Review: The 11 Questions Every Donor Asks

The 11 Questions Every Donor Asks by Harvey McKinnon

{WHY ME?} The question asked my many video gaming youth not wanting to get up and take out the trash. People are looking for loopholes and excuses to get out of something they don’t think they are 100% about. People have a need for being needed. For the millennials I thing some of the why me process would be an ego feeding. On page 22 the subtitle about emotionally grabbing: I understood where the story was going and went but the other books said we didn’t want to go for the emotion card- where do we draw the line in the sand?

{WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME?} it’s the skin in the game syndrome, the ask has to come from someone who really bleeds this project not just wearing the t-shirt on game day.

{DO I RESPECT YOU?} Respect doesn’t come over night but by patience and knowing your stuff.

{HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT?} Learning about potential, waiting for the big one J, and know the percentages of where the money is going.

{WHY YOUR ORGANIZATION?} Know your why? Why did you come to the organization, what is the history, how will my donation affect the bigger picture with stories. WHAT IS NEAR AND DEAR TO YOU HEART? Show them the heart of your org.

{WILL MY GIFT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?} This is a quality that I see in many millennials, they want to see tangible. The book showed examples of pictures and phone calls as assurance that small makes a BIG difference. We see all of the new fundraising websites that give you the opportunity to see the thermometer increase as the project fund increases.

{IS THERE AN URGENT REASON TO GIVE?} Deadlines, benchmarks

{IS IT EASY TO GIVE?} Shareable links, paid postage: easy is key-

{HOW WILL I BE TREATED?} Share the love, be personal, be personable, include the person if they want to continue to be involved ( encourage volunteering- set call date, write a letter): people treasure the personal touches

[WILL I HAVE A SAY OVER HOW YOU USE MY GIFT?} Awkward analogy, when you have decided to give a donation its like deciding you’re going to have a baby- you don’t get to decide the gender any more than you get to decide where the money is allocated specifically but of course this is not what I will tell our donors J I can see the thought behind where is my money going because people aren’t seeing the organization, so I think when that is an underlying thought, is when we invite the person to be more involved physically and emotionally with hands and feet or communication. Help them want to trust you and your organization. 

{HOW WILL YOU MEASURE RESULTS?} people want metrics and building blocks, they want stories of those who have and will be affected.

Conclusion: Donors want the whole shebang: be needed, see how they will affect a project specifically, and make sure they are being used well. They don’t like broad sweeping answers, they want details.