled off to find something else to play with awaiting his doctor’s appointment.

When I got home from my shift, I found a donation request from St. Jude’s Hospital in it, with a photo of a similar boy I had helped in person in their promotional flyer. Typically, my mailbox is full of these requests, especially if you give a simple $10 donation for return address labels one time. It is hard to say no to an ill child or a happy one gleaming from ear to ear.

I learned a long time ago, early in my institutional advancement career, to be wise with donations. There are always requests for fundraising dollars. It made asking for money easier if the “friend”-raising part of the equation happened before the ask. Personally becoming acquainted with a person or organization in need of funds is often a way individuals or businesses decide to donate. There needs to be a warm connection.

I loved being in the friend-raising side of institution advancement which meant planning events, meeting and greeting guests (aka clients), asking them personal questions, getting to know them better, sending cards or news clippings, and truly acting as a friend when they requested help from our office. If I did my job right on the alumni relations side of the coin, then the development staff would have an easier time asking for and receiving monetary donations.

As small business owners, we wear both hats – the friend-raiser and the fundraiser – if we are looking for sponsorship, funding, or even angel investors for our companies. A company won’t just hand over money if they don’t know anything about us. They typically support us because they know us, what we stand for, and how we will deliver on any marketing or PR we offer them in exchange for their donations.

This Wednesday Wisdom is to remind you that as a solo woman entrepreneur or one who runs her own company with a small staff, you wear both hats too. You must invite your clients to events, talk to them on the phone, send them information about their businesses or personal lives, and build respect and trust. You need to be invested in them before they invest in you. Then when the time comes when you need a sponsor or special funding, it is easier to reach out to those relationships you’ve cultivated and ask for what you need.

A solo fundraising letter in the mail will not produce half the results you are looking for as face-to-face personal interactions with the people or companies you have shown care and concern about. Instead, do the personal work – the friend-raising part – and mean it before asking for financial support. The secret to fundraising success is showing you care first.