Fundraising 101
By Cerasela Cristei, WTS-DC
This year, the WTS-I Annual Conference was hosted by the Richmond Central Chapter. While the event was initially planned to be held in person, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the conference to be held virtually.
In 2019, having participated in several WTS Annual Conferences, I was inspired by the benefits women in the transportation field drew from the events to help organize such an event. As soon as the call for volunteers came into my inbox, I sent back a positive response.
Fast forward one year of the pandemic, I received another email that invited me to be part of the Annual Conference Committee. I sent another positive response, and soon I became the co-chair of the Sponsorship and Fundraising Committee. My co-chair was none other than Virginia Deputy Secretary of Administration Grindly Johnson—I was humbled.
Before this role, as a chapter chair, I helped fundraise for the scholarship fund. That was my first chance to implement the “fundraising 101” lesson I received almost a decade ago, and it turned out successful (if I may say so).
The two rules I implemented:
- Never make a cold call; meet in person instead.
- Always describe what is in it for the donor before you ask.
While I would have loved to meet people in person, the pandemic prevented that from being an option. So cold calls I made, completely ignoring the first rule. No positive responses came back.
I did compose a warm and detailed letter with the wonderful benefits provided by the now online event and sent it in a friendly email. The committee chairs helped shape the letter and even tailored it for three different types of potential donors. No avail.
In the middle of the fundraising period, I held a brainstorming call with our volunteers. By the end of the call, we understood we had to change the process, and each of us committed to reaching out by phone to a minimum of three people with whom we already had relationships in place and ask about interest before sending the sponsorship letter with the benefits and the information for the “ask.” Responses came back at a 25% success rate, and I considered it to be a victory. Several of our previous donors had their donation funds frozen, while others had depleted theirs already.
Yes, a 25% success rate did not help us meet our fundraising goal, but it did show us that fundraising rules do not change because of external factors; only the outcome does.
Even with less funds than planned, the Annual Conference was a success. I registered (my husband offered the registration to me as a birthday present) and attended the events. Most of them live, and the rest I watched in the evening with a cup of tea in my hands, perched on my couch and eyes riveted to my computer screen. No human interaction, but I still felt the excitement and joy of seeing the best people in our profession taking time to record their message so that so many of us can watch—even in pajamas—and dream of taking our career one step further and higher.
Thank you, WTS-I, for making this conference possible. Next year we are meeting in Seattle, and I hope we will be there in person. I will bring with me a tear vial, as I learned from the Edgar Allan Poe tour, to collect the tears of joy I will shed when meeting in person the people who, for many weeks now, have orchestrated this significant event from behind their computer screens.