We’ve been delivering telephone fundraising for hospices for over 20 years now – whether that’s for some of the larger and well-known hospices like Sue Ryder, or more specialist hospices for children such as Forget Me Not, or more local hospices such as Thames, Claire House, St Francis, St Michael’s and St Oswald’s.
And the actual campaigns can be quite varied – just this year we’ve run such a wide range of campaigns, including welcome and thank you calling, Gift Aid, lottery (acquisition, welcome, extra number/upgrade, superdraw and reactivation), cash to conversion, Friends reactivation and upgrade, and legacy.
We think one of the reasons that telephone fundraising works so well for the hospices is that supporters are very open to the call – often there is a personal connection, if a family member, friend or colleague has received care and support from a hospice, the supporter will already recognise the role and the value of the charity, and so there is little need for any ‘educational’ messaging. Which means calls can be much more personalised and authentic conversations – and this is where our callers really come into their own.
Because QTS Fundraising callers have to LOVE talking – and listening – to people. We only select callers who have strong ‘life experience’, great interpersonal skills, and who clearly practise compassion and empathy. Consequently we have a team of skilled but sensitive professionals – demonstrated only last week when one of our team helped secure a legacy gift of over half a million pounds. Time and time again we are seeing that the telephone really is an incredible way to engage with hospice supporters.
And it will be no news to anyone who is familiar with the incredible work of hospices, how essential hospice care is – yet so alarmingly reliant on the generosity of members of the public who choose to donate or fundraise. We regularly hear in our fundraising calls how people feel a passionate sense of ownership and social responsibility for their local hospice. We also see that in supporting a hospice, every donation represents a thank you – supporters really are truly grateful.
Often a supporter might start their journey with a one-off or in memory donation, and then are more open to becoming a Friend or Regular Giver. Or they might prefer to support through a lottery donation, or by participating in a fundraising challenge event. With each point of contact their support inevitably becomes stronger, commitment to the charity deepens, and it is not unusual to trace a supporter from an initial welcome call all the way to a legacy pledge. These supporters are highly aware that every donation makes a lasting difference.
Which is why we strongly encourage our hospice clients to look at the supporter journey in its entirety and plan campaigns for the lifespan of their donors, with the goal of developing a far stronger relationship with a supporter than a one off campaign can ever achieve.
Do get in touch if this is a subject you’d like to know more about – we’d be happy to share information on some of the great work happening in the hospice fundraising sector.
Here’s a few words from Ben on this subject:
