As a decision-maker in your charity, you must walk a line in your donor-charity relationship. While it’s always a little odd asking for money or tangibles, existing donors are your most logical and accessible source of additional income. Not asking them simply doesn’t make sense.
In that case, refining your ask so that it’s effective yet unobtrusive is key. Read up on how to convince donors to give more for practical ways to do this.
Detail What Each Giving Level Provides
First, tell them what their giving does, so they consider upping their gift. Do this for different dollar thresholds—here’s an example:
- $10 gives a volunteer team personal protective equipment
- $25 provides eight meals
- $100 buys a new resident mattress
By putting things in practical terms, you directly illustrate the good your donors can do. You also increase donor satisfaction because they can then take ownership of something their gift goes towards, even if you don’t technically use it for those purposes.
Build a Social Media Following That’ll Help You
You also don’t need to bear the full weight of convincing people. Pour resources into getting good at social media outreach. Build out various social media accounts and attract loyal digital followers. As you post, they can share things wider than you ever could yourself.
Better yet, certain platforms even allow followers to start online fundraisers on your behalf. As you reach a critical mass threshold, people who see these reposts and shares will give more due to positive peer pressure.
Give Them a Say
One more way to convince donors to give more is to provide them with a means of weaving themselves into your organization. Volunteer opportunities, surveys and interviews, donor question and answer sessions, and the ability to form relationships with staff members all do the trick.
By participating in these ways, people operate as partners rather than just donors. And when they feel intimately attached to your cause, they’re more likely to allocate more of their own funds to your programs.
