Asking for gifts can be scary. Especially if you’ve never done it before.
There are many reasons fundraising is frightening. I can think of five right off the top of my head:
- Fear of rejection
- Fear of the unknown
- Fear of messing up the ask
- Fear of offending the donor
- Fear of saying something stupid
If you’ve never asked for a gift, it can be terrifying. And even if you have asked before, it can remain uncomfortable. But just like learning any skill, fundraising gets easier with practice and preparation.
Fear is Tied to Risk
Think back to when you were a child — learning how to swim… learning to ride a bike. And as a teenager, learning how to drive. Most things that involve risk are scary when you’re first starting out. Fundraising is no different.
Let’s take that analogy a bit farther and make it a little more recent. Think of how frightened you were when you asked someone out on a first date. Or perhaps a time when you asked your boss for a raise.
In both of those cases, the reward outweighed the risk. Assuming you’ve asked someone on a date or a boss for a raise, you pushed past your fear and took a chance.
- Was it scary? Yes.
- Was it risky? Yes.
But the risk ultimately paid off. Again, fundraising is no different.
3 Ways to Tame the Risk of the Ask
Just like with any of the risks we take in life, fundraising is a calculated risk. The good news is that there are several important things you can do to mitigate the risks that come with asking for a gift.
1. Be as prepared as you can be.
Fundraising is about quality, not quantity. It’s not about mass marketing.
Successful fundraising involves strategically targeting potential donors who have the financial capacity to make a gift as well as an interest in your cause. Once you have identified those individuals, you’ll want to do some basic research and take time to learn about them. Really get to know them.
Conduct a pre-ask meeting with them to understand their motivations. Once you’ve learned why they care about your issue and that they would be interested in supporting your organization in some way, it’s time to make an ask.
2. Practice, practice, practice!
Asking for money isn’t something you should do on the spur of the moment or without thought. You wouldn’t walk into an important business meeting without any practice or preparation — that would be equally scary (and probably unsuccessful). Likewise, there’s no excuse for walking into a solicitation meeting without the proper background and practice.
Recently I facilitated a board retreat where we role played solicitation. The feedback from the participants was enlightened. Many acknowledged how helpful practicing was in thinking about getting ready for an ask.
Begin by practicing on friends, family, and board members. Let those you wish to practice with know that your ask is real. And you will also be asking for their feedback so you can get better before asking other potential donors you don’t know as well. Specifically, you’ll want to find out:
- What can you do better?
- What (if anything) didn’t feel right?
Practice makes perfect. The only way to get better at something is to practice.
3. Lean into the fear.
Feeling nervous is natural. It’s part of fundraising, just like preparing for any big business meeting or going on a scary roller coaster. The nervousness is part excitement, part fear. And that fear can help motivate you to do a good job.
Don’t expect the fear to go away completely. Instead, acknowledge it. It’s part of the process and it lets you know you’re about to do something exciting and worthwhile!
Summing Up: Prepare, Practice and Lean In
Asking is the scariest part of fundraising, especially if you’re still new to the skill. But preparing, practicing, and acknowledging the fear are your greatest allies toward overcoming the resistance to fundraising that is created by fear.
- If you’ve done your homework and you prep your major donors for the ask through a well-thought-out cultivation plan, you’ll have much more confidence during the ask.
- Asking for a gift is skill. And like any skill, it requires practice. The best thing about practicing with friends, family, and board members is that you’ll raise some money for your favorite cause AND improve your fundraising skills at the same time.
- Fundraising is a high-stakes job; not everyone you ask is going to say yes, no matter how much you’ve prepared and practiced. It’s helpful to remember that going in. So, feel free to use that fear to help you do your very best.
The bottom line? Don’t let fear hold you back. Nothing is as scary as not raising the funds you need for your important cause. In other words, a bigger risk than asking is not asking at all.
Enjoy your Halloween and keep on keeping on with your year-end fundraising!
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