Latest / Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for Startup, Small, and Growing Nonprofits / What to Say When It's Time to Ask For a Gift | Fearless Fundraising Part 3 (ep. 68)
Transcript
- Matt Stockman (00:00) There's a moment in almost every fundraising conversation where things can suddenly get uncomfortable. You've told somebody about the problem. They understand why it matters. You've shown them what can change and how they can be a part of making that change happen. All of the things are in place. And then you get to the moment where you actually have to invite them to make a gift. And for a lot of nonprofit leaders, that's where all the confidence they had five minutes ago suddenly goes out the window and disappears because talking about the mission feels natural. Talking about impact feels natural. In fact, it feels exciting, but talking about money can feel very different. But here's what I want to show you today. If you've done the first two parts of the fearless fundraising framework well, the ask shouldn't feel like an awkward change of subject at all. It should feel like the natural next step in the conversation. Today we're talking about step number three of the fearless fundraising framework, the ask. Matt Stockman (01:04) Welcome to the Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for Startup, Small and Growing Nonprofits. This podcast exists to help you build your nonprofit from the ground up on a financially strong foundation by providing clear frameworks, practical tools, and real-world guidance that you can actually put into practice. I'm Matt Stockman. I'm a nonprofit growth coach. Thrilled to have you listening. At Nonprofit Launch Plan, we believe that every successful nonprofit has to be operating at peak performance. Across six key areas: leadership, fundraising, marketing, programs and services, operations, and finances. So every episode we focus on one of these core areas to help you make lasting impact in your nonprofit. Now, before we dive into today's episode, fundraising is probably one of the biggest challenges you're facing as the executive director of your nonprofit. It's what everybody struggles with. How do we get the money we need to do the work that we're called to do? And The whole thing can feel really overwhelming when you're not sure where to start or what to say or how to consistently invite people to financially support your mission. It's why I created the Fearless Fundraising Framework. It's a simple five-step approach that helps you clearly communicate the problem, solution, ask, urgency, and action, and gives you language that you can use in one-on-one conversations and emails, your website, and the rest of your fundraising communication. And today we're working on the third piece of that framework, the ask, which is one of the most difficult ones. But if you're listening and you're thinking, boy, I'd really had like to have Matt's help, have him help me build this instead of trying to figure all of these five pieces out on my own. Let me just recommend I offer a complimentary 90-minute coaching call where you and I will build your nonprofits, fearless fundraising framework together. We'll map out all five pieces around your actual organization. So you get to leave with greater clarity about your message and more confidence about how to invite people into financially supporting your work. Because I believe there are people who would gladly support what you're doing. But if the opportunity isn't presented clearly, if you're hesitant to confidently invite them into it, some of those gifts simply aren't going to happen. Which means less funding. And ultimately that means fewer people getting to experience the impact that your nonprofit exists to make. So instead, imagine knowing exactly how to explain your work, knowing what to ask for, and having a steady stream of financial support that allows you to launch the programs that you've been dreaming about and build a nonprofit that can make an impact for years to come. So I'm going to teach you how to build one piece of that framework today. But again, if you'd rather work through the whole thing with me one-on-one and also learn more about what it's like to work with me as a coach, go to nonprofitlaunchplan.com and click book a call. We'll spend complimentary 90 minutes together building your fearless fundraising framework around your nonprofit. Nonprofitlaunchplan dot com, click book a call. Okay, over the last two episodes, we've been building this fundraising conversation one piece at a time. In step one, we worked on the problem. What needs to change? What is happening in the world, in your community, or in somebody's life that your nonprofit exists to address? Then in step two, we talked about the solution, what could be different, And how can a potential donor become a part of making that difference possible? So at this point, we have two sentences. The problem we exist to solve is fill in the blank. That was episode one. And because of your support, fill in the blank, now we get to the sentence that a lot of nonprofit leaders would just rather avoid. Would you consider or your gift of? That's the ask. And I want to start with something that I think can change the way you think about this entire part of fundraising. You are not interrupting a perfectly good conversation to ask somebody for money. You say that again, you're not interrupting a conversation to ask somebody for money. Rather, you're inviting them to act on something you have just told them matters. That's a shift in mindset that's really important. One of the books I've recommended for years, especially for leaders of faith-based nonprofits and other Christian ministries, is Henry Nowen's book, A Spirituality of Fundraising. One of the big ideas behind that book is that fundraising can be an invitation into relationship and community and shared mission. That has always resonated with me because there is a huge difference between transactional fundraising and relational fundraising. Transactional fundraising Sounds like this. We need something from you so that we can go do the work. We