Posted on

What to say (and not say) when asking for donations

There is an art to asking for a donation. I am not talking just about intuition and creativity. To become a great artist, you have to spend years learning and perfecting your craft, and it doesn’t come easy. You have to fail countless times until you get it right. You are constantly looking for what techniques, styles, compositions compliment one another.

Most importantly, you must search for your authentic style.

The same applies to the ask in fundraising. If you don’t take the time to learn the craft, you won’t get the results that you want. You will struggle to raise funds, and you won’t find your authentic voice.

Posted on

Stop screaming ‘Please Donate’ because people are not listening

You have a message that you want others to hear. You are inspired to bring Jesus into the world, and you want people to be as inspired as you. Sometimes you ponder about the possibilities in front of you. You see all the people’s lives you will help. You see it right in front of you. Now the question is how to get them to donate.

However, reality sets in when you look at what’s around you. No one is listening to you.

Why? We live in a noisy world where everyone has a message and wants to be heard. Everyone is also asking for donations. You and a million other people want to do something great, and you all want people’s financial support. So how do you get people’s attention and money?

The most common approach seems to shout louder than everyone else. If you still don’t have their attention, shout even louder. On top of that, you likely won’t get many opportunities, so you scream the one message you want people to do: Please donate!

Stop screaming, “Please donate!” because people are not listening

As you cry for help, among the cacophony of every else’s pleas for money, you have to realize that the people live noisy, busy, and distracting lives. They are trying to find ways to keep sanity, so the last thing they want is a charity constantly asking them to donate. When they hear you do this, they shut you off. They throw your appeal letter in the trash. They tune you out during your parish appeal. They walk away without even considering what you have to say.

So, let’s face the cold hard fact. Breaking through the noise and getting donations are practically impossible. That’s why most fundraising campaigns fail. There’s just too much noise, and too many people don’t want to listen. They are looking for peace and quiet. Not more demands of their money.

You can hope that people will eventually donate, but this is a passive approach that won’t get you very far, especially if you have ambitious plans. You have to take a different approach and rise above the noise. I know because God doesn’t want you to stress. He wants you to be smart and do what he’s calling you to do.

If everyone is on the same interstate that’s jammed with bumper to bumper traffic, you’ve got to get off onto a side road to get to your destination. Let’s do just that.

I discuss more on how to not scare people in this article, How to keep an authentic voice in Catholic fundraising.

I also talk about the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of fundraising in the Catholic Church which will help navigate the landscape.

How to get people to hear your request for money

In order to fundraise effectively in today’s Catholic landscape, you have to face an important. First, you have to understand that the strategy of hope fundraising doesn’t work. “Let’s pray people will donate,” or “Let’s hope this campaign works.” These approaches usually imply that you just wait and see what happens. Don’t get me wrong. I do believe in hope and prayer, but I think most people view hope and prayer in a secular way, not a Catholic way. Prayer and hope require action, not sitting around.

[Tweet “Prayer and hope require action, not sitting around.”]

Instead, I recommend you have an active approach to getting people’s attention that is much more aligned with our Catholic faith. If you want people to hear you, you simply have to speak in a gentle and consistent voice. When you combine these two factors together, consistently present and gently speaking, you have your best chance of being heard. Therefore, you want to find your consistent and tempered voice.

Who do you know that does this? God.

There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire—but the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound.

When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah?

– 1 Kings 19: 11-13

You won’t hear God screaming from rooftops. You won’t see him disrupting your day to day to get your attention. You won’t see him pushing himself in front of a crowd to be seen. You see and hear him only after you pause and recognize that he’s been with you the entire time.

You have to follow the same approach. You want to place yourself in the same situation when people finally pause and take notice of who’s around them.

From my experience, the best way to get someone to donate is to always be there with your calm voice until the moment presents itself. It’s the moment when the person is ready to take action. You can’t force someone to see you, listen to you, and then donate. You have to offer them the best possibility to do so.

