HOW TO ASK FOR MONEY
Joan Flanagan & Associates
©1982
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THE SET UP
List three things you can do for someone before you ask for money:
- THE PITCH
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Smile. Keep Smiling. Say the name of your organization often.
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Say your name, the name of your organization, and your office or job.
“Hello. I'm Joan Flanagan, the Secretary of the Board of Directors of
Horizon Hospice.”
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Describe your program and its effectiveness.
“Horizon Hospice is the first hospice in Chicago. We help dying people and
their families from all ethnic, cultural, and economic groups. Sixty percent
of Horizon Hospice's patients are able to die in their own homes; the national
average is 20%”
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Describe your budget -- total and one specific.
“It costs $95,000 a year to run Horizon Hospice. It costs approximately
$30 per day to provide in-home hospice care to each patient.”
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Describe your fundraising strategy.
“All Horizon Hospice services are free of charge to the patients.
All funds are raised from foundations, corporations, and concerned
people like you. We receive no government grants.”
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THE STING
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Ask for a specific dollar amount
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Ask for a specific part of your program
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Say why you need the money now.
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Ask for the dollar amount again.
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STOP TALKING. Smile. Wait for the person to say yes.
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If your prospect has questions answer them as briefly as possible.
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Repeat steps #1 to #5 until you get the money.
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Practice
Pair up with another program from a different organization. Ask for money
for a current project of your organization. It is all right, in fact, desirable,
for money to change hands during this exercise.