Grassroots Fundraising
by Paul Castelloe
Center for Participatory ChangeGrassroots fundraising refers to different ways that a nonprofit organization can raise money within its local community. Grassroots fundraising is community-based fundraising, as opposed to raising money by writing grant proposals to government agencies, private foundations, or corporations.
Community-based fundraising is crucial for most grassroots organizations. Surprisingly, 81% of all income for nonprofit organizations comes from individual donors, as opposed to 7% and 6% from foundations and corporations, respectively. Perhaps even more surprisingly, 85% of all individual donations come from families with incomes of $50,000 or less. So raising money from individuals in your community (especially working-class and middle-class individuals) should be a key component of any grassroots organization’s fundraising plan.
Methods in Grassroots Fundraising
There are many ways to plan and carry out community-based fundraising. Methods that are built on relationships and personal approaches are generally more effective than less personal approaches.
Face-to-face. Sitting down with a person, (preferably a person you know) and asking for a gift is the most effective way to raise money for your organization. Of course, it’s also the most stressful and uncomfortable -- and it’s labor-intensive as well. Still, around 50% of the people that you ask face-to-face will say yes to your request. You should ask for an amount at a level that seems appropriate for them.
Personal phone call. Some people live too far away to ask personally, and others are too busy to meet with you face-to-face. In these cases, a personal phone call can work well, especially if you know the person. You can expect around 15 to 20% of the people you ask this way to say yes to your request.
Personal letters. Personal letters, to people that your group knows well, are easy and effective (around 10 - 20% of people asked say yes to your request). It’s a low-key way to ask friends and colleagues for gifts, but it’s less effective than talking with them in person.
Door-to-door and phone-a-thons. Going door-to-door and asking people for gifts can be effective (around 15% of people say yes), but it’s a lot of work and often results in only very small gifts. This method works best when you are trying to get a petition signed or recruit members to your group. In phone-a-thons, you cold-call a long list of potential donors. It’s relatively ineffective (around 5% say yes), and generally results in small gifts.
Direct mail. Direct mail is what most people call junk mail. You send out a mailing to a large list of folks that you don’t know; you explain your organization and ask for a donation. You can expect around 1% to say yes. It’s expensive and risky; you should use it only when you have exhausted the more personal approaches outlined above.
Special events. Special events are friend-raisers as much as fund-raisers. They are a lot of work, and often result in relatively little money. But they’re a lot of fun, and they can raise the profile of your organization. Examples of special events include raffles, fairs, auctions, bingo, concerts, dances, walk-a-thons, etc. House parties can work particularly well (and can be quite lucrative), because they build on the relationships you already have.
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