Posted 12/6/21
There is a saying in the fundraising world that says: “It is difficult to secure a donation if you don’t ask.” This is absolutely true, but in my experience, it is not the whole story.
The first position I was fortunate enough to land, upon making a career transition to the nonprofit, was a fundraising manager with the United Way. My job was to manage a portfolio of employee campaigns. In this case, many of these accounts were either lapsed or UW employees did not have the time to manage. It included businesses, school districts and municipalities. It was a great learning experience and training ground as my responsibility was to deliver presentations to groups of employees, ultimately finding ways to secure pledges in support of the cause.
In the beginning, my presentations were focused on the basic services provided by the UW in the community. Based on the speaking time limit I was under, I mentioned the programs provided and soon after made the “ask” for pledges. It somehow felt that something was missing, like the audience did not have enough information to make a donation, like the “ask” had a less than desired impact. I have witnessed other fundraisers go directly to the ask, and in one-on-one donor relationships, run the risk of receiving a token donation just to get rid of them, or having the donor avoid phone calls or other attempted contacts altogether. (I think most of us have experienced this at one time or another). It wasn’t until I thought more about the audience members (empathy) and what it would take to make me consider donating, if I were sitting with them.
What I came up with, that definitely worked for my presentations, involved trying to identify the emotions and common concerns important to the audience members, and addressing them as best I could within a group setting. Some examples of audience concerns might include a common fear of being the only one donating and the possibility of being taken (making a mistake), or how do I know the money is being used in the most impactful manner, or even who is actually being helped or receiving the services, and is it actually making a difference? The more I touched upon the emotions and feelings generated by the work done by the organization, typically based on facts as well as through the use of stories, the more it “moved” people to donate. I could have simply made the ask, but if the audience members were not moved by the presentation, then an ask may not be as effective. The more I focused on the audience concerns, the more it moved people and gained their attention, making it an effective 5 – 20 minute presentation.
Bottom line, the more you are able to move people, rather than only relying on the ask, the better chance you will have to reach people, not only in group presentations, but also in one-on-one donor meetings such as major gifts and/or planned giving relationships. Asking is necessary, but the ability to work on an emotional level can move people to donate, making the ask that much more effective, and a much better chance of creating a long-term donor relationship. Ultimately, you have a great chance to achieve your goal of making a difference in the lives of those in need.
Photo by: Karolina Grabowska (www.pexels.com)