This training is for major gift officers who are frontline fundraisers and want to hone their skillset of making the ask to prospective donors. If you’re leading a frontline fundraising team and would like to emphasize how this stage of the giving process shouldn’t be as intimidating as it sounds, bring your team and learn together.

June 21, 2023

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET

Building a Solicitation Strategy Leading to the Ask

Before you approach a prospect to ask for a major gift, it’s important to build the relationship and do your homework. Your prospect might be passionate about your institution and support it, but that doesn’t always translate to a yes on a major gift. As a result, it is critical to learn as much about them as possible. Not only their age, giving history, and how close their relationship is with the institution, but how they feel about different issues, and how their interests align with your institutional and unit-based fundraising priorities. Learn what it means to build a solicitation strategy by working with leadership and other stakeholders on campus as you prepare for the ask.

Challenges Preventing the Ask

There are both strategic and mental roadblocks that prevent frontline fundraisers from successfully making the ask. From natural fear and discomfort, to fear of rejection, to errors such as timing, an insufficiently large ask, or too large an ask, many potential challenges stand between you and the yes. Learn and share what these challenges entail and walk away with a stronger understanding of how to overcome these hurdles while also learning how to move the prospect relationship forward.

A Successful Ask and Next Steps

Asking for the gift should come naturally and be expected from the prospect. We’ll talk through examples of what a successful ask looks like and the immediate next steps you need to take to ensure that the donor feels special, appreciated, and thanked while the gift is being accepted and processed at your institution.