Why You Should Ask For a Specific Dollar Amount
Raise more money by asking for a specific dollar amount in your solicitations. Learn how and why in this week's #FundraisingFriday.
This week we talk about how to make a stronger ask. Whether we're talking about in a letter or in person. When you're talking to an individual and asking them to support your organization, the tip is simple. Ask them for a specific dollar amount for a specific reason for your organization and you are much more likely to get the gift.
Now I know what you're thinking, "but what if I asked to low, but what if I asked too high?" Getting a smaller dollar amount than they might be willing to give allows you to steward that donor and continue to get funding from them for years to come, assuming you continue to ask. When you ask too high, in general people feel very humbled that you think that they can make a gift of that size and it's at that point when you start to discuss with them what their capacity is.
Likewise, you shouldn't be asking someone for a gift until you have a pretty good idea of how much they can give and how much they're willing to give to your organization. If you aren't sure, you aren't ready.
So how do you go about doing this in a letter or in person? You want to say, well you make a donation of $25 which will help feed 20 kids for the next week. They know exactly what you're asking of them and they know exactly how they're going to make a difference.
The research suggests that if you give people too many choices, they throw their hands up and they say I don't know I can't decide. The easiest thing is to say No, so rather than saying would you give 25 or maybe 50 or maybe a hundred or maybe a hundred and fifty stick with a single dollar amount and you'll find that you're raising more money in the long run. They can always give you more, and if they want to they will.