Five Steps to a Perfect Ask
Fundraising can be hard. The hardest part for many is actually asking for the gift. This is particularly difficult in face to face situations—which you must endure if you are asking for a larger gift. But even when your ask is from the safe distance of a letter or an email, the ask is apparently too hard for many organizations and probably more boards to bear. Indeed, when I used to ask my board members if they would sign our end of year or spring appeal, they always countered with wanting to be able to edit the letter. And what they always edited most was the ask.
I firmly believe that in every letter, every paragraph needs to either remind the donor of the need, and/or to ask them to help meet that need. My board members did not agree. Once they got their hands on the letter, every single ask—even ones as benign as “We cannot do this without your generous support” were edited out. I would respond with much gnashing of my teeth and tearing at my hair. Then would begin the negotiations. I would have rather worn a hair shirt and flayed my back.
That said, asking for support is truly not terribly difficult—no matter what way you are making the ask. The following 5 steps will help you whether you ask face to face, write a letter or an email, make a phone call, or post something on your social media.
Make the ask as personal as possible. For a letter, make sure you are writing to someone—and get that someone (or that couple’s) name(s) correct! My husband, whose name is Geoffrey, does not appreciate it if you call him that—he is Geoff. I, on the other hand will not respond to Jan. My name is Janet.
Beyond names, you want to reach the right audience with the right asks. Segmenting your list helps a lot here. If I get correspondence asking for too large or too little a gift, I feel that they don’t know who I am. Likewise, don’t thank me for a gift I haven’t given, but also don’t send me things that are clearly geared toward those who are not yet your supporters.
Talk about the impact the gift will make. Not what it will buy, but what it means. An ask should always include a reason why the gift matters and who benefits
Show how it matches your donors’ philanthropic interests. My niece is a huge cat person and cannot understand why I have dogs. She thinks dogs are awful. So why does the animal shelter where she always adopts her cats (and she is always adopting cats), send her appeals to help out dogs? This makes no sense. If you can’t ask the prospect what matters to them, track their gifts. What triggers them to give? When have they given larger gifts?
Be specific about what you are asking for. Not “a gift of any size,” but what size gift you are hoping they will make.
After you ask—keep your mouth shut. all is not talk. Sometimes you just need to be quiet. And the most important time is after you make a specific and clear ask for a specific amount of money. When I was in sales, I was always taught that once I made the ask, the first person to speak loses. In fundraising, I like to think of it as giving the donor the opportunity to win. I want to let them process my ask, think about if this meets their philanthropic needs. If this is an amount they can live with. If this is something they really want to support.