Most of us don’t feel comfortable doing it. I know I don’t. But I know someone who is really good at asking for money! So, Cheryl Benadie and I got together on Zoom to chat about how we can all ask for money better.
Cheryl is a woman who knows her stuff. She has experience working at the South African National Blood Service (she says asking for blood is harder than asking for money), heartlines and in various development and donor relation roles at three South African universities. She sends one voice note asking for donations and I’m pulling out my wallet! If you’re struggling with what to say or how to get your supporters to donate – and let’s be honest, who doesn’t struggle with that? – then you need to watch this video.
Some things I took away from our conversation:
Asking for money is hard because we don’t like talking about money in our day-to-day lives. Practice getting comfortable talking about money and asking for it will be easier.
We have all convinced someone to give us something at some point in our lives which means we can all successfully ask for money.
There’s a 50% chance that someone says “Yes” when you ask. Don’t decide who will say “no”.
Think of yourself as a matchmaker between people who want to good and people needing support. Remind people that there are problems they can solve.
Giving feels good.
Watch the video to find out Cheryl’s 6 fundamentals of every ask, and how you can do them yourself when asking for donations.
