The all-important "Ask"

Last year, in partnership with the MetroWest Nonprofit Network, we brought fundraising expert Christine Graham to Sudbury to lead a workshop on cultivating individual donors.  Christine is a gem and the session was a huge success.  After the workshop, we got to talking about one of the most challenging aspects of fundraising, actually asking for a donation. Christine agreed and noted, "I can run a great workshop on that topic."

So we're just delighted to work with MWNN again this year to bring Christine back on March 30, 8:30 am to 2:30 pm at the UCC Conference Center in Framingham for a workshop that will focus on major donors and "The Ask."

It's a chance to learn how to identify the most likely major gift donors, how to make appointments with them, and how to ask for the major gift.  The idea is to build comfort and confidence while reinforcing the essential elements of trust, mission, and appreciation.  Christine will focus on:

• How to move from impersonal mass mailings to personal appeals
• How to build the personal relationships that will garner larger donations
• How to know when a donor is ready to become a major donor
• How to identify what amount to ask a donor for
• How to actually make the ask - when to ask, what to say, and what NOT to say.

And yes, there will be role play. It takes practice to get to the point where you can make the ask with ease and grace.

We hope you'll attend!

Workshop Details:
Date and Time:  Friday, March 30 from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm (networking at 8:30am, workshop begins at 9:00am)
Location: UCC Conference Center, 1 Badger Road, Framingham
Fee: $35, includes breakfast and lunch

Christine Graham bio: Ms. Graham has worked with hundreds of nonprofit organizations over the past 40 years, serving as a consultant, writer, and teacher.  She specializes in fundraising planning and advisement, with a special focus on capital campaigns and building new and advancing annual fund programs.  She is the author of Keep the Money Coming: a Strategic Guide to Annual Fundraising; Blueprint for a Capital Campaign; Asking: Practice Makes Perfect; and Raising Money for Local Land Projects.

To register, please click here.

Posted on March 8, 2012