Once you have established the basics of your campaign, you'll need to develop a plan for attracting members, (personal solicitations, direct mail, events, etc.). You'll also need to develop and produce the materials needed to support your plan (Case for support, brochures, letters, event and meeting invitations, instructions, PR material, etc., as well as to provide necessary campaign information and related materials for the volunteer campaign team of leadership and solicitors. (Such working examples are often easily obtained from other organizations).
Recruiting Your Solicitation Team
Job #1 is the identification and recruitment of a volunteer leader for the membership campaign. If no such candidate emerges from the board, seek a strong supporter from the business community—preferably someone with sales and marketing skills—and influence.
Using the gift chart, separate prospects who should be solicited personally from those who will receive a mailing and a phone follow-up and those who will receive a mailing only. To determine how many volunteers you and your volunteer leader will need to recruit, divide by 5 the number of donors slated for personal solicitations. Add 8 to 10 additional individuals for phone follow-ups to specified mail recipients.
The Cardinal Rule: Never Solicit Without Suggesting an Exact Amount
Far too many organizations develop membership programs, announce them, and distribute solicitations with no suggestion for a desired and specific level of support. That's why I insist on the rating process described above.
You don't want to establish donation levels, tie them to respective benefits and privileges, put the full menu of options in front of prospects, and then expect them to select gift levels appropriate to their capacity or to what you rated.
It's human nature—and a proven fact—that when given open-ended choices in that way, the majority of donors will select the middle-range, or lower, of whatever multiple contribution amounts they were asked to consider at the same time.
That's a sure way to inadvertently encourage a $1,000 prospect to become a $100 member: You must ask for—respectfully suggest—the $1,000 gift. The tried and true fund-raising axiom holds especially fast here: "If you don't ask, you don't get."
A Final Word: Sensitivity
It's important to review the responses of your new members on a case-by-case basis as the starting point for your next year's membership solicitation. You want to avoid alienating new members by asking for an increased gift to the upcoming campaign, especially from those whose membership donations were larger than their previous contributions. In other words, you should give folks a year or two before asking them to step up to the next membership level.
For example: A previous donor has been giving you $100. Your rating for the new membership campaign suggested a capability of $250, which you asked for and received. Don't make the huge mistake of asking the donor to move up to the $500 gift level the following year. Even suggesting any amount above $250 would be a costly error.
In the eyes of the donor, going from $100 to $250 represents a significant increase. Asking for more the very next year—or even the following year—would telegraph a lack of appreciation for their increased support and a lack of sensitivity to their resources.
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