Walk the streets of any major Canadian city and you may start humming the My Fair Lady tune I’ve grown accustomed to your face. I’m talking about street canvassers, ubiquitous mainstays of our streets, particularly when the sun is out and our boots are still buried deep inside our closets. Chances are you’ve even walked by a canvasser today, with clipboard in hand, a smile on his face and a welcoming offer to chat.

Their ubiquity is easy to understand. “There’s such a strong need for fundraising today,” says Bryan McKinnon, explaining how the economic crisis and other challenges are upping the ante in terms of organizational stability and sustainability. Director of Public Outreach, a professional fundraising agency, the goal of the company — as a self-proclaimed social agent for change — is to raise as much money as possible for charities in the most cost efficient way, toward boosting their long-term return on investment.

The numbers are in

Street canvassing — along with other face-to-face canvassing that includes door-to-door and malls — can significantly increase a charity’s roster of monthly donors. In other words, it’s a vital component of their fundraising strategy.

Not surprisingly, monthly giving is also where Public Outreach focuses most of their work. “Face to face donors will be different than monthly donors in another media,” McKinnon adds. Direct marketing is still going strong for many, but the average age of donors attracted to that medium is older. Tele-fundraising has its own benefits but, in terms of acquisition, face to face is ‘it”, he says.

Talk ain’t cheap

Rebecca Moershel, development director at Greenpeace Canada, explains the attraction this way: “Nothing is more potent than a face to face conversation with someone.” Engaging with fellow citizens is key and the educational opportunity it offers is a bonus, she adds. Greenpeace should know a thing or two about these dialogues. After all, they pioneered the practice of street canvassing in Austria and were the first to have brought the practice to Canada over ten years ago.

Since that time the organization has established itself as a leader in the field. In many ways, it was a matter of survival. Think about it: the organization has made it a point to remain independent, refusing to seek government or corporate funding and to stay clear of charitable status. Street canvassing has helped them sidestep what would otherwise have been a formidable challenge. “We do some direct mail and some dabbling in online acquisitions — we’re testing waters there — but our bread and butter is face to face,” says supporter coordinator, Jackie Gallagher.

Greenpeace lauds their canvassing program both for its propensity at delivering donor acquisition and retention. Having people give monthly is worth a lot in terms of the return on investment, the stability of income it provides and being able to avoid the time-consuming renewal letter, says Moershel. “Monthly giving is cost-effective.” What’s more, donors who sign up to give to Greenpeace know they won’t be receiving a tax receipt at the end of their transaction, ensuring they’re a unique and committed bunch. “It means their values are well-aligned with the organization,” says Gallagher.

A unique opportunity

Like Greenpeace, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) pursued face to face initiatives — including door-to-door, street and mall canvassing — from a basic need to raise their acquisition levels. The reality is their direct mail program is small, they’re not about to rent or buy donor lists and their patient population is atypical. “We don’t have the same kind of culture of philanthropy that’s been developed over the years at other places, though we’re working on it,” explains Lori Smith, associate vice-president of development.

“We made a choice to invest in monthly donors because they provide long-term stable funding,” she states simply. In 2008 the organization hired Public Outreach to help them build their donor base. So far, so great. In just over two years, CAMH recruited over 3000 new monthly donors. The bulk of their face-to-face efforts happen at the door, a place quickly becoming a dynamic and effective spot for talking, engaging — and giving. “The information we get at the door translates into learning for our awareness campaigns and various marketing initiatives,” states Smith. “We’ve had some people self-identify at the door and talk about larger gifts,” she adds. “People don’t often think of those types of benefits but they exist.”

But…

Benefits aside, not everyone is a fan. George Stanois, managing director of the Goldie Company, can appreciate the effectiveness of street canvassing but still finds it problematic, likening the practice to a form of panhandling. It has the potential to turn off as many people as it turns on, he says. His concerns over door-to-door canvassing, meanwhile, stem from a current scam involving people purporting to represent charities knocking on doors. The possibility of getting confused with those scammers can be quite damaging.

Other organizations have decided to opt out of face-to-face initiatives for other reasons. The Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada, for example, was researching donor acquisition avenues beyond their direct mail and special event programs. Street canvassing was on the list but, as CEO Chris Kotsopoulos explains, after looking at the experience of other organizations in his benchmarking group, evaluating each from a cost, retention, and culture perspective, they decided it wasn’t a good fit (he freely admits, however, that evaluations are very subjective and it may very well work for others). “Costs can be higher, acquisition rates are good but the retention rates aren’t as good,” he says, as compared to direct mail, for example. And from a cultural perspective, he questions how the canvassers are received by people on the street.

The people that you meet

Which brings us to the canvassers, in many ways, the heart of a good campaign. CAMH leaves all hiring and training to Public Outreach, who runs a highly structured program, meeting with their vendors once a week to discuss ongoing development and improvements. Canvassers come from all walks of life, though most are students — many of whom are studying issues tied to the mission of organizations they’re representing, such as international development or environmental studies.

But all are hired with one criteria in mind: passion for the causes on behalf of whom they’re speaking. “We take a lot of pride in that,” says Public Outreach’s Allana Carson Woodley. “Ultimately one of the joys of face to face is it’s just a conversation you’re having with the public where people have opportunity to ask questions about an organization.” The canvassers are it, she emphasizes. “They’re the whole conversation.”

As for CAMH, their main responsibility is ensuring they provide the most up-to-date information to Public Outreach. And though they sometimes see some dips in recruits because of the challenge of retaining staff when working with a younger group, after two years, the relationship is a trusting one.

Greenpeace, meanwhile, takes care of the hiring and training in-house for the major cities, but sometimes seeks help in regions where they don’t have an office. They’re proud of the passionate folks who sign up to work as canvassers but admit their only challenge is ensuring they represent a range of demographics, a goal not always easy to reach when most applicants are students. “Like attracts like,” says Gallagher, explaining why they are always searching for older canvassers.

Best practices

As for payment, as opposed to Public Outreach who remains committed to non-commission-based arrangements, Greenpeace pursues the hybrid band system. It’s not direct commission but does have a recognition element. “If someone is consistently a high performer, there’s a salary grid that recognizes it,” explains Moershel.

But does the person on the street know the canvassers are paid and not volunteers? “That’s the question,” says Stanois. Both CAMH and Greenpeace claim to make transparency a vital component of their canvassing activities. Other best practices on Public Outreach’s list include being flexible, ensuring an effective communications strategy is in place with newly acquired donors and regularly reviewing data.

What about the criticism of an over-saturation of canvassers on the street? Apparently, organizations work together divvying up turf before each season begins. Coordination is important, says Gallagher. Besides, organizations doing face-to-face have important causes they’re representing. “There’s a lot of room, there’s a lot of need.”

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.

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