Creating an experience is the most effective way of getting would-be donors hooked. Just ask the clever people of Port de Pully, says Tom Eeles.

Are you trying to grow your income? Trying to boost the numbers supporting your campaign or get more 'likes' on your Facebook fan page? Well I am. And as a magpie fundraiser I stumbled into a great lesson on how to build a following at Fête de la Fontaine.

Not heard of it? Well it’s just a tiny little Fête here in my village of Pully. We had seen posters on our walk back from swimming in the lake and at the recycling centre for our neighbourhood for weeks and tried to remember the date. The poster had a beautiful, distressed digital photo image of people chatting next to the fountain enjoying l'apéro (the beautiful hours between the end of your day and dinner, spent enjoying a glass of wine). We had forgotten about it but just happened to be walking near the fountain that evening coming back from a swim (complete with blue Ikea bag fill of swim gear and straggly wet hair; not exactly beach chic).

Being British (a strange mixture of ridiculously reserved, ebullient and overly anxious to pay one’s way) I drew the short straw and shuffled up to the man serving the wine. I mustered enough pigeon French to establish that no we didn’t have to pay for the wine (nicely chilled in the fountain) or the pizzas or the cheese sticks. So we tucked in.

A few glasses later a really rather lovely lady who was not too dissimilar to Bree Van der Kamp but so much more chic, introduced herself. She explained the gathering was organised by ASPHA, the Association for the Safeguarding of the Hamlet of Port de Pully, and its surroundings. And then the penny dropped. It was a membership drive masquerading as a celebration of preserving the beautiful Port de Pully.

By treating us as they would like us to treat them they had pre-selected their target audience. There was no-one freeloading. While I’m not claiming to be some amazingly community-spirited, artistic or knowledgeable about architecture preservation, I do appreciate beauty and community. But would I have responded to a maildrop from ASPHA? Would I have clicked on a banner ad? Unlikely.

By taking the time (and money) to show me what I’d be missing if the rampant pressures of development were left unabated, they hooked me in. I understood immediately their cause and felt a passionate desire to belong. They recruited two new members who before that night would have cared, but would have walked on by.

Are you creating that experience? Showing the hope and the fear? The present and a better future?

Picture courtesy of ASPHA