When it comes to big donors, Jewish Voice for Peace has found that an all-hands-on-deck approach works best. The Oakland, Calif.-based grass-roots organization, which advocates for peace in the Middle East, asks staff in various departments, board members, and volunteers to help raise money.
Jewish Voice’s fundraising approach evolved over the past 10 years as the nonprofit grew from a local group to a national organization that now has staff in nine cities and donors across the country.
“Initially, there was no other conceivable way to talk to everybody we would have liked to,” development director Ari Wohlfeiler says. The new system was established to make the best use of a very small staff while taking advantage of other supporters’ relationships with big donors.
Today, more than 60 employees, volunteers, and board members have a hand in cultivating around 600 major donors, while the development department decides how much to ask for and how to frame the request.
The nonprofit was highlighted in the recent “Fundraising Bright Spots” report by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, which focuses on 16 groups the foundation says have achieved success in unconventional ways.
How It Works
Jewish Voice for Peace has about 10,000 donors, roughly half of whom are considered major contributors (generally, those who give $500 or more in a year).
Several times each year, the development team shares share a list of new major donors with other employees, board members, and volunteers. First, the development staff determines if anyone knows someone on the list. Then, after doing some research about each donor, they make individual matches based on who within the organization they believe would be a good fit.
“The goal is to match people with others they like to talk to,” says Mr. Wohlfeiler. Criteria might include shared interests or geographic proximity. For example, a Jewish Voice staffer doing advocacy work on the West Coast could be connected with donors active in that region.
People new to fundraising receive only five potential donors, but as they develop their style and learn what works for them, they take on more. People who have been doing this for a year or more tend to have 10 or 20 contacts, and senior staff may have up to 40. All of them use letters, phone calls, emails, and face-to-face meetings to cultivate a relationship with potential donors.
Training and support
Everyone goes through an orientation and participates twice a year in fundraising phone calls led by development staff. These calls might provide updates on the group’s political-advocacy work and where the organization stands on different issues.
“It’s a real entry point into getting a high level of detail into the organization’s strategy and plans,” says Mr. Wohlfeiler. “In order to train effective solicitors, we invest a lot of time to make sure people know what we’re doing, what our goals are, and what our vision is for the upcoming six or 12 months.”
The group also trains new fundraisers on its solicitation process.
Trainees receive a toolkit of scripts as well as one-on-one support from Mr. Wohlfeiler and Audrey Bruner, a development associate, who check in with each fundraiser at least once per campaign. They also help develop pitches tailored to each donor.
“We try to remove as many barriers as possible while still leaving room for them to engage in each specific relationship with a donor,” Ms. Bruner says. This has helped train the team but also ensures that leaders retain a healthy level of oversight and control.
“We know if someone has been giving at a certain level for a few years,” Mr. Wohlfeiler says, and that “it may be time to ask for an upgrade.”
The fundraisers are required to take extensive notes about each encounter, including what was discussed, how the donor responded, and whether the fundraiser liked the experience overall and wants to work with the same donor again.
Some people decide fundraising isn’t for them, says Mr. Wohlfeiler, but the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. “Most people find it really satisfying to get a ‘yes’ or to realize they’re not afraid to ask for money.”
