What is the most important thing you can do in 2021 to make an impact on your fundraising program? You simply must ask for the gift.
When was the last time you were on a call to ask someone for a gift? Or for a meeting on Zoom? Has it been that long?
Throughout our lives we want and need things--in order to get them, we ask. We ask:
Our spouse to consider taking time from work to go on vacation.
Our boss for a promotion and an increase in salary.
The bank for a lower mortgage rate.
Our boyfriend for a little more space--a little more time alone from one another.
The chef to substitute a different vegetable or not to use salt on the food.
The hotel to disregard our reservation--covid prohibited us from attending that wedding.
Our neighbor to please quiet the jumping, barking dog upstairs.
In each case we ask for a specific reason. With a specific goal in mind. In each case we organize our thoughts in advance and think long and hard (if it is a difficult ask) about the other person's feelings and how he/she would be responding. The plan is to have a discussion, ease into the ask. To frame the ask so it is as palatable as possible to the other person. To show the other person exactly how this is going to benefit them at the same time. To ensure that no one loses face or that they are not backed into a corner. We know there has to be a way to handle this so that there is no damage to the relationship.
It is no different when asking for a gift for your charitable organization.
Ask boldly.
Ask directly.
Be sure that you are being reasonable.
Or that you have framed the conversation as a chance to explore how the future might look with their support.
And plan that you always ask specifically.
I always thought that asking for a specific amount of money was a given. But now in a consulting situation I have seen that many organizations or development officers do not share this belief. And now I have also seen that not being specific results in very disappointing outcomes...a gift was never given because the donor didn't know what the organization really wanted. In the absence of information, the prospect found that no action was the easiest way to handle the situation. One can understand what that does to the revenue line for the organization as well as for the development officer.
I have also been surprised to see how often a development officer judged the outcome prior to a meeting ever occurring--no, they told themselves and others. That person is not going to want to give. No, that person is not going to want to attend the gala. So the ask never occurred and that person was not involved and has never given a gift--yet, often that person later turned out to be a perfect prospect.
That's got to change if the development officer or the organization wants to move forward in 2021.
A few examples.
More than 20 years ago I went on a call with a more senior member of the development team. We were going to ask the prospect for a gift of $500,000 for a major campaign that we had launched. We secured a meeting with the individual and invited the director of the organization to be a part of it.
Before the meeting occurred the senior development officer took me aside and said that he did not want to ask for a specific amount--that that would require another meeting. I pointed out that the prospect was the consummate business man, was on the board, knew about the campaign, and surely understood that this particular meeting was designed to ask him for a gift. That to wait for another meeting could slow down the process unnecessarily.
No matter, he did not want to ask for the gift at that meeting.
Finally, I noted that the highly possible outcome of the meeting would be that the gentleman would advance his own gift level. And it might be different than ours. nd that's what happened.
The meeting went very well and we finished discussing the campaign and the needs that were to be met. We talked about the impact that it would have on the future and the momentum that would be yet another favorable outcome. And the senior development officer was ready to finalize the meeting when the prospect volunteered that he would give $250,000 over five years for the campaign.
This was not the result that we were looking for, but, of course, it was not surprising given that we were not direct. And, most of all, we were not specific. Nonetheless, we expressed our gratitude genuinely and over the years never missed a chance to thank him for what he had done.
With that same development officer I had gone to see a wealthy gentleman who had supported the organization in the past, perhaps not at the gift level we wanted to ask for that day. The senior development officer asked me to lay all the groundwork during the meeting and he would then, himself, ask for the gift. I remember the day because it had really snowed that night and I was worried about the hour and a half journey to the meeting.
We made it to the meeting on time and proceeded to discuss the plan. All went quite smoothly. This was to be a request for $1 million to match a challenge grant of $1 million. And at the appointed moment, instead of asking, the senior development officer stood up, thanked the prospect for his time, and we left. He never asked for the gift because he did not feel it was the right time.
By the next week, that request was advanced and $1 million was given. But it had been an awkward sequence of events to get there. And if this prospect had been a different person, the moment could really have been lost.
My last example is of a very senior executive who received life-saving services from the organization. And every year he gave $10,000. But no one knew him. No one had taken the time. No one had done any research. No one had gotten to know him or asked him for anything.
Then it was discovered through careful review by a different development officer who he was and what had happened. A plan was quickly put in place and a series of meetings were held--lengthy phone calls as well as a personal visit. All designed with a multi-million gift in mind. Within a relatively short time, this gentleman gave several million dollars for ongoing research and also had a plan in place for a legacy gift. The requests for funding were all very specific, very direct, and, of course, bold. And now the relationship is going to be very long-term.
These are three examples that are good illustrations of how important it is to ensure that you do ask. Ask boldly, directly and specifically. Of course, you have to be prepared for an outcome that might not be according to your plan. But I guarantee that if you don't follow this direction, that if you don't ask, that if you simply assume that the prospect will give without knowing what you really want, you will also be disappointed. And so will others.
Instead, approach the year with optimism. Formulate your overall plans. Then begin to think about how you will structure your requests. Expand the base of prospects. Think of new ways, out of the box ways, in which you will handle your own fundraising approaches. Because it is 2021. And 2021 promises to be a very good year. Filled with opportunities and amazing possibilities.