Finding sustainable funding streams is always a hard thing to do for groups, and talks can be a great way to support yourselves to create more growing in your village, town or city.
But how to go about this? Money is something we often don’t feel comfortable talking about, so here are some suggestions:
- If you are talking to an organisation which has a subscription attached for its members, they will expect to pay whoever they have asked to speak. When the request comes in, find out a bit about the group and ask them what they would like their contribution to be. Whilst it might feel awkward on the first few occasions, they will be pleased to hear that they are supporting your work, and if you can, mention in your talks where that cash will go.
- If you are asked to talk to a business suggest that they give an appropriate donation for your time. If they are serious about hearing your story, and hopefully wanting to engage with you in some way, they will be pleased to do so.
- If you’ve been asked to talk at a community event it’s very difficult to ask for a payment, and often not appropriate, but you can ask for donations on the door from the audience, who will probably be more than happy to give a couple of pounds. After all they have chosen to come and hear your story.
As with any funds that come into your group, it’s important to be transparent about where and what they are spent on, but good use of social media is a great way of saying thank you, and staying in touch with the groups you have spoken to whilst showing them what their donations have been spent on!
