# Successful trust fundraising advice

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/1998/07/29/successful-trust-fundraising-advice/
- Published: 1998-07-29T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Joanna Van Driel, the Corporate and Trust Fundraising Manager at the Mental Health
Foundation, offers her advice on how to fundraise successfully, “no matter how unpopular
the cause,” in the current issue of the [Directory of Social Change](http://www.d-s-c.demon.co.uk)‘
s Trust Monitor.**

She recommends:

 * Don’t ever assume anything on the part of the funder – always provide them with
   more than enough information .
 * Keep meticulous records on everything – telephone conversations, meetings, invitations
   to events, likes and dislikes for when you meet them. Sometimes the tiniest bit
   of information used in the right way can result in a large donation.
 * Don’t write an appeal more than once a year unless you know beforehand that it
   is all right – one of the biggest irritations to trust administrators is when
   they see a charity wasting money on unnecessary appeals (I’ve met an administrator
   who keeps a notepad and marks down every single letter she receives from any 
   charity – the more marks the less they are likely to receive a donation).
 * Always show a lot of appreciation for any donation – remember that £20 received
   today could turn into a very large gift in the future.
 * Remember to ask the funder if they want to be acknowledged in publicity – some
   shy away from it and others are upset if they are not mentioned.

_Source: Trust Monitor, Issue 25, Spring 1998, p25 [Directory of Social Change](http://www.dsc.org.uk)[
originally http://www.d-s-c.demon.co.uk/]_

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