13 Tips for Finding the Funny in Fundraising

As 2012 and all the Year End Magic (remember YOU CHOOSE how you view year end) comes to a close… here are my Top 13 Tips for incorporating humor into our Major Gift work. This title and tips were created from my Major Gift Success Club December interview with Liysa Callsen, author, stand-up comedian and Fund Development Coordinator for Holy Family Memorial Hospital on our December call. While this is normally available for subscribers only, I wanted to share these with you to celebrate the holiday season.

1. Mistakes happen. We get together for mission. If your event experiences a goof up, Remember your donors are at your events to share in the mission, not to experience you worked up about a mistake. Address it with humor and get back to enjoying the event!

2. Humor and laughter create HOPE! That’s why it fits at a funeral or helps as we share troubles with our donors.

3. Find something funny that works for you. Newspaper headlines, local politics, whatever makes you smile and you can practice to share with others.

4. Practice a good, appropriate joke or light-hearted story. If you can’t tell jokes well, don’t!

5. Smile and SAY THE WORD, “SMILE.” Begin a visit with, “I’m here today to bring you a smile!”

6. Remember people who lift you up, help you. Surround yourself with people who lift you up. To create the Petronius spell in Harry Potter, the wizard needs to find his happiest thought – this Petronius then defeats and deflects evil.

7. Honor yourself as you use humor. It should not steal your credibility. Don’t knock yourself down or belittle yourself with self-deprecating humor.

8. Borrowing from theater… good improvisational actors listen intently to Find the gift or nugget of information to build the action off of. Listening to your donor this intently will build a bond.

9. Give permission to your staff, colleagues, family, friends to have light moments. Create opportunities to share in funny activities. One example….find a photo or drawing and have a funniest caption contest. It’s free, doesn’t take much time and reading the captions will generate laughter and camaraderie. Use humor to solve problems. Ask the team to offer the silliest ideas they can imagine to fix it. These ideas can actually lead to the solution. For example….one silly suggestion was to have a staff member naked under a sandwich board. Actually….the sandwich board addressing the issue ended up being a right answer…with clothes included.

10. In any stressful setting – healthcare, volunteers addressing a complex task, etc. humor can be a tension reliever. Fill yourself with light-heartedness and share this with those donors and volunteers to break down nervous barriers in stressful situations.

11. Scan the room. Look for something in the environment that can take on a humorous bent or simply Pull the subject away from the more serious concern at the time and provide a lighter conversation.

12. Change your vocabulary. Replace the typical “fillers” with words that reflect you authentically. “How are you today?” “Fine.” becomes “I’m terrific!” if you mean it, and will brighten any conversation.

13. Advocate with kindness. When you need something to accomplish a donor gift, seek common ground. Ask for what you need, but be open to sharing information and finding a mid-way solution.

With this…. I leave you two news clips!

• Santa unveils his fundraising strategy for North Pole capital campaign.
• Gang violence escalates between Major Gifts and Annual Giving for control of the donation trade.

Just kidding!! SMILE, enjoy our honorable and noble profession and the gift of the supporters, family and friends that fill our lives with joy. Happy Holidays!