What to Say When It's Time to Ask For a Gift | Fearless Fundraising Part 3 (ep. 68)

Making the ask is often the moment when an otherwise confident fundraising conversation suddenly gets uncomfortable.

You can talk passionately about the problem your nonprofit exists to solve. You can explain the impact your organization is making. But then comes the moment when you actually have to ask someone to give.

In this episode of the Nonprofit Launch Plan Podcast, we continue building the Fearless Fundraising Framework with Step 3: The Ask.

A strong fundraising ask isn’t about pressuring someone into giving. It’s about clearly inviting them to participate in an impact they already understand and care about.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why asking for money shouldn’t feel like an awkward change of subjectThe difference between transactional and relational fundraisingWhy vague fundraising asks make giving harder for donorsHow to connect a specific gift amount to a specific impactWhy clarity is not the same thing as pressureHow many giving options you should offerHow to tailor your ask based on the donor and the relationshipWhat to do immediately after you make the askWhy silence is an important fundraising skillHow to respond when a donor says noThree questions you can use to test whether your fundraising ask is strongThe goal isn’t to find a magical fundraising script that guarantees someone will say yes.

Your job is to clearly present the opportunity, confidently invite someone to participate, and then give them the dignity of deciding what they want to do.

Build Your Fearless Fundraising Framework

The Fearless Fundraising Framework is built around five pieces:

Problem: What needs to change?Solution: What can the donor help make possible?Ask: What specifically are you inviting them to do?Urgency: Why should they act now?Action: What should they do next?For this episode, work on completing this sentence:

Would you consider ____________________?

Then test your ask with three questions: