You either have it or you don't: people that are spirited with outgoing personalities that have no problem talking to anyone....or... people that would rather die than to have to go out and pound the pavement for donations.

put it in your newsletter you're looking for that type of person! Tell them it's FREE MONEY, someone just has to go out there and get it!!!

I never leave the house without 20 letters in my purse. If I've had a lunch at Chilis or something, I ask to speak with the manager. tell them you just had a wonderful lunch, who your are, what your goal is and if they donate to school? many times I've gottend donations right there on the spot!

offer "free advertising" by putting out thier business cards, banners or brochures on "their table/booth" during your event.

do have a letter and "script" for your volunteers. also have one for making phone call solicitations.

I've done silent auctions for 4 years and it doesn't get any easier each year as more and more schools are asking for the same donations within a 5 mile radius.

think farther...think outside the box..... think Disney, or free airline tickets or condos in Vail. you never know what your parents have!

good luck,
diem

We just had our auction, and it's the second year I've helped with the soliciting. Last year I was uncertain and nervous about whether or not I could do this, as was one other person (our committee had 3, so 2 of us were complete newbies.)

A letter is a must. Often the person in the business you're visiting is not the owner or manager anyway, and they can only pass the info on.

If you have at least one person who has done this before, maybe they could tag team for a bit so the new person feels more comfortable.

Make sure in your spiel you let them know what advantage they could enjoy (i.e. - "Our school has over 700 families, and the auction is our largest and most popular fundraiser.") Donating is a form of advertising, and they're business people, not charity wards, so inform them of how many eyes will see their stuff.

In the end, I found it moderately fun, very tiring, and kind of humbling. I got an entirely different view of the community I've lived and shopped in for a good number of years. Many businesses are VERY open-handed, and this despite the fact that they're often hit up for donations, sponsorships, etc. In some cases, I've changed where I do business because one place has donated and another hasn't. If I try a new restaurant or shop because I heard about it at the auction, and I get a chance to chat with the owner or manager, I tell them that's where I heard about them. Every little bit helps, and it's sincere.

If there are people who might be willing to try to solicit, you could do worse than to have someone who has done it before give a little pep talk!

Shawn's right - you have to seek out people who have a natural skill set that lends itself to this type of work. You may have parents who already do this through work or other groups that they're members of.

A few tips to help your volunteers:

Have a script they can practice from, one that gives them a good starting point but is lean enough that they can tweak it here and there to make it their own.

If they're going into buisnesses to meet with potential donors, have a letter they can take with them to leave with the contacts there.

Keep a data base of former donors along with donation items or dollar amounts.

Its just like recruiting volunteers and members - if someones not comfortable doing it - it can be a pain in the butt...

There should be some good donation letters here on the boards and info on companies, ideas to contact

Other than that its like any ohter skill; practice, practice, practice

Three weeks before the date for this year's annual fundraiser, I was drafted to be the chairperson for the event. Thankfully, "fail to plan...plan to fail" was averted and we had a great event and made a good deal of money.

The one area where volunteers were almost non-existent was in the area of soliciting donations from local and national companies.

It seems to me that people feel like moochers or are too embarrassed to take on this task. I had one gal who solicited all businesses for a 2-mile radius and without her hard work, the fundraiser would have been far less fun and successful. I was able to secure items for the raffle and auction portions of the event from national companies.

My question is, does anyone out there have any tips or tricks on getting people to volunteer for this portion of the fundraiser or how they might improve their skills?

Thanks, and good luck to you in all of your efforts.
Judi