Comments on: Telefundraising Works http://www.theagitator.net/communications/telefundraising-works/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=telefundraising-works Fundraising and advocacy strategies. Trends, tips ... with an edge Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:21:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mary Cahalane http://www.theagitator.net/communications/telefundraising-works/comment-page-1/#comment-27921 Mary Cahalane Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:51:10 +0000 http://www.theagitator.net/?p=1492#comment-27921 I have a love-hate relationship with telefunding. On the one hand, I hate the calls - and I don't respond to them. (Boo me, I know). On the other, I've seen them work when done correctly. I've seen well-trained callers - staff members who have first-hand information and experience with the mission - do a terrific job. Often, donors would then wait for their call - they didn't want to miss the very pleasant chat they'd had in the past! Calls were never "cold" - people were from the organization's list only. It worked very well. I rarely receive calls like that. More often, it's a caller obviously reading from a prepared script, whose training has seemingly consisted of nothing more than "don't ever let the person off the phone!". It's rude, and I will not ever respond to that. Like everything else we do, do it right, do it respectfully, do it from a place of believing in the mission (not just in the paycheck) and it's likely to succeed. I have a love-hate relationship with telefunding. On the one hand, I hate the calls – and I don’t respond to them. (Boo me, I know). On the other, I’ve seen them work when done correctly. I’ve seen well-trained callers – staff members who have first-hand information and experience with the mission – do a terrific job. Often, donors would then wait for their call – they didn’t want to miss the very pleasant chat they’d had in the past! Calls were never “cold” – people were from the organization’s list only. It worked very well.

I rarely receive calls like that. More often, it’s a caller obviously reading from a prepared script, whose training has seemingly consisted of nothing more than “don’t ever let the person off the phone!”. It’s rude, and I will not ever respond to that.

Like everything else we do, do it right, do it respectfully, do it from a place of believing in the mission (not just in the paycheck) and it’s likely to succeed.

]]> By: Dan http://www.theagitator.net/communications/telefundraising-works/comment-page-1/#comment-27918 Dan Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:39:14 +0000 http://www.theagitator.net/?p=1492#comment-27918 Tom - While clearly a financially success, did Save the Children act responsibly in their innovative call-to-action campaign? In today's marketing intensive environment, agents of social change must out perform profit industries in terms of transparency and permission-seeking. We have to set the bar that retail will inevitably lower. If short term gains for STC and the greater sector are what matters than "capturing" phone numbers for which there wasn't a full disclosure opt-in mechanism seems like a great strategy, but where does this leave us in 5, 10, 15 years? Will people still respond to calls to action when they know they're essentially efforts to "capture" prospect contact info and for which they are practically guaranteed a solicitation call? Tom –

While clearly a financially success, did Save the Children act responsibly in their innovative call-to-action campaign? In today’s marketing intensive environment, agents of social change must out perform profit industries in terms of transparency and permission-seeking. We have to set the bar that retail will inevitably lower.

If short term gains for STC and the greater sector are what matters than “capturing” phone numbers for which there wasn’t a full disclosure opt-in mechanism seems like a great strategy, but where does this leave us in 5, 10, 15 years? Will people still respond to calls to action when they know they’re essentially efforts to “capture” prospect contact info and for which they are practically guaranteed a solicitation call?

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