Perhaps there’s nothing we obsess about more than what to request, and we’re often second guessing ourselves right up until the moment we say “would you consider a gift of $10,000 for our library expansion?”
Here I’ll touch on three proven ways to consider in determining how much to request the next time you meet with a donor.
These include giving history, fundraising goals, and special opportunities. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but rather a solid sense of where to look for information and inspiration!
Learn more about these methods and three others in my new 19-minute video training, Determine the Ask Amount. Watch for free as part of your Asking Matters membership. Get started now with a 30-day free trial.
1. Donor History
So we start with the donor’s giving history. The last gift is often a good starting point but for long-term donors you should also be looking at the patterns. Gifts might be increasing over time at a certain rate. They may have gone up and down and you might be able to reference earlier higher-level gifts.
Longevity and consistency are signs of a level of loyalty which should also give you comfort in looking to increase that person’s gift. Every situation is unique, and what’s often more compelling and rational is asking a donor to increase to your next giving level – perhaps from $1,000 to $2,500, etc.
2. Fundraising Goals
Sometimes you can use fundraising goals as a framework for the ask. This works well if you are soliciting a specific group of people such as the board. You might have a dollar goal for the board and might be able to put the increased ask in the context of that overall goal for that group.
But keep in mind it has to be something someone can visualize, so it often doesn’t work if you’re talking to donors generally. It’s much more helpful when it’s a small set of donors and each one can see where his or her gift would fit in the puzzle.
3. Special Opportunities
Last we have special opportunities such as matching and challenge gifts, one-time campaigns, capital campaigns, and new programs where you can ask for an increased gift because something special is happening at that moment. In most cases this will be seen as a one-off, but often donors will give an increased gift again in the future. Though it might not be equal to their basic gift and the special one-time gift, it will generally be higher than the original basic gift.
Bonus Tip: Use Your Asking Style
Your Asking Style will influence the type of information and the amount of information you need to gather before confidently setting out to contact and meet with your donor. Do you know your Asking Style? If not, the assessment only takes three minutes and knowing you’re Asking Style will help you understand your challenges in determining the ask amount.
And never forgot over time you will learn much more about your donors and their capacity, willingness, and readiness to give. So even though determining the gift seems critically important, please remember the dialogue around the ask is actually much more important.
How to Learn More
To watch our new 19-minute video training on these three proven ways and three more to Determine the Ask Amount (with companion worksheet), and more fundraising videos sign up for your free 30-day trial of membership. You’ll get access to our video training library, 16-week Introduction to Asking Matters, Brian’s Office Hours webinars twice each month, and many more fundraising benefits!
