What's In Your Fundraising Toolkit?

When you think of the word "toolkit," hard-hat jobs are the first things that usually come to mind. The last thing you would think of would be fundraising.

You don't need hammers or wrenches to raise money but, according to Kay Sprinkel Grace in "Nonprofit Management 101," it's important to have a metaphorical toolkit on hand. These contain all the tools that fundraising novices, such as volunteers, need to be successful. It's important that they have these tools on hand, as they probably won't be comfortable soliciting donors in the beginning.

Sprinkel Grace suggested stuffing your volunteers' toolkit with the following items to help them spread the word about the organization:

• Stories of your impact to add a personal touch to your role in the community;
• The elevator speech (and the elevator question – what do you say after you’ve said the speech to ensure that the conversation is just the beginning?);
• Facts about the organization (i.e., number of people served, before and after statistics, etc.);
• Analysis of the organization’s impact measured against the needs of the community;
• Most commonly heard questions and objections to giving and the recommended response;
• Highlights from the strategic plan that may be relevant to some potential donors; and,
• Full financial information, presented in an understandable format.

Have you already given out fundraising kits to your volunteers? If so, what other items not listed here would you suggest including?