On Saturday, I was honored to do a training at the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina in Charleston, SC for founders of nonprofits in the Facebook Grant for Supporting Black Communities program.
During the training, a question was asked that I think we all need to wrestle with.
It was basically, “If I build a relationship with a donor before asking, won’t asking for money change the relationship?”
None of us want to “trick” people. Or to do a bait-and-switch with a person.
That’s why I’m not in the “friend raising” school of thought. We don’t need to raise friends. We need to raise funds and advocacy.
We don’t need people to like us. We need people to take action for us.
To give money. To rally their friends. To call their elected officials.
What would you say?
What would you say to a person afraid of “changing” the relationship? Or how have you overcome this fear yourself?
Let us know in the comments and I’ll compile the answers and blog them later.
I would suggest that if do’s take the view that relationship building is what we are all about as fundraisers, and if we engage the donor/prospect in a serious way then the ask will be natural and easy because we have taken the time to understand the donor/prospects priorities and motivations donors are smart and they understand people and their roles and honesty is key
I love the “ask will be natural”!
I believe in transparency upfront about the relationship. Making clear, Yes the relationship will be about you and me discovering if the cause is a good fit for you, the donor. That doesn’t mean we can’t be friendly in our interactions. After all, this is about changing the world together.
I love this, Paul! Well said.