I care a lot about XYZ charity and I want to share my excitement about it with you. And no matter what you decide, it won’t affect our friendship. I’m going to take off my friend hat and put on my nonprofit fundraiser hat. But how do you ask a friend for a gift? Try the following approach: Asking a FriendĪ friend who might support your cause is an obvious potential donor. That’s why I’m here today - to ask you to consider a gift of $10,000 to support our work. What I really love is and I believe you do too. Īnd I’ll admit, I didn’t get into this line of work because I love asking for money. If you count yourself among them, a healthy dose of honesty goes a long way:Īs you know, we’re here because our organization has a big vision for the future. If You Hate Askingīelieve it or not, a lot of people in the nonprofit sector hate asking donors for gifts. We’re looking for people to sponsor a teacher… or part of a teacher’s salary, which costs $30,000. For each additional teacher we hire, we can take 30 kids off the waiting list. Would that be okay?Īnd using more specific details related to your cause:Īs we’ve discussed, there’s a waiting list for our after-school program. I have no idea how much to ask you for, so I’m simply going to share some of our most pressing needs. But if for whatever reason you’re not sure how much money to request, here are two honest ways you can make that clear to your donor: It’s always best to have an exact amount in mind before you ask. Would it be okay if I shared some of our needs?Īre you interested in learning about ways you might help? 2. It’s always a good idea to ask a donor for permission before you ask them for a gift. Here are four common challenges fundraisers face with specific examples of what you might say for each to express yourself honestly and authentically. 4 Scripts for Asking Donors where Authenticity Shines Authenticity will help you built a rapport with your donors, and that’s key to building lasting relationships. I’m out of my comfort zone here, but XYZ organization and its mission are really important to me. They can probably feel your anxiety and simply acknowledging the awkwardness of the situation will defuse it. If you’re nervous, it’s okay to share that with your donor. Better to find that out up front, before you have a meeting and waste everyone’s time. If they don’t want to meet, it’s unlikely they’ll give. Let them know you’d like to have a conversation about the needs of the organization and ways they might help.ĭon’t worry that they won’t meet with you. It’s never a good idea to “surprise” the donor or catch them off guard. When engaging with a current or prospective donor, honesty is always the best policy.ĭon’t hide the fact that you’re raising money. Here are a few more questions to ask your donors BEFORE asking for a gift. Is the future of this organization important to you and if so, why?.What motivates you to continue to give and/or volunteer?.Why did you give to our organization in the first place?.In other words, if you don’t have the answers to a few of these critical questions, you’re not yet ready to ask for a gift: Sometimes simply finding the right language for the right situation makes everything flow together.īefore you ask for money, ask for information. And yet, every fundraiser must request specific gifts if they are going to raise significant amounts of funding. One of the most terrifying moments for most fundraisers (staff members and volunteers) is asking for a gift.
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