Fundraising for Social Change, 7th Edition

PART TWO Ask Them, Thank Them, Ask Them Again

A few years ago, a woman told me she was live-tweeting my workshop to her co-workers and summarized my introduction in the title above, using far fewer than the 140 characters allowed. I thought it was quite a reasonable summary, although I was glad that further tweets emphasized building relationships. In this and the next section, we expand this tweet to its full meaning.

In this section, I lay out the basics for creating a culture of fundraising. I start with the relationship between the kinds of money you need to raise and the types of gifts donors can give to meet those needs. Then I expand on the basics of the middle of this tweet—“thank them”—what does that mean, exactly? What is a good thank-you note? (A tip—if you don’t have time to read any more of this book, just read the chapter on thanking and you will raise more money.)

I spend a good deal of time helping you and your team feel more comfortable with asking for money, including exploring why asking for money is so hard for most Americans. I then review the main ingredient you must have to raise money from people: people to ask. Identifying prospects instead of haphazardly asking anyone in your path is key to success. Finally, I detail the logistics of asking for money in person—a how-to that can be used to get a $1 donation for a raffle ticket or a $1 million pledge for a capital campaign.

Building a donor base is a labor-intensive task that requires persistence and ...