My Account
Fundraising $5 million from the public is not a job for the faint-hearted, which possibly explains why Dr Warwick Palmer and Darryl Soljan rang Wendy Hawkings one day to tell her that they were coming over for a chat and were bringing a bottle of wine.
At the time, Darryl was the Warkworth Wellsford Hospice chair and both he and Warwick were committed to the idea of building a purpose-built hospice facility in Warkworth.
Wendy’s reputation as a fundraiser for the Rodney Charitable Health Trust made her an ideal choice to head the committee, but having just retired, she agreed only to join the team.
However, when the first chair Martin Dancy stepped down for personal reasons, Wendy agreed to take on the role, with Bill Abraham as her deputy.
Before fundraising started, professional fundraisers Compton had been engaged and had set out a strict strategy on how the campaign would be run.
“There were 19 on the committee – 11 less than Compton recommended. Our job, as it was explained, was to meet potential donors face to face, explain the project and get their support,” Wendy says.
“This meant approaching friends and asking them for money – I’m sure it’s one of the most difficult jobs
I’ve ever had to do. Some people lost their nerve when they got a ‘no’ – it could really shake your confidence.
“We were told emails and phone calls were a waste of time, and this proved to be the case. When you are asking for large sums of money, the only way to do it is eyeball to eyeball!”
Under the Compton system, the $5 million was broken down into steps – two donors would be asked for $400,000, four donors would be approached for $250,000 and so on.
“What surprised me was how relatively easy it was to secure the big donors, but we worked very hard to get the smaller donations in.
“You have no idea how many glasses of wine I’ve drunk and small sandwiches I’ve eaten to get this project funded. Some of the meetings were at my place, so it kept me motivated to keep my windows clean at least.”
Wendy says the fundraising campaign was successful because the committee stuck to the rules laid down by Compton.
She added that the project had taught her not to judge a book by its cover.
“Some of our smaller donations came from people who are not wealthy at all – their donation represented a real sacrifice on their part, but they were determined to give something.”
