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TEDx Talks
Published: 2014-06-03
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsvSWkEHNDk
my name's Ruben base and I have about bin in fund raising for over twenty years I'm a student athlete was a student athlete washing state university from nineteen eighty two to nineteen eighty six and then I played seven years in the pros product by for New Orleans into for Seattle and so today when I want talk with you about is fundraising and erasing the fear of
fundraising I can guarantee you all of you will be involved in fundraising of some kind in your lifetime and so forth civic organization for United Way or for the rotary %HESITATION to raise the money for camp send someone out someplace overseas %HESITATION you'll always be involved with asking for money in some way that is the number one thing that scares people is that correct well after
twenty years doing fund raising in higher ed in healthcare as well as playing NFL I want to dispel some of the abbey the horrors of asking for money this wonderful art and science where folks who give can give joyfully any you can be a part of that and so we don't start with is ours seven seven fanning's seven keys to successful fundraising and yes it is
a contact sport and I'm gonna talk about that later on in my talk so first of All I Want is your there's really three tenants that are important in fund raising one is you're really match the needs of a donor with the needs of the organization so one of the things that people think when they go and talk to someone and ask them to join with
them asking for money I think all mac I can ask for money what if I get rejected are what they say no I what if they scream and say I can't believe you're asking me for money and your run of the room and they throw their copy on the floor and I can't believe you've done that well the first and foremost thing you have to understand
where the tenants is you're asking on behalf of the organization and that's very important to understand you're part of the process you're part of it advocates for support and so it's not about you and I learned a long time ago and I'm gonna talk about that later on in my talk and through my NFL experiences number two Bowman trippy it's not a logical thing on the
scale up him things white people give a tax deduction is number seven okay the tax deduction is number seven but it's an emotional it's an emotional transaction as a student when you're going and watching a football game and you meet you professor and safe way and you had a great time after a class or on the weekend and reflecting back on all those exciting moments and
experiences and then someone asks you to give to a scholarship fund someone asks you to get a professorship or to an endowment and so that's an emotional thing and then a motion never goes away or you could be from a hospital could be a grateful patient save your life save your son's life your daughter's life those emotions are the things are were philanthropy are it's not
a logical it's not logical to give a dollar out of your pocket it's something we get nothing in return okay number three in order to raise money you have to have a goal and really what fundraising is if the fine set of meetings and a fine time period point a to point B. in a series of meetings and that's really important you have to have a
plan Lisa my three tenants and so we're gonna hop right into the seven areas number one commitment commitment that's a very serious work commitment because when you're out there fund raising you think about okay I'm representing as a volunteer going out and asking for money and %HESITATION on behalf of an organization that organization has to be committed to the long haul so I could be in
terms of personnel that could be in terms of our equipment it could be in terms of that security plan and so there is a big commitment from you and from the organization but they will not change our plans now I've been %HESITATION are braced millions of dollars in fund raising and one of things that I've learned and experience organizations of change her mind midstream and that's
not a very good thing you pass one for ten thousand dollars and you've raised a million dollars twenty million dollars this happen to me I ask someone for ten million dollars they gave me ten million dollars and the organization midstream said you know we don't want to do that anymore because of the economic climate so we're gonna change our plan and we're gonna go different direction
and so not very good thing Georgia building trust with the donor correct so you read you have to have long term commitment a committee from the organization a commitment from you you should give before you ask someone else to give okay and that's what I mean by that I love this quote by Peter Drucker unless commitments made their only promises and hopes but no plans a
commitment is very important number two a case for support now we make cases every day we make a case to %HESITATION buy a bike to buy a new television if you're married you know if you've been married a long time like me of America twenty six years I'm constantly making a case for support Hey you know can I go and and and by just saying that
I would I really would love to have now I'm thinking about all the benefits and and the urgency to have this thing and so it's no different in fundraising now in this case you have to have a plan a business plan like you're building a school or rebuilding hotel and so first start with the pen a plant that's typically comes from the organization second half of
a fund raising plan and that involves a list of people who you gonna ask and how the process is going to be how you gonna recognize folks are all that has to be done beforehand a lot of times we fire any shoot all those different banks right we do it all wrong ready aim fire right ready fire and so a case for support is very important
before you even begin to think about going out and asking for money local impact this is very important I have no desire to give to an organization or a bank account in New Jersey I live in Washington state now there's lots of great organizations out there global organizations by you know don't come through the community and for a great cause but the most powerful case and
%HESITATION part Akita fundraising is local imagine the mom raising money for a summer camp four at Johnny and Suzy and others to go %HESITATION faith for math and we're gonna go and learn some things in this camp well that's local impact you're gonna see the local impact us kids coming back in the fall and going to class and doing better in the school having team teamwork
and leadership in all different things that are going on the local impacts very important that is the most compelling and so I how do you recommend in terms of one of the seven keys that when you're thinking about fund raising think about local impact number four we got to measure what we do go back to the example of the summer camp the math camp and what
exactly did the students learn from high school they learn algebra how they gonna use celestial sets in in the fall are to be learned teamwork so when you're going out here asking folks in terms of would you please give me a dollar to help some young men and women go to camp a summer camp this this summer and I come back in the fall %HESITATION where
are the natural outcomes what's that going to look like number five it seems pretty intuitive but how the money will be spent now this actually occurs a lot in large organizations if you're representing a fund raising project that is %HESITATION much larger than just trying to raise ten thousand dollars how would the money be spent very important you're taking like that if you're gonna go to
operations if they gonna go to scholarships is it gonna go to %HESITATION an endowment that pays for percent every year very important to understand that you need to articulate how the money will be spent so people contract that it also will talk to something on a talk about later on in terms of stewardship and we'll we'll get to that now I'm gonna spend most my time
on the next topic which is what we're all here for terms of the fear fundraising and that is asking for money asking for money the number one thing what people are fearful of now I talked about I played in a fell for seven years and there's a couple experiences I want to share with you how this kind of really enabled me to be able to enjoy
the experience of asking for money one is my makeup is like an account I'm like a guy very organized and detail that everything and so I would train very hard as that NFL player in the off season trying streaming heart and I'd I check off my workouts and my weights and everything and then I get to pre season in the football game I can guarantee you
when the ball is snapped you have no control it's it is it's you know things happen and I and I took about experience from the NFL that derail the reality is is that there's a thousand reasons why people will give there's a thousand reap reasons why people will not give and you absolutely have no control over that you have no control and most people do to
try to over think it the second experience that I took from the NFL is ambiguity ambiguity and that you know it was a fearful situation you can imagine as a rookie coming into the saints New Orleans Saints and sitting there and trying to really fit and and learn the plays and you're now you're at the pinnacle of your athletic career it was a fearful thank and
I you know you try to embrace that you're working hard trying to make mistakes on the field and I realized from that experience that you need to embrace ambiguity in that environment and what that means is that it's always going to work out when you're sitting with down with somebody and you're asking them for money you think aw man maybe they got divorced or maybe they
have no money maybe just different things that are going on and the reality is that people appreciate the fact that you've asked them but you ask them to join in something that's bigger than you are and that it's always been positive and I've done this hundreds and hundreds of times and I want to encourage you that that is one of the biggest things in terms of
fear he got embrace the ambiguity of it and not think too much about it but just do it just do it so some of the things that I encourage you to do along with asking for money there's no your campaign objectives making your gift the campaign as soon as possible explain why you're volunteering I'm ask for specific amount think about this scenario John you know we're
good friends and we have our you know we got this the goddess there this project we're doing we're gonna send some kids down to South America %HESITATION it's for our experience where they can can do some building in some of the outlying areas and I would like you to consider a gift that you know whatever you can do would be fine and we're just excited to
have you be wrecked available in and %HESITATION be considering a gift to what we want to accomplish thank you so very much for taking the time to meet with me versus you know John we're gonna be sending some kids to South America to be are working on some %HESITATION construction projects since not wanting areas %HESITATION it's a huge need %HESITATION that's going to really have an
impact on the life his kids and you've been such a generous donor to the organization no would you consider ten thousand dollars at to help us build for hearts Arab that will provide covering shelter for for five families you consider that the second one is a lot more powerful isn't it so asking for specific amount it is very important empathize with the gift will accomplish which
I just did and ask your prospect is stretched to the highest level of giving possible and I love this one thou you know when you're asking for a gift especially major yes %HESITATION you always want to ask pretty high you know you don't underestimate Dennis may times you know you've done the wrong thing when you ask someone for an amount of money all act yes I
can do that pull up your checkbook in the right to check for you and it's a done deal but what I really like is when they got to ponder they go wow that's quite amount there we've really got to step back I talk to my spouse about this and we were ticket got to consider doing is a gift yeah but I really believe in what you're
raising money for %HESITATION we we have a capacity but we go look at you know all of our assets and everything and and I'll get back here that's perfect you don't want under ask okay now the last one stewardship there's a fundamental thing for human beings that I've learned over twenty years people like to be seen people relate to be seen now you may have someone
says you know I want to be anonymous and please please I don't type my name out there I want to see on a plaque with the really telling use you know I want to be seen in some way now could I make a gift here people like to be seen recognize SO thanking people over and over again is very important in the profession that I mean
and in terms of fundraising they say you should I think people seven times seven times emails letters public recognition of the Vance all these different things are important because you think about it some was giving you discretionary funds on their hard earned money over and above the mortgage payment over and above money for their kids in college over above a lot of things all of things
out there people could give to the United Way the red cross world vision world concern they're going to get to you and they're gonna joyfully gift you the least we can do Esther thank him and thank him over and over again and that's really the joy of giving so I want to encourage you and let you know that after this talk today but you're going all
the way out and you're gonna join up for a civic organization or as someone in your fraternity or sorority %HESITATION or in your community and there's a fund raising project you will know the seventies that are so important commitment committing to it first making a gift yourself a case for support their local impact what is that going to be how the money's use measurable outcomes asking
