The Annual Giving Exchange

One of the great concepts that came out of the recent CASE Conference for Senior Annual Giving Professionals is that simple and inexpensive ideas can also be effective.  Here are a few tactics that phonathon managers can implement, even when budgets and time are scarce.

1. Divide your phonathon goal by the number of minutes in a year.  Ask your donors to sponsor a minute.
2. Have a supervisor “confirm” all pledges over the phone.
3. Send a handwritten letter to any past donors who declined to make a pledge over the phone.  Include a reply card and thank them for their past support.
4. Have callers send an e-mail to donors the day after a pledge is made that includes a link to the online giving form and your organization’s Facebook page.
5. Create a special segment for phonathon caller alumni.  Launch a 100% participation campaign for this group.

Simplicity can often be the best path to sustainable growth in all of your annual giving programs.