The Art of the Ask

07 November 2011

Fundraising for that great project? Needles in haystacks or hen's teeth come to mind, you get the picture - often the money can be hard to find. But as with many things in life, having a plan and planning early are two of the keys to successful fundraising.

Lisa Bates, one of the driving forces behind fundraising for Q Theatre, shares her thoughts on effective fundraising in this month's Generator.

The key is great relationships with your community, funders, donors, potential sponsors and the friends you haven't yet met as well as all their friends. People give to people that's why relationships are the key to success.

Lisa's advice is "You are only as good as your last grant or sponsorship. Donors, funders and sponsors all give in order to feel positive about the product/person they support. It’s like a marriage or relationship and it deserves maintenance. Serve them well – think of the long-term by acting with integrity and following up on the promises associated with the deal. All too often in the flurry of life, thank you letters and post grant reporting gets overlooked – that’s the first way to end up without a grant or donation the following year."

Crowd funding is the new approach to fundraising and thanks to Artshub Australia we have a great case study from the Emerging Writers Festival - pull that apart and it will give some great pointers to get started.

Now you've seen what is possible, hone those fundraising skills. We told you you needed a plan and here's an exercise to get you thinking strategically about fundraising chunk it down into bite-size pieces and then chip away at the target over time. Then, whether your target is BIG or small or even a mixture of the two let someone like the Emerging Writers Festival inspire you and start with these approaches.

For a 'closer to home' approach we talk to Serena Stevenson and Cleo Barnett about their current fundraising activities.

And then there's the opportunity to ask your own questions of Lisa Bates in our online discussion.

Generator: I have a special project or an initiative that I need additional money for. How can I approach fundraising?

FEATURE:

Effective Fundraising

CASE STUDY:

The Emerging Writers Festival crowdfunding campaign

Serena Stevenson - Creative Crowdfunding

Cleo Barnett - Giving a little goes a long way

EXERCISES:

GO BIG, go small

Chunks of bite sized pieces