Asking for donations is not something that comes naturally to me, even though I am a fundraiser! In fact, I still get scared. Whether it’s a one-on-one donation request or an appeal letter, asking for donations is a skill that I had to learn.
Thinking about how I have improved (and conquered my fears), I was reminded of a discussion I had with the director of a Catholic non-profit in California.
She had been hesitant when it came to asking for donations. She knew she had to ask but just kept struggling. Finally, after listening to her express her fears, I assured her that I could offer advice to help boost her confidence.
Confidence is essential when it comes to fundraising. You can have a long list of potential donors – who are ready to give – but if you don’t have confidence, you probably won’t be able to ask them for a donation.
Confidence and Our Catechism
I have seen how confidence has helped me raise funds. These three strategies from our Catholic teaching will help you boost your confidence, too.
1) Live with confidence in your day-to-day.
If you are living confidently, you are living to your fullest. Otherwise, at the end of the day, you may regret letting fear get the better of you. Sometimes fear is an indicator to take action.
Our Catechism says hope is the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God’s love. (CCC 2090)
2) Prayer requires confidence.
Even when you pray, you must pray with confidence. Remember whom you are speaking to… God. If that doesn’t make your knees weak, what will?!
Our Catechism offers a great example: In the Roman liturgy, the Eucharistic assembly is invited to pray to our heavenly Father with filial boldness; the Eastern liturgies develop and use similar expressions: “dare in all confidence,” “make us worthy of. . . .” (CCC 2777)
3) The definition of hope includes the word confidence.
Hope is the confident desire of obtaining a future good that is difficult to attain. Confidence comes from the word confide which has its Latin roots con (from) + fide (faith).
Confidence is a desire, which implies seeking and pursuing some future good not yet possessed but wanted. The opposite of confidence is fear, which withers in the face of difficulty.
What happens when you have confidence
In the case of our Catholic non-profit director, she took to heart the need to boost her confidence. The good news is, she worked to develop her confidence and the results speak for themselves.
She has more meetings with major donors than ever. She has more people financially supporting her cause. Best of all, she has a renewed passion for her cause, allowing her to serve even more people.
Question: How do you increase your confidence in the face of difficult situations? (Leave a comment below, and I will respond. May God bless you.)
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic. Mother Mary and Saint Joseph, protect us as we announce the good news of God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ.