The Key to a Good Proposal

Read & Repeat. This is the foundation of any proposal. 

A donor should be able to look over your proposal in one sitting. Its message and request should stick so well that the Donor can easily repeat them to Mrs. Donor and explain why he's writing such a large check.

Read & Repeat.

Sticking to the Script

Have you ever used a "script" to solicit? Does it make you feel more comfortable or constricted?

Script Pros:

Keeps you from rambling

Moves the conversation

Helps the "confidence challenged"

Script Cons:

Speaking "at" donors, not "with" them

Easily derailed

Sounds "scripted"

The Angry Donor

I remember a farbrengen that some of the staff and I had by a well-known NYC lobbyist. He often has the unenviable job of fundraising for political campaigns - campaigns which demand uber-quantities of cash in a short, fixed amount of time.

We wound up speaking about the "angry donor" - that gevirishe baalebos that is always a little too short on time and patience to treat you like a mentsch.

"The people that I work for have very clear goals and expectations. They hire me to fulfill those expectations," our lobbyist friend declared. "What do you think would happen if I got to a donor but didn't make the ask? Can you imagine if I reported to my client that I got to the donor but didn't make the ask because he was in a bad mood?! My career would be over!"

He added: "Trust me, I'm sure he was in a great mood until the secretary told him you're in the waiting room...!"

Moral of the story: Ask anyway.