I’ve never been any kind of a sales person, and don’t know how good I’d be at it, but I notice that there are organizations out there, such as Greenpeace, who are looking for street-level fund raisers. On the one hand, I think “I could never do that” because I’m not an aggressive person, but on the other, I’m polite, friendly and have a comforting demeaner (in person anyway) so with some training and the right organization, I might find a hidden talent I never knew I possessed and be good at it. Or not, I don’t know.
Has anyone done it? What was it like? Did you make money? Did hundreds of "fuck off"s get you discouraged (or fired)? Any tips?
What about companies that do fund raising for a living, such as DialogueDirect? Are they legit? The last thing I want is to be sucked into a scam organization, but if they’re legit, they look good.
I do NOT want to be a telephone telemarketer. I couldn’t do that. Face to face seems much easier, so you can catch someone’s eye.
Sold light bulbs (:dubious: light bulbs? yes that’s right, light bulbs) door to door in the 11th grade to help pay for our jazz band trip to Switzerland. It was easier because we worked in pairs - made the inevitable “noes” and “go aways” a little more bearable.
In the spring of 1968 some friends and I raised money for the Poor People’s Campaign, Poor People's Campaign - Wikipedia. We went to a wealthy shopping area on Saturdays, and as people approached us, we’d hold up some dopey little political button which said something like: Poor People’s Campaign, and said “Please help the Poor People’s Campaign.” I can’t believe how easy it was. Don’t remember all the numbers but I’d estimate that more than one in three contributed, up to five bucks. That’s $30 in 2008 dollars.
I’ve collected door to door for various charity orgs with success depending often on the neighbourhood vs charity. People in richer areas were more likely to donate to medical causes vs early childhood support. People in pooer areas were more likely to support the kids than arthritis or heart attack victims. YMMV.
I’ve done my time on stands selling product in support of charity or exchanging donations for stickers. Selling product is easier as you’re not asking ‘something for nothing’.
Chocolates and biscuits (school & guides respectively) have always been the easiest to shift. We’ve had (my kid and I) customers literally running down the street after us, wanting to buy.
It’s always been fun - but I’ve not done it for income, only because I wanted to support those charities / organisations and I had more time than money.
Places that collect on behalf apparently (you’ll have to check this for your area) take a percentage of the collection as fees. Whether you consider that legitimate is up to you. Different agencies may take higher percentages. Again, this information should be readily available.
Thanks maggenpye, Beware of Doug and Plan B. Fun stories. If neither interview that I have tomorrow works out, I’m going to go for it. It can’t hurt to try.