In this on-demand webinar, you will obtain the skills to conduct a successful fundraising program! As busy activists, fundraising to support your work can be one of the most difficult, intimidating, and frustrating activities that you’ll need to do. Asking for money can be uncomfortable. If you’ve never done fundraising, you may not even know how to begin. This webinar will help vegan and plant-based advocates: -Set quantitative metrics to help you stay on track with what needs to be done to reach your goals -Fine-tune your messaging for successful fundraising -Provide you with three steps to build a solid case for support that can be used and adapted for multiple purposes -Build confidence to make the ask for your important work Alison Miller recently joined VegFund to be our first director of development. Most recently, she served as chief development officer for Special Olympics Michigan. Alison has spent her entire career working in fundraising and wealth management. Her experience ranges from volunteer grassroots fundraising to capital campaigns and nonprofit fundraising. For more resources like this please visit: vegfund.org/resources

1. Fundraising on a Budget
VegFund Activist Learning Series

2. Who am I? Alison Miller with VegFund
Presenter: Alison Miller, contact info Alison@vegfund.org 989-621-5580

3. Fundraising is a priority
As activists and advocates,
educating the public about
our important work can be
very expensive.

4. • Learn 3 steps to
build a solid case
statement
• Fine-tune your
messaging
• Set metrics for
yourself or your
organization
• Be ready, be
courageous…ask for
the money!
Our agenda today…

5. Shiny Object Syndrome: SOS
“…the act of delaying or
postponing a task or set
of tasks – it is the force
that prevents you from
following through on
what you set out to do.”
- James Clear

6. Click here to
get access!
Before we continue,
want to watch the
full webinar?

7. Your case should….
“…excite, compel,
and inspire your
donors to dream big
and raise their
philanthropic
sights.”
- Claire Bens,
CSS Fundraising

8. “Donors give emotionally, not cerebrally.”
- Jerold Panas, Mega Gifts

9. Use your case statement to create your “elevator
speech” and be ready to use it!

10. Step one: Who is your audience?
VegFund’s Mission Statement:
VegFund empowers vegan advocates
worldwide through grant funding and
supporting effective outreach that
inspires people to choose and maintain a
vegan lifestyle.

11. Faunalytics helps people help animals by providing essential research
and resources to be more effective and save more animal lives.
Faunalytics
Mission
Statement

12. Animal-cause data from Faunalytics:
➢ From the general population, 30% of potential animal-
cause donors have donated to a charity in the past 12
months, but not an animal charity,
➢ These donors are financially able to donate, and
➢ Are not opposed to philanthropy.
This means there is a lot of untapped potential out there just
waiting for YOU to tell them about your cause.

13. More animal-cause data:
➢ Most animal-cause donors give to companion
animal charities, often exclusively. This
overwhelming preference for companion animal
charities may be about familiarity rather than
preference.
➢ Most promising demographics are people aged
55 and up with incomes of at least $50,000.

14. More animal-cause data:
➢ Donors describe their reasons for donating in terms of
animal protection or welfare than animal rights.
➢ Most common donation methods were:
On-line donations - 39%
Mail – 25%
In-person/locally – 25%
➢ People who donate to animal causes are more likely to
be vegan or vegetarian and live with companion
animals.

15. Step two: Make it emotional and compelling.
People with intellectual disabilities are
excluded from the existing health care
system.
- Special Olympics International
Childhood hunger hurts. You can help.
- Kid’s Food Basket

16. Step three: Describe your program and giving
opportunities. Include your goal and ways to
give.
➢ How have donors' gifts already made an impact?
➢ What will future impacts be?
➢ What is your goal? And what donor opportunities
exist?

17. Messaging…
“86% of the organizations characterize
their messages as difficult to
remember…that nonprofit messages
don’t connect strongly…and that
inconsistency reigns, leaving
confusion and annoyance in it’s path.”
- Donor Voice Blog

18. A strong and concise case statement will help you
easily build your messaging arsenal.
“blah, blah, blah, blah. Stop
talking….you’re boring me to
death…”

19. Messaging…
• A key set of points or messages
• Create, use, reuse, repurpose

20. ➢ Consistent
➢ Clear
➢ Easy to understand
➢ Set yourself or your
organization apart

21. VegFund messaging
Mission Statement: VegFund empowers vegan advocates worldwide through
grant funding and supporting effective outreach that inspires people to choose
and maintain a vegan lifestyle.
From our website sharing activist stories: …our grantees are finding new ways to
reach the public about the values of vegan living and improving on the effectiveness
of the tried and true. See how VegFund grantees are promoting vegan living in their
communities and get inspired.
From our grant guidelines: VegFund funds outreach activities that promote a
strictly vegan message and use 100% vegan products. VegFund favors projects
that demonstrate an effective outreach strategy targeting non-vegans.

22. Consistent. Clear. Easy. Unique. Memorable.
An activity: Develop your key points and messages
1)_______________________
2)_______________________
3)_______________________
4)_______________________
5)_______________________

23. Hold on!

24. Activity Metrics
➢ Reaches
➢ Face to face visits
➢ Solicitations or asks

25. Four Metrics
➢ Retention (the national avg. retention rate is in the low 40%
range)
➢ Dollars requested and received
➢ Meaningful visits
➢ Stewardship
- Amy Eisenstein – Four Metrics You Must Measure, GuideStar Blog

26. Whew! Stand up and stretch. Now it’s time to talk about
creativity, how to be a good steward, and ask, & ask, & ask.

27. Get creative….

28. Remember to include the whole family in your
approach.
Women make
up 57% of
donors to
animal charities.

29. 39% of donors give on-line.
Many options:
PayPal
Patreon
Classy
Firstgiving
Crowdrise
Network for Good
And many more…
Also, check out this article for help on deciding which platform fits your needs:
http://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/top-12-online-fundraising-platforms/

30. Grow donor & prospect relationships
• Get curious.
• Ask lots of open-ended
questions.
• Tell your donors about you
and why your mission is
important to you.
• Ask your donors to be on a
committee or participate
in a focus group.
• Don’t just talk about
impact, show people. Ask
them to attend an event
with you.

31. Donors say they notice these traits in a good
fundraiser.
➢ Demonstrate “a near militant belief in the mission”
➢ And a “high level of energy”
➢ Are “itchy by nature”
➢ And “are comfortable in their own skin”.

32. Be consistent and persistent!

33. Love your cause
Be courageous
Ask for the gift
Thank them, thank them again,
and keep them happy.

34. Works Cited
Amy Eisenstein, GuideStar Blog, https://trust.guidestar.org/four-metrics-to-measure-the-success-of-your-major-
gift-program
Claire Bens, CSS Fundraising, https://ccsfundraising.com/writing-a-compelling-case-for-support-four-steps-for-
getting-started/
Donor Voice Blog, http://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/award-winning-blog/ and
http://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/top-12-online-fundraising-platforms/
Faunalytics, Jo Anderson, https://faunalytics.org/the-people-who-support-animal-causes-descriptive-results/
James Clear, Procrastination, https://jamesclear.com/procrastination
Jerold Panas, Mega Gifts
Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center,
https://msktc.org/lib/docs/KT_Toolkit/Key_Message_Development_508.pdf
Photo credits: VegFund and Unsplash
https://unsplash.com/

35. Want to watch
the full
webinar?
Click here to
get access!