Getting a Donor Meeting

Most nonprofit fundraisers aren’t stopped by the ask itself. They’re stopped by everything that has to happen before it.

“I don’t want to seem pushy.”
“I haven’t been in touch in a while — it’ll be obvious why I’m calling.”
“I emailed twice and heard nothing.”
“I left a voicemail and it feels awkward to reach out again.”

These aren’t minor blocks. They’re the reason donor relationships stall, campaigns fall short, and good fundraisers quietly give up on prospects they should have been cultivating all along.

The uncomfortable truth: getting in front of a donor requires a mindset that almost no one teaches. You can read every book about how to make the ask and still not know what to write in the email that gets you the meeting.

One thing most fundraisers don’t expect is that it often takes anywhere from 6 to 12 attempts to reach someone before you get a response. Marc’s clients are regularly finding it takes 11 or 12. That’s not a lack of interest. It’s just that people are busy. The pages in this library are built to help you be pleasantly persistent.

How to use this library

Each page below covers one common situation fundraisers face when trying to get a meeting with a donor. You’ll find:

What’s really behind the hesitation — the fear underneath the delay, named honestly
What not to do — the instinctive moves that usually make things worse
What to say or write — specific language you can adapt
An AI prompt — to help you draft your specific outreach

One note before you start: these situations are harder than they look because most fundraisers wait too long. The best time to reach out is before you need anything — when the only purpose of the meeting is to stay in relationship. If you’ve waited until the campaign is close, you’re already negotiating from a deficit. These pages will still help. But the long-term fix is shorter gaps between touches.

A note on privacy when using the AI prompts

Each page includes a prompt you can take to an AI tool like Claude, Gemini, or ChatGPT. To get a useful response, you’ll share context about your donor — giving history, how you know them, what you’re hoping to accomplish.

A few guidelines:

Don’t use the donor’s real name. Use initials, a role (“a longtime annual donor,” “a board member’s contact”), or a pseudonym.

Be thoughtful about what you share. Giving history and relationship notes are fine. Health situations, family details, estimated wealth, or anything shared in confidence should stay out of the prompt.

Check your organization’s policies. Some organizations have guidelines about what can be shared with external AI tools. If you’re not sure, ask your leadership before using these prompts.

These prompts are a thinking tool — not a replacement for your own judgment about the relationship.

Not sure where to start?

Getting a meeting — common situations

Part of the Ask Without Fear!® AI Fundraising Kit

New to the R.E.A.L. framework? How to Ask for Money walks through the complete Research → Engage → Ask → Love process from the beginning.