# Top tips on fundraising

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1996/10/19/top-tips-fundraising/
- Published: 1996-10-19T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Fundraising director and consultant John Baguley shares his top 10 tips for fundraising.**

John Baguley, former Director of Fundraising at Amnesty International UK and founder
of the International Fundraising Consultancy, has shared his top Ten Principles 
of Fundraising.

## 10 tips to improve your fundraising

 1.  To maintain your competitive edge you must innovate faster then the rate at which
     your external environment is changing.
     **TEST, TEST and TEST again**.It is only
     by constantly trying out new ideas and improvements that your fundraising will
     remain competitive.
 2.  **80% of your income should come from 20% of your supporters.**
     Learn who they
     are, treat them like your closest friends, invite them to visit and discover exactly
     why they give and how they would like to help in future.In time they will introduce
     you to your greatest benefactors.
 3.  **SAY “THANK YOU” FOR EACH DONATION – FAST**
     It is a common courtesy to thank 
     those who have helped you. Do not ignore the small donations they deserve your
     attention and often lead to larger gifts. But, naturally, you will respect the
     wishes of those who ask not to be thanked.
 4.  Speed is impressive. Donors believe your programme work is as good or bad as the
     image you present to them. It should be efficient and effective.
 5.  **FACE TO FACE is the most effective way to fundraise. **
     Countless charities,
     non-governmental organisations, religions and political parties have been built
     on the simple process of asking people to give door-to-door, face to face, day
     after day.Your supporters can be a huge resource to replace those falling returns
     from direct mail acquisition programmes.The largest donations are given face to
     face when the request is made by a colleague who has given a large donation themselves.
     If you have not given you cannot ask!
 6.  **PEOPLE GIVE TO PEOPLE** not organisations.
     You will not raise a cent for your
     multi-million dollar new hospital wing unless you can show the benefit that individuals
     will receive.Personal details, personal lives and the drama of effective giving
     to help real people is what motivates donors.Effective giving enriches the lives
     of donors too!
 7.  **IF YOU DO NOT ASK YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE!**
     Donors have choices and they will 
     choose the organisations that make the best case to them, in their media when 
     they are ready. Making it easy for donors to give has been proven to increase 
     the response.Put a direct response device on everything your organisation produces;
     a phone number on posters, a coupon on advertisements and your address on those
     bookmarks.Some people give to direct mail requests, some love phone calls others
     are moved by advertising. So, you must try everything to reach all your potential
     donors and try it all year round.
 8.  **THE 30 SECOND RULE**
     First impressions count. You have under 30 seconds to make
     a impact. In that time you must reach their hearts and win them to your cause.
     Donors are intelligent, caring and rightly sceptical. Don’t patronise them or 
     insult their intelligence but make your proposition clear and straightforward.
     If you cannot do that you cannot fundraise.
 9.  **ASK FOR THE RIGHT AMOUNT**
     Asking for small sums from rich donors inoculates
     them from giving larger amounts. Asking large sums from donors who give small 
     sums devalues their gift.Do your homework and ask for the right sum, but encourage
     the donor to give more each time. If you are asking many people at once use a 
     range of tick boxes.Never leave the donor uncertain how much you would like them
     to give.
 10. **PLAN EVERYTHING**
     There is no magic in fundraising. Success is a combination
     of sound techniques and careful planning for a real need.Plan in plenty of time,
     with adequate staff and volunteers but equally important make sure your organisation
     can handle the fulfilment and analysis of the response – accurately and fast.More
     money has been lost by poor administration then poor fundraising.
 11. **BE HONEST!**
     You may be the darling of the media today but tomorrow those investigative
     journalists will be going through your operations in minute detail.Always check
     the details in every aspect of your fundraising. It is so easy for the agency 
     copywriter to make a slip or the wrong caption to be added to a picture. If you
     say the donors money will be spent on something, it must be spent on that only
     or returned. Unless the donor gives permission for it to be used elsewhere.The
     integrity of your fundraising must be as high as the integrity of your programmes–
     this you owe to your donors.

[The International Fundraising Consultancy](http://www.groupifc.com/)

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 * **[John Baguley receives lifetime contribution award at IoF National Fundraising Awards](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/12/13/john-baguley-receives-lifetime-contribution-award-iof-national-fundraising-awards/)(
   13 December 2016)
 * **[New John Baguley book tackles issues of charity management](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/25/new-john-baguley-book-tackles-issues-charity-management/)(
   25 October 2017)
 * **[Fundraising TV – taking us by surprise!](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/07/13/fundraising-tv-taking-us-surprise/)(
   13 July 2017)