Get to know your donor

Great questions to ask people to get to know?them and spark interest in your?cause.?

Before an ask, donors want two things from a relationship with a fundraiser: for you to understand their motivations and for you to understand their circumstances. The only way to get to know those two things is through an authentic connection. These questions are meant to inspire your donor meetings. I have put them in three categories: Learn about your donor, How you rate, and Learn about the issue from the donor perspective. Use them, and good luck!

LEARN ABOUT YOUR DONOR

What’s your story?

How do you make your philanthropic decisions?

How do you define philanthropy?

What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

What would you like to pass on to future generations?

How can we show you our appreciation?

What was your first gift to philanthropy and why?

What other organizations are you involved with? Do you sit on any boards or committees?

What are your dreams for the community??

HOW YOUR ORGANIZATION RATES

Why did you first give to our organization? ?Why do you continue?

What are your top three philanthropic priorities?

Where does our organization stand?

What interests you most about our organization? Why? What is less interesting to you??Why?

How do we compare to other nonprofits you support?

What do you tell others about us?

How can we make the impact of your gift clear?

What are the most critical results you expect our organization to produce?

What could increase your confidence in giving to our organization?

If you could tell our CEO three things, what would they be?

If you were CEO for a day, what would you do?

LEARN ABOUT THE ISSUE FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE

Tell me how you got to caring about this issue.

If you could wave a magic wand to address this issue, what would you do?

What is your vision for our community? What do you think we need to get there?

What do you think would most transform our/this situation?

What other organizations are really making an impact on this issue?

Remember:

Donors don’t need a friend.

Donors don’t want to have to remind you that they are a donor.

Some donors don’t want to meet.

Some donors don’t want to talk.

And if they never return your calls or emails but they give, that is a response.

Let me know if you want to inspire your donors or reinvigorate your fundraising team: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/catslackofficial/.

Some of the questions come from: AFP Calgary, Bloomerang, Aperio, and other amazing fundraisers