Fundraising and membership canvasses
Canvassing
is an effective way for organizations to build donor and activist lists
while engaging the public in priority campaigns. For our larger-scale
partnerships, we sign up 100,000 new one-time donors and 20,000 new donors who participate in monthly-giving programs, acquire tens of thousands of e-mail addresses from potential
activists, and educate over a million citizens on the issues in a
single year. Our canvassing programs will be tailored to meet the
specific development and political goals of your organization.
The benefits of a canvass program include:
Membership and Activist Prospecting
Canvassing finds new members who are difficult to reach through direct
mail prospecting. The average canvass member is relatively young and
unlikely to appear on most marketing lists. Our staff can sign up
monthly sustainers and identify potential volunteers. Some partner
groups report that new canvass members are more likely than other
members to become major donors and to participate in political actions.
Public Education
The Fund's professional canvass staff have face-to-face conversations
with millions of people every year on issues from protecting national
forests to fighting rural poverty. We hand-deliver fact sheets and
legislative scorecards while building name recognition for our partners
and their priority campaigns.
Activating Concerned Citizens
Our staff collect petition signatures and generate phone calls, e-mail
messages and letters to elected officials. Political messages can be
changed from day to day or region to region, and each year we reach out
to half the congressional districts in the country.
Expanded Reach
Canvassing is an effective tool to activate people in targeted
geographic locations. National groups like the Sierra Club want to find
members all over the country to maximize their political clout in
Congress. In 2005, we canvassed in all 50 states. Regional groups we’ve
worked with like the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the
Chesapeake Bay Foundation can expand into neighboring states.
