Giving donors reasons to give is an important part of case-building. Don’t underestimate the simple power of a top ten list. Here is a list of ten possible reasons to give to get you started brain-storming your own reasons to give at your institution.

​You can create a dedicated webpage out of these and then promote one per week or day on social media and then repeatedly re-post the website. Make sure your text explaining each of these reasons has links to your giving page.

#10: Tuition is not enough.
Tuition usually only covers a portion of the cost of an education. See if you can use this reason to give to present this data. Emotional appeals are great for many donors but others want to see the numbers and facts.

#9: Open doors of opportunity.
Community support is critical to helping hard-working students graduate. Many of your students could not afford an education without scholarship assistance. Make that case with this reason to give.

#8: Invest in today’s students, tomorrow’s leaders.
A gift to your institution helps to clear a path to a degree for many students. Perhaps quickly mention a story of what one of your recent graduates is doing that is impressive and noteworthy.

#7: Gifts help your institution attract major gifts and grants.
Foundations and corporations often consider charitable support to be an indication of merit. For example, they may look at the percent of alumni giving, the percent of employee giving and the total dollars raised each year when evaluating a grant application. A gift sends a signal to these outside funders that your institution is worthy of their support.
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#6: Maintain the value of a degree from your institution.
Giving, as we know, is key factor considered by accrediting agencies and ranking institutions like U.S. News and World Report. It’s important to communicate to our constituents that especially if you are a graduate, your gift will help the institution maintain accreditation and increase its reputation, thereby increasing the value of a degree from your institution. Even a small gift makes a difference.

#5: It doesn’t take much!
Your gift, combined with the gifts of others, can have a very powerful impact, regardless of the amount. No gift is too small to make a difference! Together we can reach our goals but we need your participation.

#4: It’s a worthy tradition.
Your institution has been educating people since its year of founding and it is likely that your institution has been sustained by generous gifts at every step along the way. It is vital that today your alumni and friends carry on this important tradition of generosity.

#3: Amplify your values.
When you give to your institution, you are giving to students who are also future leaders. What do you students do when they leave your institution that is unique and valuable? Whose lives will your students change?

#2: The world needs your institution.
For this reason to give you will really needs to dig into what makes your institution unique among other institutions. What do you offer the world that no one else can?

#1: Now is the time…
Make an investment in your institution so that it can expand its mission. Explain why your institution is unique and precious and that the time is now to make a gift which will be tangible evidence of the hope we all share for how this institution can change the world.

When you are planning any event (for fundraising or otherwise), it’s so important to have a generic checklist to go through during your planning so that you don’t miss something obvious. Most checklists you find online are geared for wedding or other non-professional events. So, I created my own.
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Here’s the list of things you should think about when event planning. If you have small events inside a larger series of event (like a convention) you will want to go through this checklist for all of the smaller events and the event as a whole.

• Who is the program planning lead for this event?
• What will be calling this event?
• What other staff or departments are involved?
• Where will the event be?
• Have you secured space?
• What date and time will the event take place?
• Who or what groups will be invited? What is your target audience?
• Does this event require a fee to attend? By invitation only? Open to the public?
• If the event is not in your city, who will be representing your institution? Who will make travel arrangements for staff? When do different parties need to arrive?
• If your event is not in your city, when do you need to ship your supplies in advance of the event to get them there on time? Who will hold the supplies for you?
• When do the save-the-dates need to go out? Email only or email and mail?
• When do the invitations need to go out? Email only or email and mail?
• Who will design the save-the-dates and invitations? Who will stuff the envelopes and send? How much lead time do you need for those processes to take place?
• Will you advertise this event? What channels will you use? Write a promotional plan for this purpose.
• Who will handle RSVPs? How will the RSVPs be received? Web form/Email only or web form/email and mail?
• Do you need to send an email reminder the day before or day of the event?
• Is there a need for catering? Will there be a bar? Cash, tickets or open bar?
• Do we need to make arrangements for vegetarians/vegans/food allergies? How will that be handled?
• How do you want your room to be laid out? What are your technology needs?
• Who will document the event? Do you need a photographer or videographer or both?
• What kind of decorations do you want? Who will handle this?
• What accessibility issues do we have for this event? Do we need a sign language interpreter and are there any accommodations we need to make for handicap access?
• Does the venue provide adequate signage? Should we have our own produced so that attendees can find out event easily?
• Do we need background music, a DJ or a band? What kind of music will be played?
• How much parking is needed? How close is the available parking to the venue? Do we need to shuttle attendees back and forth?
• Will we need a registration table? Who will work that table? What information will they collect? What information will they distribute? Do we need nametags?
• What is the timeline of the event and the flow of the program? Who will speak, when and for what purpose?
• What collateral material needs to be on hand at the event? Where will it be placed? Will any of the speaker reference this material?
• Who will handle event clean-up? What staff are expected to stay and clean-up?
• Who will handle thanking attendees and marking attendance in the database?
• Will there be any follow up from the event? Asking for a gift? Inviting attendees to become further engaged with institution in some way?

Call Center is hard work. It was where I started my career in fundraising, at the tender age of 18. I think many young people enter the philanthropy industry through the phonathon and leave feeling that this career path isn't for them. 

I'm committed to giving these young professionals the support and training they need to survive and thrive in call center, so that they can ultimately move on to other areas of development and contribute in big ways to the non-profit world. 

To that end, I'm offering some training materials. For anyone who subscribes to Real Deal Fundraising over the next month, you get two gifts from me. 

1) You will get immediate access to the e-book "15 Best Call Center Games" for FREE 
2) You'll be entered to win a free copy of my upcoming e-book "How to Staff Your Phonathon Super-Fast: the 7 Secrets to Fill the Seats"

I hope you'll subscribe today. If you aren't a phonathon manager, please share this information with the phonathon managers and other development professionals you mentor.

Thanks! 
​Jessica