Don't ask for money

March 09, 2008

Posted in Fundraising.

One of our new board members has worked in several not-for-profits in a variety of fundraising-related roles. I’ve been looking to him for insight into this process. Recently, he told us, “Don’t ask for money. Tell a story and you won’t need to ask.”

The idea is that your donor has to believe in what you do and the story does this. It says, “look what we’ve been able to do with so little.” You leave it up to the donor to take the next step and wonder, “What could you do with more?”

Of course, I’m new to fundraising and can’t speak from experience on this. Still, it’s an interesting theory.

1 Comment

  1. Sally — June 17, 2008

    When visiting a major propest, what are the 5 pieces of info you want to come away with and what questions do you ask to get this info?

    Thanks for sharing your insight!

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