How to persuade a donor to write you a cheque for $20,000...

Don't worry, this isn't one of those "100 secrets of a top copywriter" things. It's real. If you want your appeals to generate individual gifts of $20,000, you need to do one thing... Ask for it! But ask for it well.

As part of a recent emergency appeal - produced through Ask Direct - for Irish women's organisation, Women's Aid, I recommended a lift letter to high value donors asking for individual gifts of €10,000 (NZ$22,0000) to help save their Emergency Phone Line.

Women's Aid were facing a devastating fall in revenue due to public funding cutbacks. This was threatening their emergency phone line. The theory behind the €10,000 ask was the belief that somewhere among the Women's Aid donor base, was someone with the same passion and conviction for their work, as Women's Aid themselves.

Some Excerpts:

... I’m enclosing this special note to you because you’ve become a special kind of friend to Women’s Aid. In fact you’re amongst our most important supporters…

… I know this seems like a lot to ask. €10,000 is a huge sum of money. But given the exceptional situation we’re facing right now, I feel compelled to seek out such exceptional people.

Within days of mailing, Women's Aid received a cheque for €10,000, plus several more for over €1,000. Overall, the campaign generated a response rate of almost 20% with a 4:1 return on investment. It also produced some very helpful national press coverage. So I guess the moral of the story is two-fold:

1. When you're in a crisis, be honest with your donors - tell them about it before it's too late for them to help you, and...

2. Don't be afraid to ask for precisely what you need, or you won't get it.

The argument over how much to ask for during a recession will no doubt persist, but I think the guiding light should be this: trust your donors. They're your donors because they care about you and your cause. And because they care, they want to help. So... as Marc Pitman would say, go ahead and: "Ask Without Fear."