Fundraisers Need To Always Be Ready To Ask.

Three true stories that make this article a little longer than usual, but there’s a payoff at the end.

Story One:

The meeting with the State Legislature’s Finance Committee had been planned for several weeks. For the past three years, the nonprofit I worked with had received grants from the state for about $600,000 annually to implement our innovative program in specific public schools.

Our meeting with the committee was intended solely to inform the committee members of the progress and impact of the program.

We did not plan to ask for any increase in funding at the time, even though we had discussed requesting the state to double its grant. That request could come later. Let’s do this stewardship first, we thought.  

The meeting room was full, including House members who were not on the Finance Committee and State Senators who were leading supporters of our program. Our factual report to the committee went as planned. During the Q&A, our founder shared personal stories about the impact of the program on actual students. Two legislators recounted very positive stories they had heard about the program from teachers.

Then lightning struck.

From the back of the room, a legislator who we did not know stood up and shared how our program had turned around the life of his daughter, and may have even saved her life, and his marriage, because of the understanding they all gained about their daughter’s condition. As the impact of the story and the man’s raw emotions sunk in, a stunned silence filled the room.

The committee chair finally broke the silence and asked our team, “What do you want us to do?”

Our founder, our executive director, the chair of our executive committee, and the program director all turned to me, the director of development, for an answer.

I took a deep breath, collected myself, and replied. “Our purpose today was to express our gratitude for the grants from the state and to report on the exceptional impact of the program. We want you to know this program is helping students in this state in very meaningful ways.”

After expressing their collective gratitude and a few more comments, the meeting ended. We had done exactly what we went to do.

Yet, upon reflection, I could not believe that – in that powerful moment – I had neglected to deliver an ask, or even ask for an invitation to deliver a proposal in the near future.

After expressing our gratitude, I could have stated our request for $1.2 million and had an actual proposal ready to be delivered when they asked. Or I could have made our request to double funding and impact, and promised that a proposal would be forthcoming.

Even though our purpose was stewardship, when the Finance Committee chair asked his question, I should have been ready to ask for additional funding.

We sent a proposal the next week, but the emotional moment and the opportunity to deliver a powerful request to double state funding was gone, vanished, never to be seen again. No one can predict if we would have received increased funding if we had asked during the meeting.

Regardless, I learned a valuable lesson: Always be ready to ask. Always.

If I am ready to ask, but decide for any legitimate reason not to ask, at least I am ready.

Story Two:

A new college president was visiting for the first time with a very wealthy alumnus. The visit was going very well, and as the meeting neared its end, the alumnus asked, “What would you like me to do?”

The answer from the surprised and not-prepared-to-ask college president was, “I ask that you give whatever you are comfortable giving.”

The savvy alumnus opened his wallet, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and said, “I am comfortable giving you this from my wallet.”

That day, this president and his vice president for development learned a valuable lesson in-person: Always be ready to ask.

The president could have had a menu of funding options ready to discuss.

He could have said he wanted the alumnus to make a significant gift to the current campaign and would be following up with a proposal for him to consider.

He could have been ready to ask for a specific gift based on the donor’s giving to other nonprofits, and/or his estimated ability to give.

Whatever ask the president and vice president thought best, they should always be ready to ask – And in this case, it is the vice president’s responsibility to do most of the legwork to prepare the president for these possibilities.

Story Three:

An excellent fundraiser I work with went to see a very successful, still up-and-coming, but already very wealthy prospect. The prospect had told the fundraiser at their first meeting that he was not yet ready to consider a gift.

Upon pulling up to the prospect’s home to personally deliver tickets to an upcoming event, the fundraiser found this usually very intense gentleman standing in his driveway, barefoot, and in a very relaxed and upbeat mood. In the course of their short conversation, the fundraiser sensed the prospect was now ready to consider a gift.

“Would you be willing now to consider a gift, something to get you started as a leadership donor to our annual fund, for instance?”

The donor responded affirmatively and asked the fundraiser what that amount would be.

“A leadership gift to the annual fund of $25,000 would have a significant impact on our efforts,” the fundraiser replied. To which the donor responded, “I can do that.”

When I checked with the fundraiser on the status of this gift, he informed me the transfer of stock had arrived.

This positive outcome is why today’s lesson is so important – it was also demonstrated so ably by this excellent fundraiser: Always be ready to ask. Always.

Put this tip into practice in your work with prospects and donors. You will be pleased with the results.

As always, your feedback is always welcomed. Thx ben