Fundraising Guide On How to Ask For Donations For Nonprofit

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If you want to know how to ask for donations for nonprofit, I’ve got a few insights from Dikkersonbakker’s study to motivate you:

Nonprofits are facing a shortage of qualified fundraising professionals.
Inflation is at an all-time high.
Interest rates? Well, they’re going up.

Scary trends aside, there is also positive news on the horizon:

There are significant policy changes in favor of fundraising.
Major giving is becoming crucial.
Corporate and Foundation giving is increasing.

To avoid the unsavory and take full advantage of the increase in giving and policy changes, you must learn to ask for donations for your nonprofit ASAP. This article takes you through tips that will help you in your quest to raise funds effectively.

How to ask for donations for nonprofit: Who should you ask for nonprofit donations?

To begin with, you need to know who you need to approach for donations. For a nonprofit, these are a few key players you can ask:

Individuals
Businesses
Foundations

Let’s explore each in detail.

Individuals

Individuals make 69% of donations. Individuals could be anyone. However, finding the right people who engage with your organization and are nurtured in your donor engagement cycle is challenging.

You need to engage in donor prospect research to identify individuals who could be potential donors and understand which of these donors could be long-term, high-value donors.

When you develop an ongoing relationship with individual donors, asking for donations becomes easier.

How to ask for donations for nonprofit from individuals:

Online donations: Direct prospective donors towards your nonprofit website or social media platform to encourage donations through online donation forms or online giving.
Text giving: Share donation links with individual donors and encourage them to donate through text messages. The average amount raised through text giving is $107.
Monthly or recurring donations: Develop relationships with your potential donors and encourage them to commit to regular giving through monthly or recurring donations.
Event fundraising: Host fundraising events such as auctions, exhibitions, children’s fairs, etc., and invite potential donors to participate.

Pro-tip: Encourage individuals to donate by showcasing benefits such as tax exemption or the feel-good factor once they’ve helped a worthy cause.
Learn more about this in our post on Donation incentives and how they can increase giving.

Businesses – how to ask for donations for nonprofit

$24.8 billion – that’s what corporations donated to nonprofits in 2020! That’s a considerable amount. With the right strategies in place, your nonprofit can also benefit from the large sum corporations are willing to give nonprofits.

Every year, businesses conduct their own CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities under which they are mandated to donate a certain amount of money to social causes. However, there might be limitations about how many nonprofits each organization can contribute to. When contacting corporations for donations, determine if your nonprofit aligns with those rules.

Ways in which you can encourage corporate giving:

Corporate grants: Many corporations set aside money at the beginning of each fiscal year and gift these grants to organizations they deem worthy or through competitions.
Matching gifts: For every dollar that you raise through your fundraising activities like crowdfunding, individual donations, etc., you can engage with a corporation that promises to match it. Matching gifts immediately doubles the money you raise and can significantly help your nonprofit raise money. Plus, it also acts as a motivator to drive individual donations. 84% of donors report a higher likelihood of giving if the gift matches.
Volunteer grants: When several corporation employees engage with a nonprofit and volunteer with them, corporations sometimes donate to such organizations to recognize their employees.
Payroll deductions: You can encourage corporates to allow their employees to contribute to your cause through payroll deductions. Employees can volunteer for a small deduction in their payroll, which directly goes to your organization.
In-kind donations: If not money, you can encourage corporates to donate to you in-kind, that is, non-cash gifts such as their time, resources, expertise, etc. For example, if your nonprofit teaches teenagers from underprivileged backgrounds new skills, you can ask firms’ employees to share their expertise with these kids.

Pro-tip: Always highlight benefits such as tax deductions, boosting employee morale, expansion of CSR activities, and brand-building to encourage corporates to donate to you.

Foundations – how to ask for donations for nonprofit

Foundations are charitable organizations that donate money to nonprofits depending on their cause, the size of their organization, location, etc. Nonprofits could either compete for grants from foundations or apply for their annual grants in advance to be eligible to receive grants.

Foundation giving saw a 19% increase in 2020 and totaled $88.55 billion! Approach foundations fundraising.

Ways in which foundations can donate to you:

Community grants are grants made to nonprofit organizations operating in a particular neighborhood or locality. Foundations donate to such organizations to improve the area.
Private grants have no affiliations with the public or the government, which is why the foundation granting them can tailor the rules and regulations governing them.
Corporate foundation grants: A corporate foundation is set up by a for-profit corporation and its charity initiatives. The Gates Foundation is an excellent example of a corporate foundation. Apply to these foundations to receive grants for your nonprofit.

Pro-tip: Since Foundations operate to uplift a cause or community, showcase how your nonprofit can help these with the work you undertake. Also, explain how donating to your organization will benefit the foundation, the recognition they will receive, etc.