[Tweet “Plan what you will say throughout the year to MAXIMIZE donations”]

It sounds so simple, but many Catholic organizations don’t take this action. They drum one monotonous voice twice a year, and it turns most people away.

Get into the habit of clearly articulating your voice with people on a consistent basis.

I go into more detail about how to ask for donations in this article, How to Ask for Gifts in a Catholic context.

Be patient. Donations will come

Breaking through the noise and being heard is harder than ever, but with a consistent approach to presenting your calm voice, you will be heard and rise above the static. It’s a paradox that works every time. You just have to be patient.

You don’t need to shout. You just have to keep tapping away. You have to know what you want to say and keep saying it. Week by week, month by month, and people will hear you. It’s only a matter of time that they trust what you say, and when that happens, and you are off to the races.

That’s why patience is so important. It’s also a fruit of the Holy Spirit, so pray to receive it. God gave you a voice. Use it wisely, spread the message of your mission, and patiently watch more people listen to you. Plant seeds, then add water and let God do the growing, but he can’t grow if you don’t plant.

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.” – 1 Corinthians 3:6

A Catholic approach to getting heard

Today’s approach to Catholic fundraising requires a return to a traditional approach to being heard. This means following God’s approach to a calm and moderated voice when asking for people’s support. I recommend following these four steps which will help you find a more authentic voice when it comes to asking for money.

Pray – Take time to collect several examples of messages you’ve shared with people over the past six months. Reflect on how you got people’s attention by asking yourself, “was my voice clear, consistent, and tempered?”

Pray – Read chapters five and six of the Book of Sirach. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you have sincerity in speech and honesty in discourse. Write down your reflections on how you can have a consistent, present, and tempered voice.

Pray – Spend time quietly mapping out a 52-week plan for communicating your messages to Catholics. Make sure to balance your voice, so you aren’t just asking for donations. Focus on sharing information that helps people take action in your work. Also, consider the different mediums (the web, social media, email, letters, events) you will use to communicate your message.

Ask – Execute your 52-week communications plan. Be patient with getting your voice heard over the noise. Have faith that in time more and more people will turn to you.

–

Question: How can you make your voice heard when fundraising?

Posted on

How to Find More and More and More Donors (and then even more)

Most of us start with the idea that to raise funds we have to find donors all the time. Therefore, the hunt begins, and the fundraising strategy focuses on finding people and getting them to donate. Sounds like a logical approach to reach your target, but in fact, it’s not at all.

If you are fundraising like this, you’re running up a steep mountain, and in no time, you’ll run out of breath.

Fact: to find donors is difficult, and asking people for money is nauseating.

Well, it is for me, especially when the idioms we use when fundraising are: ‘it is better to give than receive’ and ‘God likes a joyful giver.’

How awful to say these lines every day in hope that people will send us gifts?

My response to this kind of fundraising is if it’s so great to give, why then are charities always asking? Why are they not giving more to Catholics, prospects, and their donors? Sure,  I do not argue that they are doing wonderful work through their mission, but to those they ask for donations, charities lean heavily on the receiving end. In my view, that puts them at risk of capsizing the boat.

I think this constant asking for money puts you, the fundraiser, in an awkward situation. I applaud you for using the funds to help others, but is that enough to inspire Catholics to donate to them? I don’t think so, and I have a better approach. My view is that it’s better for everyone to give, especially charities.

To find donors, shock Catholics by giving more to them (even before you ask)

My approach to fundraising is heavily influenced by the concept, ‘it is better to give than to receive.’ This is challenging for us fundraisers because our job is to collect donations. But just because something is a paradox doesn’t mean it’s not true. If anything, the truth is hidden within what looks complex. You just have to keep looking.

This concept of giving to your Catholics (especially your current donors) has everything to do with fundraising because more donations don’t always come from finding new people. In fact, the majority of donations will come from the people whom you already know.

You just have to look more closely.

