How to Choose the Right Fundraising Company
Fundraising is no child’s play and whether you are a novice at it or a veteran, it is the same thing. Plans need to be made, delegations need to be passed on, and most importantly, you need to make critical decisions. Several fundraising companies are available to help you make sure that your fundraiser is a huge success however one of the big decisions you would be faced with is how to choose the right fundraising company.
A lot of fundraising companies are just after making quick sales and this is not something that you want. You want a fundraising company that is willing to work hand in hand with you and is competent enough to make sure that your fundraiser is not only a success but remains memorable to people. Here are 5 tips on how to choose the right fundraising company.
Mind the Other Neighborhood Fundraisers
It is fundraising season and while you are looking to make the most of it, you should also beware of the other fundraisers in your community or neighborhood. You do not want to have a fundraising date or ideas clash with your neighbors as chances are, a lot of people would be attending the same sets of fundraisers. Be on the lookout for fundraising companies that can offer you new and easy fundraising ideas that would be different from what others are doing.
Research Them Online
You want to go into a partnership with a company like Fundraising Zone, that is reputable and legitimate and because of this, you would want to search the fundraising companies you come across on different online platforms. The first place you want to start is with the company’s official website. Their website should have enough information about the business to tell you if they are the right fit or not. The next thing you want to do is to cross check their accreditations, their ratings and if they have any complaints registered. Lastly, you would want to check their social media page. You want to look out for how active they are and this is a great platform to check their reviews and what the general public has to say about the business.
Put a Call Through To Their Customer Care
You want to be sure that the company you are looking to go into a partnership with has a decent level of customer service and they are customer-oriented. You want to take note of several things during the call; how the calls are answered, if they are courteous enough, if they resolve issues quickly, how helpful they generally are. This would help to give you an idea of what to expect from the company should you have any issues moving forward.
Have an Initial Meeting with Them
When you find a bunch of fundraising companies that look like they can be what you require them to be, the next step would probably be to have an initial meeting with them to make sure that they know what they are about and they know what they are doing. Any good fundraising company would not just listen to you and be eager to sign a contract, they would be interested in knowing about your organization and what you hope to achieve. Any good fundraising company would ask you: what your financial goals are for the fundraiser, what your timeline for the fundraiser is, how many potential participants you have as well as their ages, and any history that you and your organization have had with fundraising. These questions are to help guide them on how best to proceed with your fundraiser.
Check Their References
This is very important. With all service providers, you want to check their references and make sure that they actually checkout. An online search is good but you may also want to get some reference contacts to place direct calls and find out first hand just how the company handles their business.
Of all the available fundraising companies, when searching out the right one for you bear in mind that you need to be patient and exhaustive in making sure that they check out on all levels to avoid issues moving forward.