How To Ask Your Donors For Money
(and bless them in the process)
By Sara Novocin
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35 ESV
As a nonprofit Christian ministry, you survive on the generous donations of your listeners. But how comfortable do you feel when asking for donations during your pre-drive and donation drive cycles? Or asking for donations from your business partners and large donors when accruing match funds or fulfilling a shortfall?
Asking your donors or ministry partners for money can be challenging for many reasons. Some common reasons for why ministries find it difficult to ask for money are:
The Discomfort of Talking About Money: Money is often considered a sensitive topic, and discussing it can feel intrusive or uncomfortable. You want your ministry perceived as being good stewards of your resources and not careless or pushy.
Fear of Damaging Your Relationships with Donors and Ministry Partners: Asking for money can strain personal or professional relationships, especially if the person being asked is not in a position to give right now.
Lack of Experience or Training: Many people are not accustomed to fundraising or soliciting donations. The lack of experience can make the process feel daunting.
Competing Priorities: Potential donors might have other financial commitments or causes they support, making it difficult to justify giving to your ministry as well.
Overcoming these challenges often requires a shift in mindset, training, practice, and building strong relationships with your listeners and donors. Effective communication, emphasizing the value of your Kingdom work, and focusing on the positive impact that donations make can help alleviate some of these challenges.
Asking your listeners and donors to give can be a blessing to them if done in the right way.
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 ESV
In all forms of communication, you must engage, empower, and inspire your listeners and donors. There’s so many other things vying for their attention. Your communications need to be powerful and memorable, and when it comes to asking for donations, it needs to inspire an immediate interaction with your ministry.
Here are some tips for communicating a more powerful ask to your donor:
Communicate the need for action now
Be specific and express your urgent need
Add a deadline
Avoid negative language
Communicate your why
Keep the ask simple
Keep it to concrete actions
Elaborate on the because
Communicate that each gift makes a difference
The donor is the hero
Any amount is right
Thank your donor in advance
Let’s take a deeper dive into each tip.
As you read this post, review and analyze how your ministry is executing this in your own communications strategy and pray on how you can best serve and bless your listeners through your fundraising efforts.
I. Communicate the need for action now
Be specific and express your urgent need
Your communications need to have a sense of urgency to provoke an immediate response from your listeners and donors.
Get as specific as you can with your donation ask. The most common ask seems to be $1/day, $30/month, $360/year. When framed as a $1/day, it breaks it down to a small value that most donors can get behind if they love your radio ministry.
Add a deadline
This is usually a given when sending letters or asking on-air, though it helps to have a goal pre-drive or each day of the drive to communicate the need to your listeners. Being specific with your goal helps communicate the urgency as well.
Avoid negative language
Your listeners and donors are tuning in to avoid the negativity of the outside world. To be uplifted and focus on the bigger picture that God has before them. Just like on-air, written mailers should avoid negative language and phrasing. Listeners and donors are investing in you to continue bringing them hope, not instilling fear and anxiety about the future.
II. Communicate your why
Keep the ask simple
Keeping the ask simple cuts through the clutter. It communicates exactly what you need in as few words as possible. For letter writing, you may want longer Kingdom Impact stories, but emails and on-air should be kept short and succinct.
Keep it to concrete actions
Tell your listeners and donors what their donation supports in a practical, concrete way. Too much flowery language or vague implications will not have the same urgent impact that you are looking for to inspire your donors to give to your cause.
Elaborate on the because
The because ties everything together, and it gives you another chance to remind your donor of the importance of giving to your ministry.
“By giving $1/day to our ministry, you are bringing hope and everlasting life to your community, because everyone deserves to hear the Good News of the Gospel.”
III. Communicate that each gift makes a difference
The donor is the hero
Your donors are the lifeblood of your ministry. Without them, it all wouldn’t be possible. They enable your ministry to do all of the hard work you do.
During donation drives, shine the spotlight on them. Celebrate them in this moment. Make sure you are updating them on all the impact they’re having through you, not that you alone are making the impact.
Any amount is right
While having a specific ask in mind is important, you can’t know where your listeners are at any point in time. Have a specific ask, but remind them that any amount is important, and it all makes a difference. If what they give is from the heart, it is a blessing to them and your ministry.
Thank your donor in advance
Thank your donor in advance for their prayerful giving. Whether they are in a place to donate right now or not, we want to bless them and show gratitude. Gratitude for their time, their prayerful consideration, their belief and trust in your ministry, and for sharing about your ministry with their family and friends.