Just because you meet someone, explain what you do, and they don’t give, doesn’t mean they will never be a donor. In fact, you have more chances of them becoming a donor than repeatedly asking new people.

Donors are people who recognize the importance of what you do. They have similar values to you. They have a similar vision. They see your plan for doing good as a way forward. Therefore, the way to find donors is to take a step back and first find people who share your passion, share this with them as often as possible, and don’t drop the relationship just because you didn’t score a donation.

Donations happen when you take the time to build relationships with Catholics.

Check out my article on the Generosity Factor for more ways of shocking Catholics with your new approach to fundraising.

The #1 factor why you aren’t getting more donors

This is the where most Catholic charities fail. They find a group of Catholics who have a general interest in their work and immediately ask. If the response is “no thank you”, the charity forgets about them and goes looking for another group (or parish) to ask.

This becomes a never-ending cycle of finding and asking.

I think this is wrong because you associate your relationship with someone on whether or not they immediately give. I’m going to assume that, as a fellow Catholic, you see the fault here. We as Catholics don’t base our relationships on what we can get out of others.

That’s utilitarianism.

Utilitarianism is a civilization of production and of use, a civilization of “things” and not of “persons”, a civilization in which persons are used in the same way as things are used. – Pope John Paul II, Letter to Families, 1994

We as Catholics are to base our relationships on the dignity of the other person. We focus on willing the good of the other.

Check out my article on the fantastic book: Why Catholics Don’t Give … and What to Do About it.

Why long-term relationships equals more donors

Your number one priority to increase your number of donors is retention. Retention is keeping a donor year after year. Most Catholic organizations don’t look at retention, and that’s why each year they are frantically looking for donors to reach their end of year target.

They have no idea how many of last year donors gave this year. They don’t know why they stopped giving. They don’t know why they continue to give.

In fact, they don’t know much at all about their donors. These are serious problems that must be resolved quickly.

You have to switch to a different approach to your donors. With the technology that we have today, there’s no reason you cannot contact each one individually and get to know them.

Email costs nothing.

Phone calls cost very little.

All you have to do is manage your list of donors. That’s it.

Will it require some time and effort on your side? Absolutely. But the return on receiving long-term sustainable funds is exponential. I know no better way to increase your funds than this way. As you keep more of your current donors, you spend more time to find donors that help you grow rather than just replace donors that leave.

So the question is: do you know the percentage of last year’s donors who are giving this year? If you don’t, or if it takes you a while to find it, I recommend you start accessing this information more quickly.

Take a minute to read my article on how to inspire Catholics to give more financially.

Example: I’m not lying. Check the numbers for yourself!

To show you how important retention is, let’s do the math. For every one donor that stops donating, you have to find two just to increase your number of donors. So if you have 100 donors, and 50 stop giving, you have to find another 100 to increase your donors to 150.

This means you spend 50% of your time getting back to your original number of 100 donors, and the other 50% of your time growing your number of donors to 150.

That’s pretty inefficient.

It is a lot more work to find new donors than it is to keep the ones you have. Therefore, we can assume you are spending about 75% of your time looking for 50 donors to replace the ones you lost, and 25% of your time actually looking for ones to increase your fundraising level. This is why I said in the beginning that if you are just looking for new donors, you are climbing up a mountain and this strategy is exhausting. Instead, focus on who God has already given you.

Consider this Catholic approach to relating with your donors

My recommendation is to focus your time on your current donors. Build relationships with them. Learn who they are. Thank them often. Listen to them. Find ways to get them more involved than just financially.

When you make every effort to keep your donors, you don’t have to find two new donors to grow. Therefore, you can spend more time to find donors.

You just have to find one after another. That’s much easier to do.

The Catholic way of developing relationships with donors and increasing your donor base requires more prayer, more attention to the person, and more willingness to depart from the formalities of conventional fundraising.

Pray – Take a piece of paper, separate it into 12 columns, one for each month, and reflect on how you can express your gratitude to your donors each month. How can you say thank you without attaching a donation request to your message?

