Last week I was speaking to a group of fundraisers in Erie, PA and one of them said:
What you’re teaching is ‘old school.’ If you cultivate a person well, they’ll make a gift on their own. They don’t need to be asked.
To put this in some context, we were talking about raising major gifts. One of his donors whom he knew quite well, kindly asked him, “What do you need from me?”
Based on that one conversation, he was convinced that a good cultivation strategy would lead to gifts flowing in — without any asking.
While I agree that it’s wonderful when a donor asks what they can do for your organization, those donors are few and far between. The fact is, the vast majority of donors still need to be asked, which is how I responded.
Although this seems obvious, the question shook me during the presentation. He was quite adamant that donors no longer need to be asked.
Is Asking for Donations “Old School”?
I’ve abbreviated the statement above for the sake of this post, but it gave me pause and for the briefest of moments I wondered to myself, “Is what I’m teaching ‘old school’? Do we really still need to ask our donors?”
And once I started to think about it, I’d realized I’d heard this line of thinking so many times before:
Don’t our donors know we need donations? Why should we have to ask them? They know what we want and need. They should just give.
Well, maybe they should. But they probably won’t.
The answer, in case you don’t already know, is an unequivocal YES — Of course donors still need to be asked.
Asking is Fundamental for every Fundraiser
While a few donors will offer up donations in advance of an ask, most are legitimately distracted by family, jobs, illnesses, friends, and so many other important aspects of life. In addition, donors aren’t mind readers. They don’t know what you want or need until you tell them.
You can ask in person, over the phone, in the mail, or via email. But you still need to ask. And when you do, you ought to be specific — state exactly how much you want and why you need it.
What do you think? Do fundraisers really still need to ask? Leave your comment below.
A loud resounding YES. I can’t imagine how things would happen if you didn’t go through “the ask”. You would miss so many things involved in “the ask”, your chance to educate, your chance to appreciate, your opportunity to thank. I guess I’m “Old School”.
I totally agree – if we have done a good job of cultivation, the donor expects us to ask. But we still need to ask! Sometimes, I might say “You can make this (whatever project/program we have discussed) happen with a contribution of $X each year for the next X (number) of years. Would you be willing to consider making that contribution?”
I have learned that the word “consider” is powerful! It’s easy for somebody to say “yes” to considering and then the door is open – for talking about the amount and the time frame – the details.
Even for “annual” gifts, I encourage volunteers to start with asking a potential donor to “consider” a gift of $X.
One may know what we want – but we need to complete the process by asking for the gift.
I agree with the other comment that indicates the importance of a specific “ask” – otherwise you will get less – the “ask” amount often raises the bar. I’ve had people say “I am flattered that you think I can make a gift of that size. But let me think about and get back to you.” In that case the follow-up is so important. An ask for a major gift may take more than one visit or communication to complete the “ask.”
With the exception of one’s religious organization they are affiliated with, I believe the majority of donors need to be asked for a gift to your nonprofit. Having said that, even churches today need to make visits and ask members to either begin their giving or consider an increase. I have donors that I do not need to ask for regular gifts however they are the smallest percentage of my donors.
Ask! Preferably in person. Be specific about how they can made a difference and an impact. They want to feel special. And don’t shy away from asking for gifts through their wills.
I totally agree that you need to ask at all levels of giving but especially at the major gift level. Generally speaking the older generation that may have the funds expects it as part of their perception. However, I take a deviation in how I ask for a specific amount. I was taught and practiced asking for a specific amount. This works with most people but I have been severely raked over the coals on occasion when using this approach. My revision has been that during the relationship building phase I find out if they are a person who likes being asked for a specific amount or likes being asked without a specific amount. In the latter case I share the financial challenges in our campaign in and around the levels I would have asked for from the donor. This has worked well for me and most will give me a specific answer about what they prefer and it deepens the relationship.
If you rely on the donor to make a gift without a specific request amount from you, it will most likely be less than what you would have asked for. I believe you should do your homework know what they are interested in and capable of contributing and make an informed ask. Particularly with larger campaigns regular donors will know an ask is coming and my preempt you and make a gift much less that what you were planning on requesting.
So true. Good points.
Yes, yes and yes! While it is wonderful when we get those surprises we still need to ask our donors (prefer the term friends) to support us. Just as we have to continually thank them.
Amy,
Very much enjoyed your visit to Erie last week and enjoyed your sessions. you were on point..”Asking “for this fundraiser is far from old school,it gives us the opportunity to carry out the “donors’ dream and solve the problem or challenge they want to achieve, and once we develop and enhance our relationship with the donor some great things can be attained..
“Asking’ should occur at all levels and as we move up the “pyramid of giving” those “asks’ need to be personal and targeted,so the donor can experience the “joy of giving.”
Gary L. Bukowski CFRE
My question to anyone who wonders if donors need to be asked is, “How many nonprofits do you donate to without being asked?” I’m sure I’m no different from most when I say that even those organizations that I intend to donate to regularly don’t get a penny out of me until they ask me. But wait, one person called me this spring and asked what she could fund at our park as a memorial to her father. I kind of hesitantly asked her what kind of money she was thinking of and she answered, “I guess about $10,000.” My organization is a very small, all volunteer group, so after I picked myself up off the floor, I assured her I would get right back to her with suggestions. Thanks to her we are getting a feature for our park that would probably have remained on our wish list forever. Her memorial is being constructed now. But I’m still in awe and don’t ever expect anything like that again.
Amy, your post made me sad. In 2015, I can’t believe we’re still talking about whether an ask is appropriate or not. Good grief!
The “old school” comment you received reminds me of an encounter I had immediately following one of my own speaking engagements:
Someone came up to me and said, “Well, I guess everything you just said in there was just common sense.” I responded, “Yes, it was. And, when it becomes common practice, I’ll stop talking about it.”
Just because something is “old school” or “common sense” doesn’t make it wrong. There’s another way to describe both: Tried and True. Don’t get me wrong; I’m all about innovation. However, before I start deviating from the tried and true, I need evidence that the new approach will be best. Asking remains the proven best approach for fundraising.
The silver lining in your post is that the fools who don’t ask are leaving more money on the table for the rest of us who know better.
Keep preaching!
Hey, I totally Stand in support of your Statements. Checkout this Blog on Advantages and Disadvantages of crowdfunding Platforms.
https://whydonate.nl/en/blog/advantages-disadvantages-of-crowdfunding/