have a budget shortfall. We need $20,000. We have a program that we're trying to launch. We need a new van. We need money. And you have money. So we're going to ask you for some of yours so we can go do something. That's a transaction. Relational fundraising sounds very different. There's something important happening here. We believe something can change. We know how to help create that change, and we would love for you to be a part of making it possible by partnering with us. Now we're talking about a partnership. Your donor is playing an equally important real role in the work. In the last episode, we talked about making the donor the hero. Your organization is the guide. You've got the expertise and the programs and the staff and the relationships and the infrastructure to make the impact possible, but your donor. has resources that help make the impact possible. And without them, the impact either can't happen at all or can't happen In as significant a way as you'd like. So when you make an ask, you're not imposing on somebody. You're giving them an opportunity to participate. Now that doesn't mean everybody is gonna say yes. They won't. I can't fix that. No coach can fix that. But somebody saying no does not mean you were wrong to invite them. And I think that's a really big sort of mindset shift. Nonprofit leaders need to make. Your job is not to make somebody Give. Your job actually is just to clearly present the opportunity and then confidently invite them into it. They get to decide what they do at that invitation. And that leads directly into one of the biggest fundraising mistakes I see people make when they finally get to this moment where they have to make the ask. They get really vague. They do all of this good work explaining the mission, talking about the problem, building the relationship. Helping somebody understand the impact. And then when it comes to actually asking, they say something like, Well, you know, if you'd ever like to help somehow, that would be great. Or, you know, anything you can do would be so appreciated. Or another one, you know, just pray about it and see what you think. Either way is fine. And then they stop. The potential donor is left wondering what. you actually want them to do? Do you want $20? Do you want $200? Do you want $20 grand? Do you want a monthly gift? I have no idea how I'm supposed to respond. Do you want me to sponsor something? Do you want me to volunteer? What do you want me to do? Clarity is a gift to your donor. We talked about that in the first episode when we worked on the problem statement, and the principal keeps carrying through every step of the framework. That's why we build the framework so it's clear, a clear problem, a clear solution. Now a clear ask. Let me give you an example. Imagine you operate a residential program and the cost to provide care for one resident is about $3,000 a month. You could say, Would you consider supporting the program? I get letters like that all the time. That technically qualifies as an ask, but it doesn't give the person much to work with. What if instead you said it costs about $3,000 each month to provide housing and meals and care for one resident? Would you consider becoming a monthly partner at $100 a month? That would cover roughly one day of care every month. Now I know what you're asking me for, and I know what my gift does. That combination is really important and powerful, a specific amount and a specific impact. You could take that same concept into almost any kind of nonprofit. For example, maybe it costs 75 bucks to provide one student with school supplies and program materials for a semester. The ask, would you consider giving $75 to equip one student? Maybe $500 provides a month of mentoring and support for a young person. Would you consider covering one month of mentoring for a student? Maybe you're trying to fund a $25,000 project and you're sitting across the table from somebody who has significant giving capacity. You say, we still need $10,000 to fully fund this project. Would you consider making a $5,000 gift toward it? It's clear. Clarity is not pressure. Some nonprofit leaders avoid specific amounts because they're afraid of either being pushy and they feel. That throwing out a specific amount will either make a person run off because the suggested gift is way out of their capacity. Or the other extreme, the suggested gift was way lower than the potential donor was thinking of giving. And now we're only going to get a hundred dollar gift from this person because that's what we asked for when the giver was actually thinking they'd do up to 10,000. So everybody thinks that the solution to the conundrum is to say, whatever you can give will make a difference. And that's true, but the problem is, is Is it now makes the donor do all of the work figuring out what the expectation is? They have to figure out do they want 20, do they want 200, do they want 20 grand? Being clear and specific in the ask actually makes the decision easier. Imagine walking into a restaurant, for example, and asking the server, how much is the steak tonight? And they say, Well, whatever you feel led to pay would be wonderful. Which is a lot of what we say in donor conversations. That wouldn't feel freeing, though. It would feel confusing. You want to know what the stake costs. your potential donors deserves that same kind of clarity about the opportunity that you are presenting to them. Now, that doesn't mean that you always have to prescribe one exact number. Sometimes it makes sense to offer a couple of options. Maybe you say something like, Would you consider partnering with us at $50 or $100 per month? Or maybe your campaign has several natural levels that connect to specific impact. That can be helpful. But one thing I would be careful about giving people too many choices. There's a reason restaurant menus with 147 items can feel overwhelming. More choices don't always make decisions easier. Sometimes they actually make the decisions harder. And if you have Eight different giving levels and four different programs they can designate their gift towards monthly and