5 Points for Asking for Money by Cathy De Rosa, Marketing Consultant
1. Introduce yourself ex: Hi my name is , I live in your district and my local library is .
2. Share what you’ve heard are the greatest needs in our community (school, employment, health). Ex: I’ve heard the greatest needs in our community are education, employment, and health, what do you think?
3. Share a few ways your library is working to solve these problems. Pick one example based off the reaction of the legislator when you listed them before. Ex: To ready children for kindergarten, the offers storytime programs for babies to preschoolers. These programs use stories, rhymes & songs to teach early literacy skills.
4. We need your help to make this vital work a priority for this legislature. Our funding is half a million dollars less than it was 10 years ago. We have vital needs and not enough resources.
5. What is your passion? What else are your priorities? What else can I help you with?
Later follow-up with a hand written note reiterating the legislator’s greatest concerns, what we’re doing about it, and ask for their support.