This is the fourth of 5 posts that deal with the kind of ?hand waving? response you often get from people who have never actually run a non-profit.
Answer No.4
Start doing things like a “Signature campaign” for your cause. Get people to sign their support(don’t ask for money yet) for the cause and if possible, take pictures with them.
Cindy responds
Okay, what is your cause, what is your goal and what does a signature for support mean?
Can you synthesize your mission and message quickly, and assure those people, who are they anyway? that are out asking for signatures repeat it faithfully? Who has the camera? Do you need a release to publish someone?s picture on your website, Facebook page or printed materials? What about kids, do you really want to have images on the web?
Did you or will you collect the signers? contact info if you plan to ask for money in the future? How will you store and use this information? How will you keep track of those who have signed and if they do anything more with and for you?
Where do you plan to collect these signatures? Many places have rules and regulations about who can be where and what activities they can do. I once had a group of janitors show up at a breast cancer event to collect signatures to petition for higher wages at a local university- not a fun problem.*
* We ended up allowing them to solicit for signatures at the parking area, but not inside our paid event.
Tune in next week for part five where the OP encourages us to get other people to do the work – “It’s easy, you just need to…” Need some answers to the above questions from someone who has been where you are? Get in touch here or call us on 310 828 6979.
Cindy Lauren is the Principal of Lauren Associates – non profit consulting
As well as advising Executives and Boards on all aspects of nonprofit management, the firm specializes in developing fundraising solutions for all sizes of organizations.
Image Credit:
Petition by League of Women Voters of California on Flickr.