Note: This post is an outline of Chapter 19 in Kim Klein's "Fundraising for Social Change" (Fourth Edition).
Canvassing is a technique that involves a team of people from your
organization going door-to-door requesting contributions for your
group's work.
This is primarily an organizing strategy;
no organization should undertake a canvass simply to raise money. That
said, a well-run canvass can generate a lot of gross income.
Though
part-time
canvasses can be run with volunteers, most canvasses are full-time
operations involving salaried or commissioned employees who work 40
hours a week and solicit in neighborhoods on a regular, revolving basis.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Canvassing
There are three main advantages to canvassing as a fundraising strategy:
1. An established, well-run canvass can provide a reliable and substantial source of income for your organization.
2.
The volume of personal interaction from face-to-face contact with
dozens of people can bring in more new members than any other strategy.
3. Canvassers bring back to the organization the public's opinions and perceptions of what your organization is doing.
The disadvantages to a canvass:
1. If done full-time with paid canvassers, they are labor-intensive, generating high overhead that absorb 60%-80% of the gross
earnings of most canvasses.
2. It requires separate staff and office space as well as extensive bookkeeping and supervision.
3.
Canvass income can be unreliable if the top canvass staff is
disorganized or incompetent or if too many canvasses are operating in an
area.
4. The canvassers themselves can give the organization a bad reputation if they are unkempt or rude.
5. Donors do not like giving to organizations that use canvassing because of high overhead costs.
Elements Needed to Run a Canvass
Four elements must be present for an organization to operate an effective canvass:
1.
The organization must work on local issues: people give when they
perceive that an issue affects them and their neighborhood. Your work
can have a national impact, but in canvassing you must explain how this
issue affects the resident directly.
2. People must feel that even a
small donation will make a difference. Donations made to canvassers
rarely exceed $50. People must feel that their small donation is needed
and will be well used.
3. People must feel confident about your organization.
Their confidence will be inspired by your organization's accomplishments.
A specific plan of action that can be explained simply and quickly and
that sounds effective is essential. Media coverage of your work is a
major boon to canvassing.
4. You must be able to distinguish your
organization from any other organization doing similar work without
implying any disrespect for the other organization.
Setting Up a Canvass
First, check state and local laws and ordinances concerning
canvassing. You can find out about state laws governing canvassing from
the attorney general's office, which generally monitors all rules
related to charitable solicitation. Many states publish handbooks on
canvassing regulations. Local ordinances are sometimes more difficult to
discover, since several city departments may have jurisdiction over
different parts of the canvassing operation. Contact the police
department and ask for notification and
application
procedures for a canvass. Be sure to write down whatever the person
tells you, and get his or her name so that if you get a different story
from another police official you can refer to this phone call. Contact
the city attorney's office for information regarding solicitation of
money for charity. Sometimes the mayor's office has some jurisdiction
over these matters.
In general, informing as many people as
possible about your canvassing operation will ensure the least amount of
interference later.
Study the Demographics
Gather demographic data on the area you plan to canvass: population
density, property values, how many of the people are homeowners, what
type of work most people do, what the income levels are, etc. This
information is available from various sources, including local people,
items in the newspaper, volunteers and board members who have lived in
the area, the Chamber of Commerce, and from developing your own sense
from driving around the neighborhoods.
Remember one important point in assessing demographic data:
A
canvass rarely does well in an affluent neighborhood. In fact, affluent
people generally do not make contributions at the door. Their charitable giving is usually done through major gift solicitation, personal mail appeals, or special events.
Canvassing operations do best in middle and lower-income neighborhoods, where giving at the door is more common.
Another demographic item you need to evaluate is whether the population is dense enough to make it worthwhile to canvass.
Canvassers need to be able to reach 80 to 100 homes per night.
Finally, you need to evaluate whether the area is safe for
canvassers. A good canvasser may be carrying $500 or more by the end of
the evening, much of that in cash. Canvasses in high-crime areas (which
can still be successful) sometimes send their canvassers in pairs, but
this doubles the labor cost. Others have a roving car to check in on
canvassers and to pick up their cash.
Hire Staff
The staff of a canvass varies from place to place but generally includes several individuals with the following roles:
- Canvass Director: This person supervises the entire
canvass operation, including hiring and firing canvassers, researching
areas to be canvassed and mapping out the revolving canvass for the area
over the course of a year, keeping the organization in compliance with
the law, keeping up-to-date on new laws, and planning and updating
materials.
- Field Manager(s): Each of these
staff transports and supervises a team of five to seven canvassers. Each
field manager assigns their team to various parts of the neighborhood,
collects the money at the end of the evening, and trains new canvassers
on the team. This person also participates as a canvasser.
- Office Manager: This support person manages the
office, including keeping records of money earned by each canvasser,
replacing canvass materials as needed, scheduling interviews with
prospective canvassers for the canvass director, answering the phone,
and generally acting as a back-up person for the canvass operation. This
person does not canvass.
- Canvassers: These are the people who actually carry
out the canvass. They usually have a quota - an amount of money they
must raise every day or every week. Their pay is either a commission, a
straight salary, or, most commonly, a base salary plus commission.
Materials
Canvassers must be equipped with various materials, including any
identification badges or licenses required by the city or state,
newspaper clippings about the work of the group, a receipt book, and
clipboards to carry the materials to be given away which include
brochures about the organization and return envelopes.
Many canvassers use a petition to get the attention of the person
being canvassed. The canvasser will ask, "Would you sign a petition
for..." and briefly explain the cause. While the person is signing, the
canvasser will ask for a donation as well.
Canvassers should try to get the gift right at the door. However, for
people who need to think or discuss it with a roommate or spouse, the
canvasser can leave a brochure and a return envelope. A brochure should
also be given to people making a donation, because on reading it, some
of them will send an additional donation. Do not assume when people say
they need to think about your request that they mean they are not going
to give - leave the materials and act as if you believe the person.
Most people do not give money on the spur of the moment, and people who
need to think about what their gift will be to your group may well
become major donors.
All of the information is carried on a clipboard, which makes it easy
to display and lends a degree of authority to the canvasser.
The Canvasser's Workday
At the beginning of the canvasser's workday, the field manager
describes the neighborhood they will be canvassing and relates any
information or special emphasis on issues that they should present to
this neighborhood. The crew begins canvassing around 4PM and ends at
9PM, when they are picked up by their field manager and taken back to
the office. They turn in their money, make their reports, and finish
around 10PM.
Second only to quality of canvass staff in ensuring the success of a
canvass is an efficient recordkeeping system. After each neighborhood is
canvassed, an evaluation of the neighborhood should be filed along with
the demographic data on that neighborhood that led to its being chosen
as a canvass site. These data can then be reevaluated in light of the
canvassers' experience. Any special considerations, such as "no street
lights," can also be noted in the evaluation.
Many people worry that theft by canvassers will be a problem. Theft
occurs no more often by canvass workers than by any others. Careless
bookkeeping, however, can cost money and can give the impression that
money has disappeared. At the end of the evening, both the canvasser and
the field manager should count each canvasser's money brought in. The
field manager enters the amounts under each canvasser's name on a "Daily
Summary Sheet." The money and the summary sheet are then placed in a
locked safe, and the office manager will count the total again in the
morning and make a daily deposit to the bank. At the end of the week the
office manager tallies the total receipt of each canvasser and prepares
the payroll sheet.
Canvassers who fail to bring in their quota for more than a week must be retrained or fired.
Strict discipline is important in a successful canvass, and keeping performance records will help to maintain a good canvass team.
