Well, it's day two of week five and that means only eight more evenings of fundraising left. The intensity continues to build as our collective and individual targets still seem a long way off. I have picked up a standing order on each of the last three nights, but they have all been for £5 per month or less.
Manjuka, the leader of our appeal, has assured me that the fact I am scoring each night is a good sign and there's every chance that the size of standing orders will increase as we go into the home straight.
If there's something the door-knocking has been teaching me over the last few nights, it's to expect the unexpected. Some people seem very keen and say to come back at such a time on such a day and they'll have the form all ready and filled in. So of course I turn up at the appointed hour full of hopes and they're not there.
Then there are people who already give to loads of charities (or even work for a charity) so I half-heartedly leave them a booklet only to find them wanting to sign up when I call back. I am having to work with myself to prevent my mood from going up and and down like crazy according to whether I think the last communication has gone well or not.
I think that my unpushiness when doing `fresh calls' has been counting in my favour quite often. A few times when I haven't been over-eager to persuade someone to take a booklet they have even called me back as I walk away, perhaps out of curiosity to see what I've got. If anything my pushiness comes out when doing `call backs' and I'm sensing a possible contribution is on the cards. My efforts to allow the other person plenty of space and to acknowledge what they say have made a real difference as I do the `fresh calls'. Now I want to bring more of the same into the `call backs'.
I have to say that the booklet is excellent. It's obviously been honed and refined and distilled over the years. It must be doing at least three quarters of our work as door-to-door fundraisers for us. It's attractive, eye-catching, affecting, informative, interesting, clear. I am having to do a certain amount of reassuring of people that we haven't squandered lots of money on producing it. "The photographer used to work for New Internationalist magazine, and the designer has done book covers professionally," I explain, "but they've given their time and energy to Karuna for a very low rate."
I've been meeting quite a few existing Karuna supporters as I am out on my rounds, including a couple last night who've been contributing since 1982. "I wonder if that's a record?" I ask, "I wonder how much you've given over the years, and how many people in India you've helped?". There's no answer of course, just a happy smile.
