Fundraising Tip- How To Ask For Donations

Hi, my name is Ayda Sanver and I’m a fundraising consultant, and I’m here to make this short video and share with you some tips today for fundraising. I wanted to talk about the most commonly asked question I get from friends and clients about asking others for donations, and the question I most often get is, “Ayda, what do I do? I’ve got to raise some money or collect some silent auction items for my favorite nonprofit, and I’m too shy to ask.. and asking is scary.” Well, guess what, asking IS scary! It’s scary for all of us. But, there’s two things I’m going to tell you up front before I give you the tips that will hopefully boost your confidence. First, if you don’t ask, the answer is always “no.” Do you understand? If you don’t ask, the answer is always going to be “no.” So, you have to take that leap of faith and make an ask. Second, when you do ask, and the answer is “no,” no isn’t fatal! Nobody died from hearing the word “no!” It just means you have to keep going and ask others. So, you need to have a way longer list of people and organizations to ask than your goal of success. So, with those two little ground rules in mind, hopefully that gives you a little bit of confidence. The next tip I’m going to give you to me is the simplest one. You already have the passion. You care about this cause. You care about it so much that you want to make a difference. Well, let that passion speak for you when you are talking to other people! How do you do that? You do that by telling them a story about someone you know, or someone the nonprofit has told you has been helped by their work – or it could be an animal rescue nonprofit, or a saving parks nonprofit.. find a good story. Usually, those stories are on the nonprofit’s web site, and if they are not, you can ask them to give you good stories. So, if you can tell a short, good story about the impact that organization made on one person, one animal, or one group of people, then you are half way there. Because, when you approach your friends or potential donors, you can tell that story from a place of heartfelt passion, and say, “I’d like to tell you a story about this great nonprofit and the work that they do. Do you have a minute?” Then, you start to tell the story… and then you make the “ask.” So, you already know you have the passion – you just need the words to make it happen, right? I have other tips like this on my website, and I have a free download, I look forward to hearing your feedback, and I look forward to speaking with you. As with you and everybody else that I work with – clients, friends, people that I coach – asking isn’t scary. It does take practice, and it takes some knowledge. Thank you for your time, I look forward to your feedback. Visit www.aydasanver.com for a free 30-minute coaching session!