Reasons to Keep Organizational Control over Your Fundraising Campaign

You have to be careful about handing over controlto phone solicitation? Are you selling the right product
off your fundraising campaigns to other companies.to market to your potential donors? If you are
For charitable organizations and even for smallerputting on your major fundraising campaign of the
church or school groups who hire professionalyear for the diabetes association should you be selling
fundraising groups to solicit donations for them, therechocolates?
may be little return for their money.  While there areThere have been instances where a charitable
great professional fundraising companies to work withorganization has hired for profit groups with
there are some large companies that charitablegenerating money and regretted the decision." The
organizations are working with that put a fundraisingpublic doesn't expect managers of charities to be
campaign in jeopardy. Here are some considerationsrisk-prone people - we help to do that," said Len
and precautions for working with another companyWolstenholme, spokesman for Xentel, a professional
for your fundraising.fund-raising company that solicits Wisconsin residents
Picking the Right Campaignon behalf of 23 charitable organizations, five of which
You have to make sure the game plan for generatingget 15 cents or less per donated dollar."
your funds is effective. When you shop around for aXentel is a company that was hired by Veitnam
fundraising company make sure you are on the sameVeterans Foundation of Wisconsin in 2006 for their
page. Are you getting a straight answer from themfundraising campaign. There needed to be better
or are they proposing a campaign that is not a clearunderstanding between the companies because the
representation of your school or organization?campaign was anything but effective. The campaign
Some questions and concerns that need to beconsisted of phone solicitation, the foundation may
addressed when you are negotiating with yourhave provided a list of past donors but soon the
partner fundraising company: When you makephone calls branched out into first contacts. "It costs
contact with your potential fundraising company aretelemarketers between $1.50 and $2 to raise a dollar
they a good fit for you? Is the campaign afrom a new donor. First, it takes 12 calls to get one
representation of your organization? Is selling adonor to pledge...only half actually honor the pledge
product more efficient for generating money ? Arewith a check.
the people you are trying to reach going to be open