NonProfitEasy’s blog is all about fundraising tips and tricks that we think would be helpful for nonprofit professionals. That’s why we reached out to our friend Joe Garecht at The Fundraising Authority for some advice on how development professionals can make better fundraising asks!

 

  

 

 

 

Making fundraising asks is a major source of anxiety for many fundraisers… even season pros.  While donor cultivation can be fun and donor stewardship a pleasure, lots of fundraisers dread sitting down with a donor to ask him or her to write a check.

Yet, as development professionals, we know that the vast majority of our fundraising revenue comes from individual donors, and that they best way to get someone to make a gift (particularly a major gift) is to make the ask in person.  Asks are important to the future of your organization, but they need not be stressful.  Here are three ways you can make better and more successful fundraising asks for your nonprofit:

#1: MAKE SURE YOUR DONOR KNOWS WHY YOU ARE COMING

Prospective donors don’t like to be surprised by asks.  Most donors don’t mind asks and are glad to be able to financially support nonprofits they believe in, but they don’t appreciate it when asks are “sprung” on them.  Before meeting with your donors, make sure they know why you are coming.

Ideally, if you are making a major ask, you will have talked with the donor about the current project or campaign several times before you ask for a gift, and the donor will have indicated that they are interested in supporting this effort.  If you have walked your donor down this path, then when you call your donor to set up the ask meeting, you don’t need to say, “I’m coming to make an ask.”  Instead, you can simply say, “I’d like to stop by to finish our conversation about the XYZ project.”

#2: KNOW HOW MUCH YOU ARE ASKING FOR

Never go into an ask meeting without knowing in advance how much you are planning to ask for.  On the other hand, don’t stress out if you’re not sure exactly how much to ask for.  Do a little research, then based on that research as well as your previous conversations with the donor, come up with a number.  When you get to the meeting, ask for that amount.

Remember… you are never going to know exactly how much to ask a donor for.  The best you can do is make an educated guess.  If you come up with a range, ask for a gift on the higher end of that range.  Remember, if you ask for too much, the donor can always offer less, but if you ask for too little, donors will rarely offer more.

#3: ASK A QUESTION, DON’T MAKE A STATEMENT

I have met lots of fundraisers who tell me that they are having trouble with getting donors to say, “yes!” when they make asks.  Upon further research, it turns out that those fundraisers version of making asks was to say something like, “I hope you’ll give us $5,000 for our annual campaign.” Or, “Please consider making a gift to support our new outreach program.”  These aren’t asks… they’re statements.

In order to be successful, your asks must be a question which requires a yes or no answer.  Say something like, “Would you be able to make a $5,000 gift towards our annual campaign?”  Then stop talking, and let the donor answer.  Your asks will be much more successful if you stop making statements and start asking questions.

Remember – asks need not be stressful or awkward.  Your nonprofit does great work, and you need revenue to continue that work.  When you make asks, you are simply giving your donors a chance to invest in your mission and partner with you in your work.