Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Charity Fundraising 101 - The Secret to getting donations - the "Art of the Ask"

Over the years, I have seen some things that have me scratching my head in regard to donations but the one thing that always leaves me speechless, is when charities don’t go after donations or only have very few.

So that everyone is aware, when I say “Donations”, I am referring to items such as Gift Certificates, Gift Baskets, Liquor, Coffee Makers, Services, etc.

Do you remember the famous line from “Field of Dreams – Build it and they will come?”  Well the same thing with donations “Ask and they will give to you.”

Lets take for instance, the Queens of Donations – Lt. Jennifer Krauss and Cpl. Julie Valdes (pictured to the left) from the Prince George’s County Police Department.  Last year, Jen, Julie and I sat down and I started telling them about how to seek and get donations.  Now, remember, they are no different from you who is reading this.  Just because they are Police Officers, does not mean they showed up in uniform and businesses gave because of that.  No, it’s because  THEY ASKED!!!  You would not believe the amount of donations they received – absolute TONS!!!  Everything from a Zero turn Mower, to Wine Tours, Gift Baskets, Guns etc.  They had everything you can possibly imagine and their guests LOVED IT!!!  Jen told me she was addicted to asking and it became so much fun.  Do like they do and ASK!!!    

Here is the trick or the Secret to getting tons, and I mean TONS of donations – Just Ask.  Ask everyone!!!  I use to make a joke when meeting with my clients saying “Ok everyone, write this down, here is the list of what donations we want”…everyone would get ready to write and then I would say “Large or small, we will take it all!!!” 

Go after them – go everywhere and anywhere.  Ask everyone.  The secret to getting a million donations is to get over the fear of failure.  Get over the fear of asking….that’s simply it.  Okay – you will hear No.  You will hear “Well, we need to send it to our Cooperate Office.”  But keep on pushing.  Another thing, when you walk into a business, know what you want them to give you or what you want and ask for it. 

Now – as a side bar, to educate you more – donations are fantastic and yes they are 100% free, however, they are best served in raffles at your event.  In silent or Live Auctions, they normally bring 1/2 if not less than retail but in raffles, they bring 10 times retail. 


Ok – so here is what you simply need to know prior to going out on a treasure hunt.

#1 – Be prepared with a Donation request letter, have one in hand.  It should have the Tax ID # otherwise known as the “EIN” at the top of the letter.

#2 – Have the event Flyer with you and also invite the people you are asking if they would like to come.

NOTE:  If they ask you for free tickets that equal their donation, say “No Thank you.”  Because if the tickets are worth $100.00 and their items only sell for $50, you lose.

#3 – Understand that yes, your charity is awesome, however they have probably been asked 100 times that week – the key is to tell them how many people are planning to be at your event – its ALL ABOUT MARKETING!!!

#4 – Yes, a donation is tax deductible but in reality, business can only deduct so much each year – that’s a falsehood to say “Well its tax deductible.”  That won’t sell them.

#5 – Remember, bigger is always better.  If you go into a store which has large items, ask for a large item.  Always ask for more. 

#6 – Marketing – Understand that 90% of the businesses you approach will be much more interested in the marketing side than the charity side, tell them they will be listed in the Event Program.  They can also provide you a “Banner” which will be displayed inside the event for everyone to see.

#7 – Ask them to post the event flyer in their business.  Ask them if they would like to buy tickets or a table so that everyone can meet them. 

#8 – Gift Baskets – Gift Baskets should be constructed LARGE, not small.   But even if someone gives you a small basket, take it. 

So the Trick is - THERE IS NO TRICK!!!  Just ASK!!!

So here is a script for you to use, has always worked for me

PREFACE – Inside my car, I have a stack of Donation Letters and Event Flyers so that everywhere I stop, I’m prepared.

So lets say I’m going to Home Depot or Lowes (HINT) and I would like to get a Grill Donated or a Fire Pit (HINT), I walk in and go right to the Service Desk and ask for the Store Manager.  Don’t talk to just anyone, talk to the person in charge.

When they walk up, reach out and shake their hand and say “Hi, I’m (Your Name) and I’m from the (Charity).  We are hosting a huge event on (date) and we are getting local businesses to donate.”  Immediately hand them the donation letter and the flyer – and here begins your “Schpeel.”  We would love it if you guys could donate a Grill or whatever.   There is going to be 800 people at our event and everyone will see that you guys donated.  In fact, we will list you everywhere and if you have a banner, we would love to hang it up for the world to see.” (KEEP TALKING as they look at the letter and the flyer).  “You guys should come too. “


Then wait for their response.  If they say well what do you want, tell them and go look and pick out something – ALWAYS GO BIG.

The secret is, get over asking.  You have to be confident in what your saying.  Tell them about the event, how big it is, how many guests and that your event is going to have a Live and Silent Auction and tons of raffles. 

Be excited about it.  If they say no, say thank you and move on.  Now, here is another little trick.  Do you know when you go to a chain restaurant and something is wrong with your food..its lates, cold, or there is a finger in your soup.  The manager walks over and hands you gift certificate and says “I’m so sorry, I hope this helps.”  The managers have a pocket full of them – ASK!!!!

Ask everybody!!!  Ask Liquor Stores, Beer Distributors, Starbucks etc.  If you have a friend who is a landscaper, ask if they will donate services like a Spring Cleaning of someones yard or mulch installation.  If you know a Power Wash company, ask if they will donate a house power washing. 


Now here is something else that is VERY crucial to your success.  Guess who NEVER gets asked to donate?  Professionals such as consultants, banks, Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Real Estate Agents etc.  Professionals who don’t have anything to donate!!! 

Get a catalog of our items – BW Unlimited Charity Auction Items and ask them to “Underwrite” or Sponsor an item or items.  All they can say is No!!!  If they do, they pick out the item they want to “Underwrite” and we set up a tent card in front of the items saying “Sponsored by ABC Realty, 1234 Smith Street, Smith, Texas.”  And  then list them in the Catalog as well.

Now lets move on to a much harder donation – Sponsors.  For your event, especially if it’s a BW Unlimited managed event, you will have a Sponsor Page.  This is a more personal donation.  This takes a sit down meeting with people who are close to you or your charity.  Now, the best people to ask for these are the businesses you pay routinely – who your charity or you buy from, who does your taxes, who is your lawyer, your trash service, your outside lawn maintenance etc.  Also remember, sell them tables too.

So in summary, it’s all about asking.  The more times you ask, the more you will receive.  Be confident, energetic and fun.  Make it a game with your committee, who can get the most donations. 


If you have any questions, contact BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising at www.BWUnlimited.com.   To receive our catalogs of items, simply contact us and ask for our catalogs, we would love to send you them.

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