Pray – Whether it’s offering Mass for your donors, saying a rosary, or praying for them at adoration, find your ways to bless them. Also, tell them that you are doing it. Share with your donors the different activities you do for them. Have them get involved.

Pray – I also recommend that you intercede for your donors. The best way to do this is by asking them for feedback and doing small tasks for them. Ask, “how can I better serve you and thank you for your generosity?” Then, take action.

Ask – Ask your donors to stay donors. Keep track of your retention. Follow-up with each donor. Track when their year anniversary of donating is coming up and reach out to them in advance. Let them know how thankful you will be if they continued giving. Then start looking for more donors, as you will have more energy and time to do so.

 

Question: How long does it take you to find your retention rate?

Posted on

How to Find the Right Words for Your Next Fundraiser

When you are preparing for a donation request or even a campaign, you likely wonder, “What do I say to someone for them to give me money?”

You see the success other Catholic charities have, and you think, “If I can learn what they are saying, I can have the same results.” You think that there’s got to be some formula, some method, some strategy, that if replicated will get people to give.

If you just knew what to say, you would say it over and over and have tremendous. Then you’ll have more than enough donations coming in continuously. You would also have people coming to you ready to give.

You are right. There are specific words, placed in a specific order, that will get people to donate, and today is your lucky day. I’m going to tell you exactly what those words are so you can have life-changing results with your fundraising.

Words are a delicate matter in fundraising, especially in the Catholic context. Words make up the sentences, paragraphs and messages you share with people to get them to take action. Meaning, words get people to give. Words either capture or lose people’s attention and inspiration to give. Words either trigger emotions, thoughts, and decisions that make people donate, or they don’t.

The #1 Reason Why No One Donates to You

Most charities focus on the words they use, but only the ones that trigger an immediate reaction.

For example, a lot of time is spent crafting that perfect emotional response to get a person to respond right then and there. Their appeal leads up to a fast-acting response such as: “Donate now”, “Save these people today”. “Act now”.

Words that direct all the attention to an immediate financial act are putting you in a high-risk situation. It’s like knowing if you play okay the entire game, you still can shot a “hail Mary” to win the game. If you make it, you win, but if you don’t, you lose and don’t get another chance. It’s the same with an appeal. If you are just hoping the words land in the right place, you may win big but not often.

More than likely they won’t. My recommendation is to not place yourself in these situations. I call this hope fundraising, and I’m not talking about the good kind of hope.

Rather, you should be thinking, “What words do I use to inspire this person to stay with me for the long-term and be willing to open their wallet in the long run?”

For more info on this subject, check out the book review I did on the classic: “Why Catholics Don’t Give, And What Can Be Done About It”.

Why Words Matter More Than You Think

You can take another route, one with a more probability of success because you have more time to use words that inspire people and get them to give. You can craft your message with the right words, so when the request does happen, you are shooting a layup rather than a “hail Mary”. This is what I want to focus on with you.

I want you to take the time to craft the right words about what you do, how you do it, and what impact you are having. Then, when it does come time to make the request, it’s easy for you and the other person.

I am going to tell you one of the pillars of fundraising. Get a piece of paper, write it down, tape it to your wall, and look at it every day.

Here is the principle: people don’t give because you asked them. Yes, it’s important to ask. If you don’t ask, you won’t raise much at all. However, people don’t give as a result of the ask itself. Nor do they give because you think your work is important. Nor do they give because you are making a difference in the world. None of that matters in fundraising.

People don’t give because of what you think is important. They give because of what they think is important.

For more insight on this subject, check out my article, How to Inspire Catholics and Get Donors.

The Secret Formula to Writing the Words that Get Donations

I’m now going to tell you which words to use. You will see that it’s not some secret or magic formula. It’s actually straightforward. You simply ask your current donors what inspired them to give.

