Tocqueville campaign Best Practices:

Developing a strategic plan for identifying, cultivating and soliciting Tocqueville donors is critical to a strong effort. Below are steps for success:

• Identify a Tocqueville Chair
  Your CEO or local senior manager should serve as the Tocqueville Chair or identify another senior executive for this role. It is critical that this volunteer is a Tocqueville member.
• Identify Tocqueville Prospects
  Prospects should include those employees making $150,000 or more or those with a household income of $200,000 or more.
• Make the Ask
  The ask can be made in a variety of ways-- you may host a dinner or cocktail reception in the home of an executive, including spouses, or an executive briefing as part of an existing senior leadership team meeting. Ideally this ask will be made one-two weeks prior to the Leadership Giving campaign effort so that you have the buy-in of key leaders.
• Follow-Up
  As with any ask, it is critical that the Tocqueville Chair follow-up personally with each prospect. This may be through a brief one-on-one visit or phone call.
• Say Thank-You
  The CEO and/or Tocqueville Chair should thank each member individually. Some companies also do a special recognition event for their Tocqueville members annually.
• Engage Tocqueville members year-round
  Although United Way will communicate with your Tocqueville donors throughout the year, it’s important that the Tocqueville Chair build a culture of Tocqueville within your organization. Encourage members to attend monthly Second Tuesday luncheons and other events. Connect donors with the United Way Foundation if they want more information on making a long-term impact through endowing their gift.

How are other companies doing it?
Last year, Energy Future Holdings Corp. generated excitement and knowledge about the Tocqueville Society through a day-long service project supporting TLC for Youth! (a United Way special project) and a special event at House of Blues. The company's efforts resulted in nearly 30 new or renewed Tocqueville members.

The Staubach Companypromoted Tocqueville giving by educating top executives and brokers at a Tocqueville briefing, which featured a United Way speaker and a client who is a member of the Tocqueville Society. The company's focus on Tocqueville resulted in a 280 percent increase in Tocqueville giving.