Emails.

Appeal letters.

Phone calls.

Events.

Social media.

One-on-one meetings.

There are many different ways you can ask people for donations. But how do you get the courage to ask? Today, I want to share with you some recommendations on how you can overcome the fear of asking for donations.

You’ve likely considered using volunteers to help you fundraise.

It seems logical to use the “divide and conquer” strategy, right?

When you fundraise with volunteers, I recommend you listen to Kenny Rogers’ advice:

You got to know when to hold ’em,
Know when to fold ’em,
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.

Let me explain further:

We are now in the season of Lent. As you know, the three pillars of Lent are:

1) Prayer
2) Fasting
3) Almsgiving

How do you approach fundraising/almsgiving during this holy season?

Here are three recommendations for you and your Catholic apostolate:

You or an acquaintance is likely involved in school fundraising.

I receive many inquiries about fundraising for a Catholic school.

Sometimes the questions come from a network of homeschooling parents who want to launch an actual “bricks and mortar” school.

Sometimes the leadership team of a longstanding school with hundreds of students has questions about expanding their enrollment.

Whatever the case may be, there are certain fundamentals that you never want to forget. Here is what I think they are:

We all want to find that one donor who can write a MASSIVE check.

Well, how do you get the big BIG check?

How do you find the MAJOR donor?

I’ve had my share of success stories in the arena of a major gift fundraising, and if I could offer you some advice, it would be this: