Responsibilities Include:
1. Researching potential donors
2. Cold calling potential donors
3. Securing donors, sponsors, and partners by actively going to businesses
4. Assist with recruitment for the Board of Directors and Seattle Committee
5. Assist with event planning
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Finding Donors
Use these websites and others to find donors who will match our interests. Make sure to do enough research on them to know they would have the interest in our organization and remember you can cater what we do to a wide variety of issues. Compile a list of potential donors, get your script down and begin calling. Here are a few helpful ways you can begin to search for them.
- Google – Search names that you find in anything-book reviews, Puget Sound Business Journal, big businesses in Seattle, etc.
- Federal Election Commission: People who give to candidates are more politically engaged and aware of how the political process works.
- Span Seattle Philanthropic Advisors Network
- United Way of King County
How to Talk like a Pro:
- Speak slowly and don’t rush
- Use proper dictation and enunciation
- Keep food, gum, etc. out of your mouth
- Avoid words such as “like, um, uh” and replace them with “well, actually”
- Adjust to the pacing of the person you’re talking to
- Be confident!
Helpful Tips:
- Have your FAQs and objection responses in front of you
- Make sure you are in a quiet area
- Talk directly into the phone
- LISTEN to the person when they respond to you
- PAUSE and give people the opportunity to respond
- Remain positive even if the person is not the most responsive or kind
- Smile 🙂
Good/Bad Words and Phrases:
Weak: Um, Bills, Money, Payment, They/Them, What?, Huh?, Uh huh, Yeah, Smaller amount, Donate/Donation, Price, But, Like (repetitive use)
Strong: Well, Actually, Receipt, Return envelope, Gift, Installment, The Borgen Project, Can you repear that?, Yes!, More comfortable amount, Make a gift, Gift Amount, In fact, However
Call Objectives:
- Finding a connection/reason to follow up with the person you’re talking to
- Having a constructive conversation describing what The Borgen Project is/does
- Setting up another opportunity for contact (i.e. sending them an email with more information or scheduling another call for later)
- Securing a corporate sponsor for The Borgen Project
Reasons to Follow Up:
- Provide information about a potential corporate sponsorship
- Provide information about an individual contribution (if they are not interested in a partnership)
- Contact them about something you discussed on the call (an event, specific bill, write letters to a congressman)
- Send them a link to something on The Borgen Project website
What is a corporate sponsorship?:
A corporate sponsorship is one of the many ways that corporations and businesses can become involved with and support The Borgen Project. This link will provide you with the general information about corporate sponsorships and the different levels in which companies can become involved. If a company is interested in creating a partnership with The Borgen Project, be sure to set up a meeting and contact Paula for more information. Each sponsorship will be different and may need to be modified to better reflect the company involved.
Corporate Letter Templates:
Corporate Letter templates are available for download on the Staffer’s Hub. These will be extremely useful to use when contacting various companies via email or letter.
Ways to support The Borgen Project:
There are several ways in which a company can become involved with and support The Borgen Project. Employee Engagement, Executive Advocacy, Donations, and Corporate Sponsorships are all options that you can mention when speaking to a company about organization. You can find summaries of each here.
FAQs by potential donors:
When contacting various potential donors, you will get a lot of questions about the organization, global poverty, where the money goes, why they should donate, success stories, and more. It’s understandable (people need details in terms of money spent), and it is important that you are well prepared for any question they may throw at you (and even more importantly, have a solid response!). This document will provide you with plenty of potential questions from potential donors, and the best responses to provide.
Objections responses from potential donors:
You will also hear a ton of reasons why people either can’t or don’t want to support The Borgen Project. While we need to be respectful and conscious of people’s personal decisions, we also want to make sure they are understanding the bigger picture. We are here to make a difference for millions of people across the global living in extreme poverty. Without the donations from supporters, we would not be where we are today. They can be a part of that, and they can make a difference. Here are some examples for objection responses.
If you have any questions about the material covered, please do not hesitate to ask Paula or Dayna for more information! Welcome to the team!
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