# Eight tips for training effective fundraisers

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/09/30/top-tips-training-effective-fundraisers/
- Published: 2016-09-30T08:12:51+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Training the people who are going to make fundraising calls or other forms of 
direct ‘asks’ to your supporters is key in assuring that your brand values and your
organisations’ ethos are correctly represented.**

 

My experience, developed over twenty-three years of fundraising on behalf of not-
for profit organisations for telephone fundraising, F2F, legacy campaigns and middle
and major donor campaigns, demonstrates that training is not just about imparting
facts and figures, but that it is more about instilling an ethos and a way of thinking
in fundraisers who need to represent your organisation in the way you want it represented.

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Over the years, I have seen the results of many [client trainings](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/10/12/seo-training-workshop-for-charities/),
both good and bad, so here are some tips and pitfalls to [get the best results when training](https://blog.curriculosolutions.com/how-to-ensure-you-attract-the-right-talent-to-your-institution)
out of house.

 

 * Be clear about your brand and values. Demonstrate; how do you talk to your supporters;
   clarify who they are (not just age and demographics, this tends to be fairly 
   similar across many organisation), but what are the values that you represent
   that have attracted a particular type of person to your cause?
 * Be clear about the tone and the content of the conversation you want them to 
   have with your supporters so that they sound like you.
 * Training involving a PowerPoint presentation of facts, figures and history may
   have its place, but if you were employing a nanny to look after your child, would
   this be the way you’d choose to impart your values to someone you were entrusting
   with something so precious? Below are some ideas that might help you to do this.
 * Bring along multiple copies of the mailings and magazines that you have crafted
   for your supporters to the training session. Ask the fundraisers to study them
   in groups and present back to you what they think the contents says to them about
   the brand and the values portrayed in them. In that way you can find out who 
   they are, and how they are going to deliver your message.
 * Role play different supporter scenarios with them and see how they respond; then
   show them how your organisation would respond in the correct manner.
 * Don’t talk about internal politics; why you think the campaign won’t work; how
   your donors don’t like fundraising. It’s not very inspiring, and if this is the
   case you probably shouldn’t be conducting the campaign anyway.
 * Remember, no amount of sweets; branded pens; t-shirts and coffee coasters can
   inspire a fundraiser as much as hearing your passion for your cause and the respect
   and gratitude you have for the supporters that make your work possible.
 * You will learn more about the types of people who have been employed to make 
   calls or other forms of direct fundraising ‘asks’ to your donors, on your behalf
   if you listen, observe and see how they communicate in a live situation.

 

Sometimes people think that being a good fundraiser is about having a nice voice,
a particular background or a neutral or even posh accent!

 

But in reality, my experience shows me that the people who support you come from
a wide variety of different backgrounds and experience, and above all else, that
they will appreciate a conversation with someone who shares their values, who’s 
polite and respectful, and has the emotional intelligence to listen and respond 
appropriately.

 

Regardless of the financial outcome of the ask – like us all, they will remember
kindly an interaction that made them feel good.

 * **[Pure Fundraising appoints Helen Mackenzie as CEO](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/16/pure-fundraising-appoints-helen-mackenzie-ceo/)**(
   16 November 2016)
 * **[Does your left hand know what your right hand’s doing?](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/11/28/left-hand-know-right-hands/)**(
   28 November 2016)
 * **[Tony Charalambides to step down as Listen MD](https://fundraising.co.uk/2017/08/25/tony-charalambides-step-listen-md/)**(
   25 August 2017)

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