© 2003, Rotary Club of Charleston

P.O. Box 21029
Charleston, SC 29413-1029

Club secretary:
Carroll Schweers
chasrot@comcast.net

Bradham addresses club on fund-raising
Entrepreneur says members shouldn't fear raising money

SEPT. 9, 2003 — June Bradham, the founder of Corporate Development, a fundraising organization, gave a speech entitled “Scared to Death of Fund Raising? Change Your Mind!” Introduced by Earl Walker as someone who developed herself and her company to help other companies develop themselves, Bradham offered numerous statistics related to fund-raising and led Club members in exercises designed to make them feel more comfortable in any fundraising activities they undertake.

According to Bradham, it has become highly competitive to get “the civic hour and the civic dollar.” She said that there are currently 1.6 million not for profit (“NFP”) organizations vying for contributions, and the number of NFPs grew at two times the rate of growth of for-profit ventures during the 1990s. Nationally, NFPs employ more than 10 million employees. In South Carolina there are 9000 NFPs, according to Bradham, and they employ 80,000 employees.

Although competition for funds exists, Bradham says that “Americans give to a multitude of causes,” and 76% of the $240 billion of charitable giving during 2002 came from private individuals. Most was directed to religious or educational causes.

Bradham says that in order to be an effective fundraiser, one must be passionate about the cause. Additionally, one must know sufficient information about the cause to be informative to those being asked to give money. Bradham also suggests that fundraisers should not talk about “needs” but rather about “benefits.” In other words, potential donors should be told about the benefits (lives saved, animals kept from going extinct, etc.) that can be achieved through proper funding. Bradham also emphasizes that one cannot get a donation without asking for one, and it is imperative to lead by example by first making a sizeable donation yourself.

Bradham says that getting the first donation is the easiest part. Keeping the donation stream coming from that donor is much harder. Akin to working on a marriage, the fundraiser must keep the donation relationship “alive and exciting.” “Kiss and run fundraising is bad,” says Bradham. Instead, fundraisers should “touch” their donors at least seven times per year to thank them for their support.

-- Amy Jenkins

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