You are here: Home / Major Donors

The ABCs of Relationship-Building Conversations

September 21, 2009 By Sandy

Last week, I met up with some friends for lunch and got a lesson in relationship-building from a 3 year-old.

We’ve met fairly regularly for the past few years and one gal usually brings her son Paul.  He’s adorable and she usually has toys to keep him busy while we chat.

I realized I had’nt seen Paul in a while when I arrived.  He’d gotten so big!  Being me, I struck up a conversation with him before I had completely said “hey” to the ladies.  Over the next 2 hours, Paul told me about his birthday and I showed him pictures of my cats.  He showed me his activity book and I helped him match shapes and colors.  By the end of lunchtime, he had crawled up in my lap and was asking if I wanted to come to his house to play. :)

It was so easy to connect with him and it hit me that being with donors should be that easy too.  As I thought about what made it so simple to be with Paul, I came up with these ABCs of relationship-building conversations:

A. Ask questions.  Attempt to learn all you can about the other person and what they like or don’t like.  This is how you will get to know them better.

B. Be Interested in the other person.  Be present and focused.  Don’t let your mind wander and don’t be thinking about what you’re going to say next.

C.  Care about the other person.  Be genuinely interested in them and what’s happening in their world.

What would you add to this list?  Hit the comment link and share your thoughts.

Filed Under: Donor Relations, Major Donors Tagged With: ,

3 key mindshifts to overcoming your fear of asking for a gift

September 14, 2009 By Sandy

Happy Fundraising Season!  Between now and the end of the year is a great time to make some individual asks.

If the thought of asking someone face-to-face for a donation scares you, terrifies, or paralyzes you, you’re not alone.  Lots of people would rather do most anything else than ask someone for a donation!

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  If you understand where your fear is coming from, you are well on your way to overcoming it.  And it CAN be conquered!!

  • Fear is about uncertainty. When we don’t know what might happen in a particular situation, we tend to get scared and hold back.  When you ask someone for money, you don’t know what will happen and your mind starts to fill in the blanks for you.  “This person will think I’m a pest” or “They won’t like me anymore” might be the stinkin’ thinkin’ going on inside your head. Acknowledging this is the first step in getting it out of your way.

 

  • Diffuse the power of the fear by thinking through the consequences.  What’s the worst thing that can happen if you ask for a gift?  Will the donor laugh at you?  Will they kick you out of their office?  Probably not.  More than likely, the worst thing that will happen is that they will say “No” to your request.  If that happens, can you survive it? (I’m thinking you will.)

 

  • Fire up your passion. Remember why you said “Yes” to the organization in the first place.  Something compelled you to agree to fundraise for this particular cause at this particular time.  Know this: when you step through your fear and share the burning beliefs of your heart, you will be furthering your organization’s mission.  For example, when I worked at the local Food Bank, I knew that when I did my job, people ate.  It was that simple to me.  And that helped me be strong to do the things I was timid about doing.  Deep in my heart, hunger was and still is an important issue.  When I plugged into that, it helped me overcome my fears around fundraising.

Need more help?  Check out my training kit “3 Keys to Successful Fundraising in Good Times and Bad”.  It’s a 60-minute audio CD and workbook designed to help shift your mindset and set yourself up for success. $49  www.getfullyfunded.com/products.

Filed Under: Inspiration, Major Donors Tagged With: , ,

Major donor events

July 18, 2008 By Sandy

I attended a major donor event tonight with one of my coaching clients.  It was a really nice reception before another event – sort of a VIP reception with wine and food before the premier of a documentary film at a special venue.

Only about 20 people were invited and nearly all were there.  With such a small group, all of them had face-to-face time with the Executive Director, which was great!  Many of them knew each other and seemed to enjoy the time to chat and catch up with one another.

The ED did a short program, giving an update on the organization’s activities.  With such a small group, there were questions and informal discussion.

Our purpose in having the event was to connect with some of the organization’s major donors, which we did; to bring them up to speed on the organization’s work, which we did; and to set the stage for my client to follow up with individual conversations with them.  Mission accomplished!

Filed Under: Major Donors
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »