THE ASK© puts organization, structure and process to difficult fundraising questions
| Date | 01 January 2015 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30029 |
| Published date | 01 January 2015 |
January 2015
7
NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved
DOI: 10.1002/nba
Fundraising
THE ASK© puts organization, structure
and process to difcult fundraising questions
Do your board members and other volunteers
break into a sweat when you begin to talk about
fundraising? THE ASK© founder and CEO Laura
Fredricks said the fear of rejection, an imagined
fear of “quid pro quo” and the derailing of rela-
tionships rank as the top three reasons your stake-
holders avoid fundraising. And even though these
professionals may not think twice about asking for
what they need in a business environment, those
who transition into the nonprot sector tend to
hesitate, she said.
“The biggest piece of the puzzle is that many
of them are already doing these things, but board
members and executives who come from the corpo-
rate sector to work with nonprots drop everything
because they think it’s completely different,” said
Fredricks. “It’s not. The same principles apply in
business, nance, parenting, travel…. It can be very
empowering to people once they stop compartmen-
talizing everything.”
The CEO said she realized she had a unique
talent as an attorney, when she won most of her
cases on cross-examination due to the types of
questions she asked. When she transitioned into
philanthropy, she noticed everyone around her
was struggling with how to ask and how to moti-
vate others to ask. She started writing her books
so that she could put organization, structure and
focus to the process for others to follow. Today,
THE ASK© is recognized globally by businesses,
nonprots and individuals as the best way to reach
out and ask, she said.
“[When I rst came to philanthropy] there was so
much energy going on about who to ask and when to
ask and how to ask, when it is actually quite simple,”
Fredricks said. “...Once there is a process, people
can relax.”
Fredricks said her initial “light bulb moment”
helped her devise a system of asking in which anyone
can participate—CEOs, executives or volunteers—
and that makes the entire fundraising experience
more enjoyable:
• Know the person you are asking.
• Engage the person you are asking.
• Know what the donor wants to do.
• Ask them.
Individuals with the courage to step out and
use the ASK© process benet from a sense of
self-empowerment, because they bring to fruition
something they’ve worked hard for and care deeply
about. “Even when faced with a ‘No,’ the real win
is that you made the ask, regardless of the answer,”
Fredricks said.
Another benet of learning to ask is that it leads to
money and success, because the more a person prac-
tices, the more effortless it becomes. “I say practice,
practice, practice. You build on one success after the
other,” Fredricks said. “It gives you personal pride
that you took on something that could be a daunting
task and that you succeeded.”
When her clients call due to a disruption in their
fundraising efforts, she offers them these tips:
• Channel your inner Sherlock Holmes. Donors
constantly leave clues that fundraisers are missing.
If a potential donor said in the past that your orga-
nization is their favorite, know why and remind them
of this fact.
“Think about every conversation you or someone
in your organization has had with this person. What
did they talk about, what did they say, what did they
need to know?” Fredricks said. “Sometimes fundrais-
ers jump to ‘There’s Laura. She made a million-dollar
donation and we need to get her to do that here.’
That’s an archaic strategy.”
• Become an expert storyteller. Board members
and CEOs do not spend enough time sharing their
stories. The very best thing they can do for their
organizations is to step out and say, “Hi, I’m on the
board. Let me tell you why I chose to be here.”
“Everyone has a story, and sharing it is instant
inspiration, bonding and engagement for the person
you want to ask for money,” Fredricks said. “And I
(See FUNDRAISING on page 8)
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