Plans made after advice succeed. – Proverbs 20:18

Then, you find the common thread (the words that keep appearing) among the answers and use those as your foundation for your next appeal. Yes, it’s that simple. You just ask donors, “what got you to donate?” What was said to inspire them? How was it explained to them? When was it said? Who said it? Why did it have such an impact? I’m a big fan of using surveys, especially online surveys, to collect this information.

I think the reason surveys work so well is because you are listening to people. Listening is extremely important in fundraising because we often get caught doing most of the talking.

You just have to say the right words at the right time. By listening, especially to your current donors, you can do exactly this. If you don’t have any current donors, make a list of people who know about you and your work and ask them, “If you were to give, what would inspire you to do so?” Their answers will get you in the right direction.

Get more insight on how to write, check out my article: How to Write a Clear and Compelling Fundraising Letter.

Practical Steps to Picking the Right Words for Your Next Fundraiser

Your vocabulary is the driving factor in your success. If you aren’t getting the results you want, it’s likely because your words are focused on you, not your donors. Your words are bland, not accurate. Your words are pushy, not inspiring.

The Pray, Pray, Pray, Ask method of Catholic fundraising.

Here is a simple approach for finding the right words and correctly using them.

Pray – Ask what inspires people to find the right words to use.

Pray – Reflect on Proverbs chapter 20. Then, review, the responses from the survey. Identify the key themes, particularly around how donors see themselves collaborating with your work.

Pray – Identify the words, phrases, and messages that reflect why people are inspired to donate to you.

Ask – Use these new words in your next appeal and request letter.

 

Question: When is the last time you asked your donors what inspired them to donate and used their responses to write your next appeal?

Posted on

How to Fundraise after a Disaster (Hurricane Harvey & Irma)

The level of destruction by Hurricane Harvey has been biblical. Like me, you have been following what’s been happening in Houston and the surrounding areas this past week. Residents have been pounded with rain, winds, tornadoes, and flooding. Now Hurricane Irma is on its way.

Fundraise Hurricane Harvey

As we watch the rescue efforts, we are all looking for ways to do our part. Perhaps you are thinking of:

Praying a novena
Travelling to Houston to help
Sending food and water
Connecting with locals in your area to organize a relief response
Donating money to a charity
Raising funds to support people you know

Today, we see the aftermath and look to rebuild. Many people have taken to social media and the internet to raise money.

While fundraising can help, I have learned how to raise money a much more effective way. Here are five strategies that I am currently using.

1. Focus on long-term fundraising.

While it’s good to ask for donations, organize your fundraising so you can ask today and in a few months. Check out this article for more details.

2. Ask for contact details as well as donations.

While you will get a surge of donations today, this response will wane quite quickly. Get people to stay informed on what’s happening by asking for the email, allowing you to ask for donations later on. Read this article to learn the benefits of asking for contact details.

3. Tell your story.

People are inspired to give when you share with them how things are moving forward. Keep people updated on how you are are rebuilding after the disaster. This motivates people to give. Read more about this topic here.

4. Don’t just ask for money.

Only a fraction of people will be able to donate. However, they can do other things, like provide resources and volunteer. Also, they may be able to donate later on. So make sure to get people involved in other ways. Check out this article on how to do this.

5. Thank people.

Make sure to thank people for their contributions. While the focus is helping people, it’s important to remember that relationships and community are as important as money. Take the time to thank people as intimately as possible (not just via a social media post). Read more about thanking people in this article.

Conclusion – Fundraising in the aftermath of a disaster

When it comes to fundraising after a disaster, we need to remember it’s not just about raising as many funds as possible. Suffice it to say, getting Houston back to normal will take time. Therefore, looking at fundraising in the long-term is more effective than just a short-burst of asking for money.

Focus on building relationships with the people God is placing in your life. This is the good that comes from these terrible events. As a result, you will build a network of friends, volunteers, and donors that will help you in the coming months and years.

Question: What’s your best fundraising strategy for rebuilding after a disaster? You can leave a comment below.