Now that you know who to ask for donations, let’s learn how to ask for them in the next section.

How to ask for donations for nonprofit

Asking for nonprofit donations is really about finding the most compelling way to pitch your donation request. We explore different communication channels for fundraising and how to fundraise through them.

Direct mail – how to ask for donations for nonprofit

Direct mail is a very effective way to raise funds. 78% of donations come from direct mail. One of the reasons direct mail is so effective is because it makes the receivers of the mail feel special – because who even receives donation letters anymore?

This old-school technique is still golden for the present times. Here’s an example of an excellent direct mail fundraising ask for you to refer:

how-to-ask-for-donations-for-nonprofit-direct-mail-example

This letter incorporates all the best practices you can include while making a direct mail fundraising ask. They are:

Write an excellent letter: Briefly describe your organization, its mission, and how your funds will fulfill that mission. Weave a story around your nonprofit, as this is a compelling way to move donors to action.

Include a clear call to action: What should prospective donors do once they receive your direct mail? Should they feel great about your initiatives, feel appreciated by your organization, or understand and act on your donation request?

Let them know clearly what you want them to do for you.

Make the donation process easy: Online communication channels allow donors to click a few buttons to donate immediately. However, direct mail does not offer that luxury. Therefore, you must make the donation process smooth for your direct mail recipients.

In-person – how to ask for donations for nonprofit

In-person fundraising, such as street fundraising, donations kiosks at events, etc., can be intimidating. However, they can still be successful with the right strategies in place. Here are ways on how to collect donations for nonprofit in person:

Form an initial relationship with the donor: Start with a warm greeting when you meet a potential donor in person. You can begin with small talk about their day, the weather, or any exciting quip about the situation.

Practice your pitch: The more people you speak with, the better your pitch will be. Prepare a short ask in advance, which you can tell people and improve as you go along. Here is a sample:

Hello! How are you doing? I’m working with <organization name> to raise funds to feed 50 children every week. Would you be interested in donating a small amount to this cause?

Hi! It’s been a sunny day, hasn’t it? I’m here trying to help our <organization> to <add details about the cause>. We’re looking to raise funds to make that possible. Would you like to donate?

** Always be prepared for a spontaneous conversation and listen to the recipient’s response to reply appropriately.

Be prepared to adjust your ask amount: You may not always ask the lowest amount to prospective donors who walk by you. Depending on who you are speaking with, you can interest them in a higher donation amount, recurring giving, etc.

Phone calls

Phone calls are an engaging way to ask for nonprofit donations. You can store donor data on your communication platform and begin a fundraising call campaign. You can develop a good interpersonal relationship with prospective donors, engage them in a conversation, and make your ask.

Here are ways to make a nonprofit donation ask through phone calls:

Get great software: A good phone calling software is the first step toward a successful fundraising campaign. Explore CallHub’s range of calling tools to begin your phone campaign.
Prepare a great script in advance: A good fundraising script makes all the difference. It is the most critical factor when raising funds through phone calls. We’ve written a sample script for you:

Hi, am I speaking with <first_name>.

Hi <first_name>, I’m <agent_name> calling from <organization name>. Is this a good time to talk with you?

*If no, then*

Can I schedule a call for a later time?

*If yes, then*

Thank you for giving me your time. I’m looking to raise <enter amount> for our organization to <enter details about your initiative and how it will help>. Would you be interested in helping us out?

Follow-up: Phone call conversions need a little extra nudge. This is why sending a follow-up text message immediately after the call is an excellent way to stay connected with the prospective donor and increase the chances of conversion.

Text Messages – how to ask for donations for nonprofit

Text fundraising is one of the most convenient ways to request nonprofit donations. 25% of donations occur via mobile devices, and text messages are a huge part.

Frame a short fundraising message and share it with 1000s of people in your donor database in minutes. You can even engage in personal, one-to-one conversations with donors to solve any doubts they may have.

Here are text messaging best practices:

Prepare a great text message: Write a short, crisp donation ask to compel readers to donate to your cause immediately. We’ve written a brief message you can use:

Hey Luke,

Did you know that <organization_name> does <insert details about what you do>? You can help us by donating here: <insert link>

Add media: Visual content can make your text message appealing. You can add images through MMS, which leads to 70% higher conversion rates than standard text messages.

Share links: Sharing links makes donating as easy as clicking a button (literally). Prospective donors can immediately see how they can help, and they do not have to spend time looking you up on Google to make a payment.

The way forward

How to ask for donations for nonprofit requires a good strategy. The first step to successful fundraising is building a trustworthy nonprofit brand that inspires action. CallHub has several resources that can help you do that.

To build an excellent nonprofit organization, read our article “A Quick Guide To Nonprofit Branding To Help Build A Better Brand.”

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