Resist the urge to pitch. Do this instead.
Fundraising is hard.
It requires getting over your fear of asking and dealing with your baggage about money.
There’s constant rejection.
You regularly need to visit with people who tend to be a bit suspicious of both your profession and your intentions. [I never in a million years had any trouble getting someone to return my call or text or meet me for coffee… until I started fundraising.]
It’s not for the faint of heart.
Then … after you’ve overcome all of those huge hurdles … you still have to build genuine, long-lasting relationships with givers.
And in my experience, there’s nothing easy about building a genuine relationship with someone.
But it gets worse.
Along the way, fundraisers have also received a lot of bad advice about how to approach raising money.
They’ve been told to focus on their pitch and get better at presenting their organization’s needs and goals.
And … because fundraising tends to attract people who are good communicators, fundraisers become masters of the pitch.
Do you know what happens when you become really good at making pitches?
You focus on your pitch.
This is a huge problem.
Why?
Because when you focus on your pitch, you almost always fail to take the time to truly understand donor motivations, passions, and desires.
Success in fundraising is not about becoming a pitch master.
Success in fundraising comes from asking the right questions and being open to learning from givers.
Instead of dominating the conversation with your agenda, you have to create space for people to share their stories, their values, and their aspirations.
Here are some tips to help you think through how to use questions to become a better fundraiser:
- Start with open-ended questions: Encourage people to share their thoughts and experiences by asking questions that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” For example, “What inspired you to get involved with our cause?” “What’s it been like giving to us?” “What’s the most meaningful gift you’ve ever made?”
- Practice active listening: Give people your full attention, and show genuine interest in their responses. Use nonverbal cues like nodding and smiling to demonstrate engagement. Lean in. Don’t fake it either. Make sure you’re actually actively listening.
- Follow up with deeper questions: Use their initial response as a springboard for more targeted questions that get deeper into motivations and goals. For example, “You mentioned education is important to you. Can you tell me more about why that is?”
- Seek to understand, not just to respond: Resist the urge to jump in with your own thoughts or solutions. [This is a big-time struggle for me.] Instead, focus on fully understanding their perspectives before offering any suggestions.
- Be open to feedback and new ideas: Givers may have valuable insights or ideas you haven’t considered. Approach every conversation as an opportunity to learn and grow as a fundraiser.
When you do these five things … when you shift your focus from pitching to asking, you’ll build stronger, more authentic relationships.
You’ll gain a deeper understanding of what drives their giving, and you’ll be better equipped to match their passions with your organization’s mission.
Successful fundraising is not about having all the answers.
It’s not about flashy presentations or slick materials.
Successful fundraising is about asking the right questions and being open to learning from what you hear.
Genuine curiosity beats slick every time.