one-time options and five check boxes underneath that. You've made the donor do a lot of work just to figure out what you want them to do. So in most situations, I would rather give somebody one or two clear options, certainly no more than three. Help them make a decision. And here is another important part of making the ask. The ask should fit the person and the situation. The way you make an ask in a year-end fundraising email is different from the way you make an ask sitting across the table from a potential major donor. If you're sending an email to 2,000 people, you probably don't know the financial capacity of every person getting it. So your ask may need to be broader and maybe your traditional core monthly invitation amount or something. But when you're having a one-on-one with someone, especially somebody you know well, You should have done some thinking beforehand. What do I know about this person? What is their relationship with our nonprofit? What is their history? Have they given before? What are they passionate about? What levels have they come in before? What kind of financial capacity do you think they might have? And finally, what would be an appropriate invitation for them? This is where fundraising gets even more relational because you're not dropping the same script on every person you meet, you're listening to them. You're finding out what makes them tick, what excites them, you're learning, you're paying attention. And then you're making an invitation that makes sense in the context of the relationship. For example, suppose somebody has been giving to your nonprofit a hundred bucks a month for the last three years. You probably don't need to approach them like somebody who just heard about the organization yesterday. They're already committed. They already believe in the work. They already have a track record. Of enormous generosity. So maybe the conversation goes more like this. Joe, you've been such a consistent part of this work for the last three years. We are super grateful. Now we're blowing up this program next year and we're looking for 10 partners who could increase their support by 100 bucks a month. Would you consider being one of those 10? That's a very different ask than you would make to somebody who's never given before. Or maybe you're meeting with somebody for the first time and they clearly care about the problem, but you don't yet know much about their financial situation. You might say, hey, we've got partners that are giving at several different levels, but one of the biggest needs right now is finding people who could commit to $50 or $100 a month. Would either of those be something that you feel like you could do? You're still being clear. You're just tailoring the invitation to the relationship. And want to talk about what happens immediately after you make the ask because this is where a lot of us sabotage ourselves. You ask the question and then you keep talking. Would you consider giving $100 a month? And before you answer, I totally understand if you can't, because I know everybody's got a lot going on. And obviously there's no pressure and you could do less, or maybe you could do more if now isn't a good time. Stop all that. You made the ask confidently. You've used the problem and solution. Just be quiet. Let them think. Silence can feel painfully long when you're the person who just asked somebody for money. Five seconds can feel like 45 minutes, but they may simply be processing the decision. Let them. You do not need to rescue them from the discomfort of thinking. And you definitely do not need to negotiate against yourself before they've even answered. This is something you can actually practice. Literally practice saying, would you consider becoming a monthly partner at a hundred bucks a month? And then stop talking. Become comfortable with the silence, because confidence in fundraising sometimes looks like being willing to wait for the answer. Now, what if the answer is no? I think this is one of the reasons we soften our asks so much. If I never make a clear ask, I never have to hear a clear no. But a vague fundraising ask protects the fundraiser, you, more than it serves the donor. If somebody says no, you can simply say, absolutely, thank you for even considering it. You don't have to make it weird. You don't have to convince them. You don't have to immediately offer them six smaller giving levels, and you certainly don't have to treat them differently because they didn't give. That relationship is still really valuable. The no may mean not now. It may mean not this amount. It may mean they support another cause more deeply. And it may mean that their financial circumstances are just different than what you thought, all of which are okay, or it may just mean no. And that's okay too. If you're a faith-based organization, there's another layer here that I think can be particularly freeing. you have a responsibility to clearly communicate the opportunity and make the invitation, you do not have the responsibility for the other person's decision. That belongs to them. And ultimately, that belongs to God. That can take an enormous amount of pressure off fundraising. You can be faithful. And clear in the invitation without feeling like you somehow failed every time somebody decides not to give. Now, let's make this practical and connect it directly to the work we've done in the first two episodes. After episode one, I asked you to finish this sentence. The problem we exist to solve is fill in the blank. Episode two, we added, because of your support, fill in the blank. Today we're we're adding a third sentence. Would you consider? And I want you to actually finish that sentence with a specific ask. So let's go back, for example, to the foster care example we've been using. Maybe your first sentence is there are children in our county who are being placed far away from their families, schools, and communities because there just aren't enough foster homes available locally. That's the problem. Step one. Then step two, the solution. Because of your support, more kids can remain connected to the people and communities