Volunteering with a nonprofit or local charity can be a simple, cost-effective way to get your foot in the door with the local high-net-worth community while, just as importantly, you help a worthwhile cause through your skills and donations.
Financial advisors and nonprofits can benefit from working together in several ways:
- You know how to sell. Fundraising is sales in a different wrapper. You can look someone in the eye and ask for money, which scares most people. You have a needed skill.
- They need donors. You are experienced in prospecting. Local nonprofits often go back to the same people to donate. You can help research fresh prospects with the capacity to give. One person’s donor is another person’s business prospect, but you must keep these roles separate.
- You get the job done quickly. If someone says, “Approach these 10 people and ask them to support our cause,” you know what to do. You study the message, get an appointment, make your case and make the request. Job done. You are far more efficient than people who have never sold anything before. They realize they need you.
- The high-net-worth now know you. Nonprofit events put you in front of people who are usually protected by gatekeepers. You make an impression, and if they attend future events, you have reasons to reconnect. You can cultivate personal relationships.
- You will be a donor. You should support the cause before asking someone else to donate. When you say, “Join me in supporting …,” you’re making a powerful statement. You are personally supporting the nonprofit too.
- They will want your firm’s support. If you work for a big company, the nonprofit may ask about a corporate donation. Your company may have a charitable foundation, and you may know the steps to apply for a grant. They will mention your involvement, which is a plus.
If you do a good job raising money, you become a resource they do not want to lose. Other nonprofits may ask for help. Doors within the local high-net-worth community can start to open, and donors may even ask, “How can I help you?”
Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc. His book, “Captivating the Wealthy Investor,” is available on Amazon.
For more about working with nonprofits
- Watch “Missing opportunities? Widen your network and build influence” (MDRT member-exclusive content)
- Read “Why philanthropists are prequalified prospects”
