Example 2 Of Fund Raising Speeches For Projects
Posted by NovaAngel at December 24th, 2006
Audience: business or civic groups
Message: This cause is worthy of your support.
Tone: informal
Timing: 7-8 minutes, depending on insertion of success stories
Money. The lack of it has brought organizations to their knees. The abundance of it has created selfishness and greed. Money. Everybody wants some. Nobody has enough. However you feel about money—its lack or abundance, as a curse or a blessing for the individual—as a group, we need it.
You’re going to hear from (name) in a few moments about the exact details of our project, but first I want you to get the big picture. The why of our get-together and campaign.
We need funds for [insert overview of project goal].
We know exactly how much we need—$(amount). And we know exactly how we’re going to get the money—hard work. An impossible task, some may think, to raise that much money among a group such as ours in such a short time.
That’s what the pessimists think. They hear the numbers, see the obstacles, feel the competition for our dollars, and then go home with a sigh. Ball game over. Rained out. Lack of interest. If you’re of that train of thought—and I doubt we have any of those with us in this group—please hide the pessimism behind a smile and don’t voice that feeling. A naysayer can rain on a lot of people’s parades—simultaneously if they’re high enough in the organization for their words to pitter-patter downward.
But fortunately the vast majority of people around here are of another caliber—optimists.
I base my optimism on the increasing generosity of America—of individuals and corporations. Volunteerism and charity are concepts firmly rooted in our national heritage. We are a giving people—some of us by nature, some of us by experience. We have seen what a few dollars and a few well-placed efforts can accomplish.
No, you’re not pessimists. I can see it now on your faces: Energy…. Enthusiasm…. Anticipation…. Confidence…. You’re positive thinkers, who put your efforts behind your words. In fact, many of you have already spent hours strategizing, planning, devising, and scheduling. Today’s event is just the first step in our success story.
We’re not the only group that has tried such a fund-raising campaign. Let me tell you a story or two about what other organizations similar to ours have accomplished.
[Insert success stories at other locations.]
But back to us, here at (name of organization.) We want you to visualize with us what these funds can do for us as a group and what they can do for you as individual employees.
First, [insert details of project benefits].
It’s a planned process.
As Emerson put it: “All our progress is an unfolding, like the vegetable bud. You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge, as the plant has root, bud, and fruit.” Likewise, we simply have to trust our instinct over reason at this the front end.
We’ve talked. Now’s the time to act. There’s a place for each of you on the team. For your dollars and for your personal involvement in reaching others to contribute. We ask that you dig into your own pockets, and then that you talk to your colleagues to spread your enthusiasm. Some people just need a bigger push than others to see the goal line.
To provide funds for [insert program goals]. That’s the why. Now, here’s (name) to give you the how details, the game plan.
