Obstacles Of Asking For A Gift

Obstacles Of Asking For A Gift

One of the biggest obstacles for any fundraiser or participant in a fundraising campaign is actually looking a potential donor in the face and asking him or her for a gift. This obstacle is almost paralyzing as a fundraising participant begins to create their own “fear of asking” the donor.

Fear Of Asking

The fear of just asking for a donation is natural if the fundraising participant begins second guessing what the donor might do. The “What if…” type questions.

You may have done this yourself. It is actually the fundraiser and not the donor that talks himself out of asking for a particular gift, much more, a large or substantial donation.

A fundraiser may begin to ask…

•

What if the donor does not have time for me when I call?

•

What if the donor thinks I’m rude by cold calling him “out of the blue” to make an appointment?

•

What if the donor has been overqualified for a gift and doesn’t have the financial potential? Won’t that embarrass her and me?

•

What if the donor laughs at me for making a bold suggestion? I hate rejection of any kind.

•

What if… (place your fear here).

It’s no wonder that this fear of asking keeps many from seeking out donations and making progress for their organization.

Don’t start the “what if” questions. Think positive about your potential donor’s reception and don’t prejudge their involvement.

Misconceptions And Myths

Let’s work through some misconceptions and myths about asking for a donation.

Myth Number 1 – It’s hard to find donors that will support your efforts.

First, most people that are caring and are a part of the community want to help others in need. It makes them feel good about being a part of something greater than themselves.

It’s true that the amount of time commitment and financial involvement they give will be directly related to how close they currently identify with your cause, but that should not stop you from approaching them.

Try this. Walk up to someone as you are holding a heavy package and asking them to help you by opening a door for you so that you can go through with the package. 100% of the time they will gladly assist you. And they will help you again and again if you thank them immediately and appropriately.

It’s the same principle when asking a donor for help. You ask them… 1.) in the right setting 2.) at the right time 3.) when the need is appropriate 4.) and wait for a response of action by them.

Myth Number 2 – People in our community know about us and if they wanted to give, they would have done so by now.

This myth comes from many that believe just because their cause is worthy or the need is great, that people will come and search them out and then want to donate or volunteer out of the same passion that they have.

Of course, it doesn’t work that way in the real world. You are the one that must search people out and ask them for their support, but there are easy ways to find those that might support your group.

To find donors (and volunteers), you’ll need to promote by marketing or advertising your organization effectively. You must promote on an ongoing basis to be most effective.

Here are some basic ways to find donors:

1. Have a booth at a county fair or similar public event. Collect names from a drawing you are offering there and ask to put their name on your newsletter list.

2. Offer to speak at several civic meetings and have a “newsletter” sign up for each member present.

3. Offer to speak at area churches or worship centers and offer a trifold information brochure about your nonprofit group complete with a “tearoff” donation pledge card or newsletter sign up form on the final third portion.

4. Go through old donor lists or volunteer lists and see if any are still prominent in your community. The reason they may have not given recently may be as simple as… they were not asked.

5. Obtain lists of chambers of commerce or similar and have a select group from your fundraising committee to review those on the list.

6. Buy leads from a reputable direct-marketing company for appropriate potential donors in your area. They will ask you questions like what age group and economic range you are looking for to help narrow the field of potential donors.

Not Having The Right Donation Materials Ready

Being prepared is the name of the game when asking a donor for a gift. After you have made the appointment, you should have something to present to your prospect even if it is just a simple pledge card.

The campaign team leadership (Chair, Captain or Staff) should have the proper materials ready to “back up” each and every fundraising team member.

You will have poor results if you tell your fundraising workers to just go call on someone and ask them. Your Chairman asks you to, “just go call John Doe and ask for a gift of any kind. I don’t know him personally, but he’s a big name in the community and one of the chamber of commerce leaders. I understand he has a thriving business and probably could help us out”. Yeah, like that’s going to effective.

Here are some of the proper materials that you will need when meeting with your potential donor:

•

A pledge card or pledge sheet with space to write an address and other information (phone and email address), gift amount, pledge payment options and other pertinent information to record.

•

Official Proposal if asking for a large capital campaign gift that should include: architectural drawings, letters from prominent members of the community in support of your efforts, board member list, campaign leadership contact list, proposal letter from Chair with asking amount, mission statement, IRS 501(c)3 determination letter and other important documents relating to the campaign.

•

Video or DVD of your project if you have one.

•

Quick review charts, graphs and/or testimonials from those you serve to drive the need of their support home. Nothing elaborate, rather just simple ways to quickly express the need of their support.

