Don't be afraid to ask.

By Wayne Gurley
President & Creative Director

Most people don’t wake up in the morning thinking about your organization and wanting to send money.

The exception might be if they know you provide help for victims of natural disasters like severe flooding or tornados and want to help even BEFORE they’re asked.


Donors WANT and NEED to be asked.

A recent post titled“Do You Assume Donors Don’t Want to Be Asked?”by Claire Axelrad confirms this.

Claire writes…

“Assuming people don’t want to be asked to make a philanthropic gift is one of the biggest misconceptions of what constitutes being donor-centered.

“When you spend all your time on cultivation, assuming folks don’t need a direct ask and will simply give spontaneously as a result of being passively asked, or even outright wooed, everyone loses.

“Donors want to be asked because they’re starved for the love that comes from voluntary giving and receiving.

“Donors have love to give, but don’t always have an object towards which to direct their affection.

“Donors need to be asked because when they’re not, they don’t know how much you need their help.

“Donors want you to honestly tell them when and how and how much to give, so investing their money fills them with confidence it will be appreciated and do the most good.

“Don’t make donors guess whether you truly find them worthy of loving you.”


Don’t be afraid to ask.

If you don’t ask, your donors won’t give.

And if that happens, you and your donors will miss sharing something very special.

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