Fundraising is a balancing act.

Today, an association can hardly survive on membership fees alone. Without funds from third parties or donations, often on a one-off basis, its life is threatened or even non-existent.

The members of these organizations are therefore obliged to seek funding. A delicate operation requiring a well-thought-out approach. It's time to take a hard look at a number of old associative customs.

• Does the association have an overall strategy for sustaining these initiatives?
• Does the fundraising strategy really correspond to market requirements?
• How is the fund-raising strategy justified?
• Are your prospecting methods appropriate?

Almost all areas of association are involved in fund-raising, whether they are active in the fields of children and youth, sport, social integration, health, social security and so on. Only a minority rely on sponsorship or subsidies. However, these state allocations are under considerable pressure, as the article by the Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO) underlines.

Not to mention the fact that a large number of companies are drastically tightening their budgets for social action. Either through sponsorship or all forms of patronage. Certainly, our country's economic situation and growing competition are considerably reducing the number of positive responses to requests from associations. An organization that has thought of contacting a company is certainly not the only one on the case. An unprofessional approach therefore has very little chance of success. We wrote this post about the Sales Force.

The key is to professionalize the fund-raising process, and in so doing, demonstrate creativity and differentiation. Without this, the chances of success are virtually nil... unless the association has an excellent network! A future partner must feel valued and perceive real added value in this potential collaboration. That's right! Times are changing fast. Small and medium-sized businesses rarely give without a clear quid pro quo or measurable return on investment. An arduous task for a small association, but one that is nonetheless amply achievable!

The proximity effect, such an important pedestal

The organization's geographical reach is crucial to detect. In other words, the impact of its community on the market. This exercise involves putting yourself in the future sponsor's shoes and interpreting what he or she stands to gain from this new collaboration.

Strategically, the first step is to approach companies present in the region of activity or area of influence. In fact, a sponsor base that is more easily accessible and already familiar with the association gives credibility to the offer before embarking on canvassing on a larger scale. Working the contacts of all active members and the database can certainly yield some nice surprises. In fact, more than one entrepreneur is undoubtedly already part of this network. If you've been unsuccessful, review your strategy and your offer. Failure is nothing to be ashamed of, but a better way to leap towards success! If the organization's contacts have all been made with a high acceptance rate, the prices quoted can probably be revised upwards. A few thousand francs more through a justified and well-argued increase won't hurt the wallet.

Exploring new avenues with a coherent global strategy

The soul of an association is categorized by its history, its successes or failures. A philosophical change is therefore often detrimental. Indeed, care must be taken in how such a change is presented to the association's members, friends and family. Fund-raising strategy is a crucial point in the success of future fund-raising. However, it is at this very important moment that you need to surround yourself with specialists to create enthusiasm for the partnership offer. There are hundreds of possibilities for producing a plausible and commendable strategy for prospects. Today, there's no room for unprofessional approaches. Building a detailed offer with attractive quid pro quos has become mandatory. The following points should be borne in mind when devising a winning sponsorship strategy:

• Visibility for potential partners
• Diversified communications on multiple platforms
• Access to association member database
• Broken promises destroy reputation
• Events with an impact on the area of influence
• Long-term vision, even if it means changing the association's foundations
• In-kind contributions are increasingly accessible (many companies prefer this method to financial support).

Reputation, ability to bring people together, professionalism, brand image and positioning are all factors that are widely considered by most potential partners. Admittedly, they don't necessarily have a sponsorship department. However, they automatically evaluate these aspects. It is therefore imperative to consolidate these prerequisites. Shaping positioning (mission, vision, values), fine-tuning communication and creating precise, transparent and professional documents are all ways of convincing and justifying a collaboration.

The perfect balance between strategy and salesmanship, fund-raising has become a long-term undertaking. This often obliges associations to hire or commission qualified people who are ready to make a real commitment to putting in place the fundamentals of a forward-looking project.

What are the limits of volunteering? Are we at a turning point where we need to rethink our good old vision of the associative model?

Agence BB Switzerland® is very active on behalf of numerous associations/foundations, helping them to raise funds.