Greater Good South Africa

Many of the causes in our online community are struggling to raise the funds they need to deliver vital services in communities. The problems with the Lottery, Global Fund and the Department of Social Development are well documented but what about other sources of funding? It seems that individual giving contributes a very small percentage of most organisations’ income. GreaterGood SA’s Sophie Hobbs spoke to one cause that is getting it right with individuals and shares top tips on raising money from compassionate people.

People underestimate the power of individual giving, thinking that small amounts can’t compete with big cheques from corporate donors. But Barack Obama was the unlikely winner of the 2008 presidential elections thanks to millions of individuals who gave an average of $100 each. The campaign avoided using public campaign funds, raising all of its money privately from individual donors. By the general election Obama's campaign committee had raised more than $650 million – a record in American presidential race history.

While South African organisations concentrate on foundations and corporates, charities in other parts of the world put enormous effort into fundraising from individuals. In the United Kingdom, ordinary runners cannot get a place on the London Marathon or the Great North Run unless they are running for a charity. Most large organisations have individual giving teams and many employ aggressive direct fundraising strategies on the street and by telephone or by direct mail.

Individual effort
Pippa Shaper, Development Director at Home From Home is one non profit practitioner that is putting effort into individual giving: “About 20-25% of our charitable income is from individuals,” she says. “Gifts range from people who make a monthly donation of R50 and once-off donations from philanthropists who may give up to R500,000!”

“We have a child sponsorship scheme, where individuals sponsor an individual child for R150 per month, and we have about 60 individuals around the world doing this, many who sponsor several children. Last year the child sponsorship scheme alone raised about R450,000.”

That’s no small potatoes. “There is no doubt that it takes time and effort to maintain a large list of individual donors,” she continues. “Whilst they don't require formal reporting as corporates and foundations do, we have to invest more time in regular contact and personal relationships with individuals.”

Benefits
“But the benefits of raising funds from individuals are huge. You have a very wide spread of giving which isn't subject to the perils of a larger donor withdrawing their funding. For the donor, its gives them a sense that their donation is important – that it is going to something real and tangible, to individuals whose lives they can see changed.”

And there are other benefits too: “They tell their friends about 'their charity' and we gain even more support from that. There is strength in numbers – we feel incredibly supported by the large number of individuals who are behind Home from Home.”

Top tips
Don’t overlook individual giving. “Too many organisations put all their time and effort into the big grant makers and overlook the individuals,” says Pippa. If you don’t ask, you will never know.

Keep on communicating. “Talk to everyone about your organisation,” Pippa continues. “Tell them how they can become involved.”

Exploit the many free communications tools that are available for non profit organisations now:

• Get a cause and donation page on Myggsa.co.za and post stories, requests and thank your donors individually.
• Sign-up for the pMailer NGO programme through SANGOtech. You can send up to 1,000 free emails a month.
• Start a blog on WordPress.
• Set up a Facebook page and Twitter account and make a staff member responsible for keeping it up to date and current.

Show them what their money can do. Pippa suggests having concrete examples of what a donor’s money can do for beneficiaries: “For example, that R50 a month would feed a child in your pre-school or that R300 would pay to sterilize a stray dog. People like to be able to relate what their donation would be used towards and makes them feel like their donation is valuable.”

“This is why small non-profits can do very well with individual giving, as donors feel that they know where their funds will go, rather than into a huge pot of a big organisation where it wouldn't have quite so much impact.”

Love and nurture. “Once you have secured your individual donor,” continues Pippa, “love and nurture them so they stay a strong supporter of yours and encourage others to do the same! We are very fortunate that many of our individual donors have been with us since we started seven years ago.”

I think that fortune has very little to do with it. Pippa and her colleagues have put the effort in, kept it going and it has paid dividends for Home From Home.

Get more tips

• Free guide to fundraising from individuals
• The Funding Site – powered by GreaterGood SA
• Individual giving tips from UK fundraising giants Just Giving
• Tools, resources and templates from Global Giving

Any tips to add? Email  with your individual giving tips.