•

Have a return envelope hand just in case they wanted to “think about it” and send in the check or pledge card later. This is not preferred, but rather a courtesy that you can offer. Really, the potential donor should be called back for any response.

Improper Or Nonexistent Training Of Fundraising Team Members

OK, so you’ve got some good materials to present to your prospective donor. But how do you do it?

Well, next each fundraising team member must be trained. Why?

It builds confidence in each team member because they will have the knowledge to effectively use the materials (as mentioned above) provided by the team leadership.

Team members will know how to present the materials in the best manner possible without taking up valuable time.

To express the Campaign Time Line with urgency. Team members must complete tasks within the time frame established for the campaign. They must sense the urgency of completing their calls within the time frame given.

Training also shows each team member that they are a part of a larger effort that just themselves. They see others that are participating and they realize that they don’t want to be the only one with a poor report to make. They should be motivated and challenged to achieve their goals at the training meeting.

Knowledge of how your organization handles pledges are processed is crucial to eliminate confusion. Each team member should have the answers of how a donor can make and fulfill a commitment. They should have an overview of how to take and report cash, pledge payout options how credit card payments are processed. They should know how the donor will receive a receipt and “thank you” for their donation.

An option is to have your training online or by conference call if you are spread out over the country or a large region. If you are using an online donation system like Kintera or eTapestry, you may want to conduct an email training session, instant message meeting or conference call to explain the online process.

Having all the right answers provided through proper training can lead to an enjoyable (and not embarrassing) experience for both the fundraiser and the donor.

A Poor Approach And Poor Campaign Process

If you have a poor approach and process to approach your donor, you are setting up another obstacle and will realize an early failure. Some of the process can be covered in the training session as mentioned above or with each team member individually, but must then be followed closely.

The approach is one of the most critical areas of overcoming the obstacle of asking for a gift. Learn it… practice it… use it consistenely with each prospective donor you visit.

At the kickoff meeting with other fundraising team members, choose those prospects that you are most comfortable with calling (especially if you know them). Choose no more than 5 to 6 prospects. Choosing more than six will overload your time allocation for the campaign, not completing some calls, and leading to an uneventful campaign. If you have spare time after competing the calls on your five donors, come back to the team Captain or Chair and ask for more.

Make the call to the prospect. As you speak, make sure you smile (yes, smile even though they can’t see you it will come across in your conversation). A brief introduction with your name, company you work for, what organization you are working with and if they have time for you to come by briefly during the next few days. Don’t ask for a gift at this time although certainly don’t avoid the fact that you are raising money for your effort.

CALL OPTION: Large capital campaigns or special programs require an introductory letter from a prominent member in the community sent out a week in advance stating that “someone with our team will be calling on you soon to set an appointment for a visit…” Then call for the appointment and introduce your name and state you are calling on behalf of “Mr. Prominent Leader” and would like to come by and introduce myself. Would that be possible? What is the best time for you this week?” Online Option – mention your online campaign and that you will send them an email with the link to your personal campaign page and will follow up with them at a later time to see if they received the link.

Be on time for your meeting. Bring your materials as discussed previously, especially the pledge card. If all you have is the pledge card, make sure the name is spelled correctly. As you meet your prospect, hand them your own business card, smile and shake hands. Look around the room and speak about things that are of interest that you notice and ask questions of the donor that will allow them to be more comfortable with you during your visit. Gauge your time accordingly to be as brief, but not appear you are rushing the process.

At the appropriate time discuss what a privilege it is for the prospect to open their home or office to you and discuss the nature of your visit as you briefly mentioned on the phone.

Ask for the gift, “would you consider helping out with our efforts?” Then place the pledge form or card in front of the donor, point to the amount that is pre-printed on the card. Here’s the crucial part… let the next person to speak be the donor. Got it? Don’t speak until the donor indicates what he or she will do. Get the details completed (signed card, how they want to pay over time, etc.)

Leave with a warm handshake and thank the donor for their time. Turn in your pledges and gifts to your team leadership.

Drop the donor a note in a week about what a pleasure it was to have met them.

So there you have it. You now have the basics of overcoming obstacles of asking for a gift. There may be other factors to consider, but this should be discussed in your Fundraising Committee meetings.

Add to and refine the process indicated here to fit your own organization and volunteer base. Perhaps you might want to test it out on your board or committees to “work out the kinks.”

Adjust these to fit with your own group and mission and time frame. If conducting a campaign online, you might still want to send a personal note by mail thanking them for their time and efforts.