Diary of a Newcomer pt2

Howard Lake | 25 August 2008 | Blogs

What does the term ‘telephone fundraising’ say to you?
As I mentioned in Pt1 I have come from a highly commercial background and am finding it refreshing to be dealing with people that have time to listen. One of the key things that I am concentrating on is listening to others.
Now most of the time this works, but…
I was surprised to find a number of ‘experienced fundraisers’ do not seem fully aware of just what is available to them in terms of tools to achieve their desired outcomes. Or totally misunderstand how these tools can be utilised.
In recent discussions either online (forums and email) or on the phone I have encountered the belief upon mentioning telephone fundraising that I was involved in selling telephone systems, mobile phones, or software.
When in truth all I wanted to do was talk to individuals about their roles, their respective charities, and what challenges and pain they are facing in the short, medium, and long term. No sales pitch at all – and certainly not phone systems or mobiles!! Ugghh!!
So now I have started to use the phrase ‘voice to voice’ communications just to avoid the misunderstanding. This seems to be working – I wonder what you (my blog reader) think?
I wonder what others’ perception of telephone fundraising is? I’d be interested to hear.
Oh well, just a quick blog today as I ready myself for a trip to Orlando with my wife and two daughters – Emily 10 and Daisy 7 – Busch Gardens, Seaworld, Aquatica, Disney, here we come. Back early September for a rest!!
Many thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments – Keith.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.