On the Line...with Jason Fisher

Never Giver Ask Amounts: Where to Start

There was a recent comment/question posted about the proper never giver ask amounts.  I thought I would share my thoughts to all blog readers.  Here’s my reply:

 

My philosophy on Never Giver ask amounts starts with the premise that you must ask three times inside each call to ultimately maximize the productivity potential of such a challenging group of prospects.  Without three asks, callers cannot effectively educate and persuade people who have not previously made the annual fund a “philanthropic priority”.   So to get in three asks on every call, the callers must start high and work lower in their negotiation process.  I’m ok with token levels for the third ask, just not as the first ask.  I recommend starting a little higher than the average pledge you might target at the conclusion of calling and working down to more modest amounts for the third ask.

 

Given three asks, the next question turns to what the primary ask should be for these prospects.  There are many factors to consider, but graduation year is one of the most important.  In general, for younger graduates (say the GOLD or graduates of the last decade), I like to start a little smaller.  For older groups, having a higher primary ask is acceptable because they likely have the financial stability to consider such an amount provided your callers can generate the type of interest that persuades them to give.

 

Also, you must consider other important factors before choosing your amounts, such as:

Why Having a $5 and $10 Ask Strategy Will Set Your Program Back

Annual fundraisers are creative animals.  Give them a number and the good ones will come up with a plan to get there, even if they occasionally color outside the lines.  In the last dozen or so years, the buzzwords “alumni participation” have been heard throughout hotel halls at conferences, boardrooms at trustee meetings, and chancellor and president’s offices far and wide.  Nearly every director of annual giving at some point within that timeframe has been charged with increasing participation to meet some artificial standard within their institution, probably in response to US News and World Report or other external measurements.  Perhaps the pressure applied at the upper levels of the development offices becomes so great that the short-term objectives of keeping the boss happy or staying employed outweigh the long-term, common sense fundraising strategies.  So naturally, like water through porous ground, some have taken the path of least resistance.  In response to the increased pressure and expectations of bringing alumni participation up, they sacrifice best practices and sell their soul to the fundraising devil…one $5 or $10 gift at a time.

Written into the scripts and training materials of many phone programs is the phrase, “We’re just trying to increase alumni participation- anything you can help with is appreciated- even $5”.  I’ve even seen programs that push for $1 pledges.  Not many checks end up being written for $1….most write in a slightly larger amount…often the $5 or $10 level out of guilt.  But the result is essentially the same.  By starting with such a small amount, we’ve downgraded our chances for getting a bigger gift, lost potential revenue by skipping levels, and more importantly demeaned the philanthropic process at your institution.  Asking for these extremely small gifts, especially for your first ask, is a fundraising gimmick- not a true effort to raise money and build donor loyalty.  Just as quick as you gained that person’s support, you’ll lose it the following year because you acquired their gift by taking a shortcut- not building a strong foundation of philanthropy and donor education.

The Managerial Burnout Factor

At one time or another, everyone has experienced the burnout factor in some capacity.  Whether it was that final semester of college, the last few weeks of the athletic season, or the 121st episode of a favorite show on television, most of us grow tired of the monotony and routine of daily tasks in life.  We want new challenges to keep our skills sharp and minds sharper.  Many of us have experienced that in our career as well…me included.  We're in an age of new learning opportunities, mobile lifestyles, and short attention spans- not exactly the combination for long-lasting careers.  Such is life in the 21st century.

Phonathon managers are certainly no exception to this rule.  In fact, they are the epitome of restlessness in the fundraising profession.  The average phonathon manager stays in their position around 2 years before moving on.  That number may be a little higher lately with the poor economy, but for the most part it’s pretty accurate.  And it’s neither right nor wrong; it simply is a product of many factors- entry level position, typically young professionals, second-shift hours, and a significant number of opportunities in the same field at other locations.  Add to that the higher-pressure, goal-oriented environment of nonprofit fundraising and you get shorter tenure levels for the phonathon and annual giving industry than most other full-time professions.