Asking for money: the best service you offer donors

I know fundraisers whose mental picture of their work is something like this:

Asking for money is an annoying imposition. Donors don’t really like to give, so each time you ask them, their irritation grows, and it could blow up at any time. Be cautious, apologetic, and very afraid!

That attitude is what’s behind a lot of ineffective fundraising programs. The ones with donor retention in the toilet and low rates of donor upgrading. That attitude also leads to being miserable in the fundraising profession — so miserable and depressed, you should flee to something you find more positive for the sake of your life.

Because fundraising is one of the most life-enhancing services you can perform for you donors. You should be filled with energy and optimism every day as you do it!

The Veritus Group blog make this important point: Serving Your Donors Means Asking. Here’s what you need to know:

Fundraising is ultimately about love…. What you do as a fundraiser is this: in one hand you take a need in the world and with the other hand, you bring a donor who has a passion to address that need — then you help these two to come together. If you just sit with that for a bit and let it sink in, you’ll realize how amazing that is.

Knowing this can change your life and energize your fundraising.