We've got to build a relationship! Everyone says so. But when is the right time to ask?
If they have a history of giving… all you need to do is ask!
Alex
Alex is a caring and loving person. She really likes kids and hates the idea of any child, anywhere in the world suffering.
She loves the work of the charity Malnutrition: Unacceptable For Children (MUFC). She found out about them through a letter she received from the lovely boss there, José.
Every Christmas for four years Alex gave £250, and for the big malnutrition appeal last June, a year ago she gave £1,000. José wasn’t around, but MUFC’s star fundraiser, Javier had called her to say thank you on behalf of José. She appreciated the gesture.
She also gave £500 last February, to another malnutrition appeal. All were in response to letters she’d received from MUFC.
A new person at MUFC, Bastian called her to say thank you and to introduce himself. He told her that Javier had actually left to work for a similar organisation in Germany, but he would be taking over.
He arranged to meet her and ask her about her giving and the latest campaign.
He arranged to meet her and ask her about her giving and the latest campaign.
They had a really long chat and both left happy. Bastian has tried to catch up with her a few times since, but she has been too busy.
Back at base, Bastian spoke with José and – unbeknown to Alex - they decided that they should concentrate on the really big donors as that was where the money was. And that people like Alex should just go into the direct mail pool.
Nigella
Nigella is also a caring and loving person. She really likes kids and hates the idea of any child, anywhere in the world suffering.
She loves the work of the charity Let’s Feed Children (LFC).
She found out about them through a letter she received from the lovely boss there, Sven.
Every Christmas for four years she gave £250, and for the big hunger appeal last June, a year ago, she gave £1,000. Sven had left a while back, but a new person, Claudia, had written to her to introduce herself and tell her about the work LFC were doing.
It was quite a long letter that made her feel quite important! Claudia remembered Nigella had told her on a previous donation form that she had two grand kids and asked her if they were well. Claudia told her they were still a little short of target, so Nigella sent the lovely charity another £500.
She also gave £500 last February, to another malnutrition appeal. All were in response to direct mail. Claudia wrote again to thank her, and introduced her fundraiser, Jamie, whom she said would soon be in touch.
Jamie called her to say thank you. He told her that the previous fundraiser, David, had actually left to work for a similar organisation in Middlesbrough, but Jamie would be taking over.
Jamie arranged to meet Nigella and ask her about her giving and the latest campaign. They had a really long chat and both left happy. But just before the end of the meeting, Jamie spoke to her about a special campaign that was coming up.
Jamie told her all about the kids needing help, including one she had met – little Marcus – who was really into football, and already impressing his friends. He had some video of Marcus playing football with friends – and Marcus shone above all the older boys!
Then Jamie showed pictures of the village, and the sorry state of affairs in Marcus’ home country. He showed Nigella the stark reality – which was much worse than she expected.
Jamie explained that without Nigella’s support to get this next campaign going, it would be tough for Marcus to even survive, never mind be able to enjoy himself.
Nigella decided to help and donated £5,000.
Back at base, Claudia and Jamie debriefed. They really did appreciate Nigella’s donations but also knew they don’t have much time. The plan was to meet, thank and ask Nigella in one go. Her donations showed she really cared – she already had a relationship with LFC.
And they were right.
If you want to lift a mid value donor to major donations level it may take a while. But time and time again we see that if someone is already a donor and willing to meet, you should probably ask.
Now, if I was trying to get £1,000,000 I probably would not ask for that straight away – but it wouldn’t harm the potential to give donors opportunities to invest in that mid value area first.
Sean
PS Any names or circumstances are purely coincidental. Sorry, England fans.
PPS If you're interested in how you can turn your mid value donors into major gift donors - you should join my next webinar, where we'll give you more details and a process on how to do this.
This webinar will be live on 29th / 30th September (depending on your time zone), however even if you can't make the date the recording and slides will be available for all who register.
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