they already know while they move towards a safe and permanent home. That's the solution. Step three, the ask. Your partnership at $100 a month would recruit and onboard and provide the support needed for a new foster family here in our county. Now we've got a fundraising conversation that is starting to take shape. We have the problem, we have the solution, And then we've made a very clear, concise ask. And notice how much easier the ask feels because everything that came before it. If I walked up to somebody cold and said, Would you give me $100 a month? That's really awkward and uncomfortable. The answer would most certainly be no. But if they understand the problem, they can picture the person affected by it, they can see what can change and understand the role they can play in changing it, then asking for $100 a month makes sense. That's why these five pieces belong together. Now, here's another exercise I want you to try. Take the ask you've just written and test it with three questions. First, is it specific? Can the person tell exactly what I'm asking them to do? Second, is it connected to impact? Can they understand what their gift helps make possible? And third, is it appropriate? Does this amount and this type of gift make sense for the person and the context in which I'm asking? And if the answer to those three questions is a yes, you've probably got a pretty strong ask. Then practice it. Say the words out loud. Say it over and over and over again. This is important because these sentences that look perfectly normal on your screen, they will feel incredibly unnatural coming out of your mouth if you don't practice them. You need language that sounds like you. Maybe you're more comfortable saying, would you consider partnering with us at $100 a month? Or maybe your natural language is, would you be willing to help fund one month of program with a $500 gift? Maybe you say, Would you consider a gift of $2,500 towards this project? There isn't a magical sentence. It needs to sound like you. The goal is not memorizing my words, but the goal is rather getting comfortable making a clear invitation in the way that you would say it. I would also practice this with your board. This is really valuable if your board members are uncomfortable with fundraising Because very often they're imagining that fundraising means walking up to strangers and asking them for money. Help them to see the full framework, all five steps. Here's the problem. Here's what can change. Here's the role somebody can play. And here's the invitation to get involved. That feels human and much more relational, something we're partnering together to do, not a transaction where I'm asking you to give me so I can go do. At the end of the day, I want you to remember this. The ask is not the uncomfortable thing you have to tack on to the end of a fundraising conversation. The ask, rather, is the moment where you give somebody the opportunity to act on the impact you've just helped them see. Without an ask. You've informed them, you've educated them, maybe you've even inspired them, but you haven't actually invited them to participate. So make the invitation, make it clear, connect it to the impact, make it appropriate to the person you're in front of, and then give them the dignity of deciding what they want to do. That's step three of the fearless fundraising framework. Step one again, the problem, what needs to change. Step two, the solution. What can the donor help make possible? Step three, ask. What specifically are you inviting them to do? And in the next episode, we're going to add another really important piece because somebody can understand the problem, see the solution, and even believe your ask is reasonable, but still think, great, I'll do that someday and I'll get around to it eventually. So step four is about answering another question. Why now? We're going to talk about urgency and how you can create a legitimate reason for somebody to act today without manufacturing pressure or manipulating them. For now, I want you to keep building your framework. The problem we exist to solve is fill in the blank. Because of your support, fill in the blank. And your support makes fill in the blank possible. Would you consider? Get clear on these three sentences, practice saying them, and make sure that when you get to the ask, the potential donor doesn't have to guess what you're inviting them to do. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Nonprofit Launch Plan podcast. That's gonna wrap it up for today. Before you go, fundraising, of course, no doubt one of the biggest challenges you're facing as you lead your nonprofit. I'd love to help you build a plan for it. It's why we're doing these episodes. I've got a free complimentary, it's free and complimentary. I think that means the same thing. 90 minute coaching call, where you and I will build your fearless fundraising framework together. We'll work through the five pieces every fundraising conversation needs, the problem, solution, ask, urgency, and action. And when we're done, you'll have a clear framework that you can use in donor conversations, emails, your website, and the rest of your fundraising communication. Because there are people who would happily support what you're doing. They just simply need to understand the opportunity and be confidently invited into it. So if you're ready to get clear and more confident about raising the money your nonprofit needs, go to nonprofitlaunchplan.com and click book a call. We'll spend 90 minutes together and build your fearless fundraising framework. That's nonprofitlaunchplan.com and click book a call. I'll see you there. Remember, it's complimentary. That's it for this episode of the Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast for Startup Small and Growing Nonprofits. Thank you so much for watching and listening. And listen, if you felt like this podcast episode, is helpful, would you consider sharing it with another nonprofit leader who you think might need the clarity? Until next time, thank you so much. Keep building your nonprofit wisely and keep making a difference.