ABSTRACT
Contacts need to overcome the reserve that many people have when talking about money or asking for favours. This is more of a problem in the UK than the US, especially in the field of fund-raising. It can surprise Americans to discover just how embarrassed the British can become even when attempting to advocate an indisputably good cause. The result is that good intentions can evaporate when the moment arrives or the message can become lost because it is not stated with sufficient clarity and force. Coaching can help, and the spread of modern professional fund-raising is creating a pool of effective volunteers who are picked up by one charity after another. Even so, it is worth looking at the attributes of successful contacts and seeking similar people; for example, some of the best advocates are self-made men who are not afraid to be seen as ‘pushy’.
