Persuading Donors to Give House Parties: One Group’s Approach

The Northwest Ecosystem Alliance, in Bellingham, Wash., asked loyal donors to hold parties at their homes to raise money to protect part of Washington’s Loomis State Forest from logging. Each donor was asked to invite 60 friends, pay for refreshments, call guests a few days before the party as a reminder, and make a pitch for contributions during the two-hour event. Following is a script that the charity used to show its fund raisers how to respond to the questions that donors would probably have:

I have to pay for the food?

We do ask that you provide the food. If that’s a problem, there are a couple of options. One idea is to ask a few of your friends to each bring a dish and between all of you the food would be covered. Another idea is to contact your favorite restaurants, caterers, and vendors to see if they would make a donation for the event. It would be great publicity for them. How do these suggestions sound?

I don’t want to have to speak.

I can understand that, I really can. But this is your opportunity to express why you support this campaign, why you feel that we must protect these 25,000 pristine acres, which are home to the now endangered lynx. You support the Loomis Campaign for a reason; this is your chance to let your friends know why this is so important to you. It just doesn’t have the same impact if the presenter or I do it. Does that make sense? We can practice what you want to say well before the party. Would that help?

I don’t know 60 people!

Okay, why don’t we brainstorm and see how many people we can come up with. Think about neighbors, colleagues at work, friends of friends, anyone you know from the health club, etc. Really try to expand to a variety of people. Still not coming up with 60? Here’s an idea. How about co-hosting the party with a friend? Between two people you could easily come up with a guest list of 60 and have a lot of fun planning the party as well.

All those follow-up calls seem like just too much work.

Yeah, I know it may seem daunting, but those calls are critical to the success of your party. We have to get people there! The follow-up calls are easier than you might realize. Would it help to role-play a few? Your friends will respond to your voice on the phone much better than they would mine, and they will be much more likely to commit to coming to the party.

I don’t know about calling again to confirm after people have already said yes.

A few days before the party we want to get a final number of people who will be there, and we do that by calling just to confirm that, yes, they will be there. If you’re uncomfortable about that you can always say, “Hi, Sue. I’m just calling to confirm that you’re coming Friday night. The coordinator needs to know how many people to expect.”

I don’t know any rich people.

Well, we don’t have to have rich people there to meet our goal. With 20 people attending, we need to average $50 a person. Focus on inviting people you know are concerned about environmental issues, friends active in outdoor activities, such as cross-country skiing or backpacking, animal lovers, anyone you feel would be moved to make a difference and contribute to the Loomis Forest Campaign.

My friends can’t give.

How do you know they can’t give? I mean, let’s make sure you’re not reading into this because you may be surprised. When people want to make a difference, they give. Our job is to really let them know what an amazingly beautiful place the Loomis Forest is and how critical it is to the survival of the lynx. If we’re successful at conveying our message and we really hit home, people who want to give will.

I don’t want to ask them to host.

As you know, our goal with this house-party drive is to have 80 parties between now and July. We need each party to generate more parties if we are going to meet our goal. It would be really great if you could just say, “I’d like to invite you to do what I did, host a party. It’s relatively painless — ha, ha — actually, it’s a lot of fun and it’s for an outstanding cause. Beth will be circulating among you and encouraging you to do just that, so talk to Beth.” What do you think?