Although the Dragons aren’t your most obvious charity mentors we can apply their methods to fundraising. Anyone who has to explain their cause to potential supporters can learn something as the principles are exactly the same.

In each series we see many people fail to learn from their predecessors and make the same mistakes when making their pitch.

What can we learn from the Dragon’s Den?

1. Get your figures straight and know them inside out.  In the Den if anyone details figures that don’t add up or doesn’t have the key numbers in their head they are sure to be going home with nothing. If you are asking anyone to give you funds for a project they need to know that you will spend them carefully.  You need to know exactly how much you are asking for, exactly what that money will be spent on and exactly what it will achieve.  

2. Know your product and your sector. Occasionally in the Den a hapless entrepreneur will pitch a ‘new idea’ that they’ve invested time and their life savings into only to be told that a nearly identical product is on the market already.  Don’t just know your pitch by rote, and then be stumped if you’re asked a question not on your mental list. If there have been recent developments in your part of the sector, know what they were and how they affect your cause. Keep up to date on all of the charities similar to your own and be absolutely clear what your differentiators are so you can sell your USPs – for all you know your direct competitor pitched to the same people an hour before.

3. Research the panel. It’s crazy to go into the Den pitching a mobile phone case then decide to go with HealthClub owning Duncan Bannatyne over communications giant Peter Jones but you’re only going to know that if you’ve done your research beforehand.  Of course, if you’re pitching to a trust you research the trust and its history and if you’re pitching to a corporate you look through their CSR programme and their customer-base.  What many fundraisers forget to do however is research the board or the panel as individuals – this has never been easier, with LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, Google news and other resources you can quickly find out a great deal of information about their interests, background and education, all of which will allow you to pitch yourself (or your application) appropriately.

4. Be passionate. This is about being trusted with their money again- you need to show that you care enough to really get the most value out of their money. Demonstrate your passion for the cause not with tears of over-excitement but rather by explaining exactly how important you have seen the work to be. Tell them about your recent visit to a service or the life-changing story you were told by a beneficiary just the other day. You choose to go to work at the charity every day. Let them know why.

5. Show commitment. In the Den a sure-fire way to crash and burn is for the hopeful pitcher to admit that they’ve invested nothing into the business themselves. The Dragon’s will instantly ask ‘if you won’t, why should I?’  If you don’t already give to your charity, why not start? Even a small monthly donation will allow you to see how your charity communicates with it’s donors and will allow you to hold your head high when asked if you are a supporter by a potential funder, a prospective major donor or a marathon runner and say proudly ‘of course I am’.