Making "the artful ask"
If you feel lost when asking people for large gifts, here's a map.
If you are a dreamer, come in
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you’re a pretender, come sit by the fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!
–Shel Silverstein, “Invitation”
Many arts managers feel excited and proud about their organizations’ work, but awkward and shy about asking others to support it. This can be particularly true for major gifts since they can feel so out of scale and out of reach if you’re new to the development world. However, major gifts can be essential for a thriving arts organization, representing up to 90 percent of contributed income at mature nonprofits.
If you are among the awkward and shy when it comes to major giving requests, it can help to know the basics and build some skills. When I studied and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I was fortunate to learn from a master of major giving: Don Gray, then Vice President for Principal Gifts at the University of Wisconsin Foundation.
Don was adamant about the difference between fundraising and development. Fundraising, he said, is about securing a donation, “a tangible symbol of support to a cause.” Development, on the other hand, is about encouraging a gift, “a tangible symbol of feelings between people.” Both are important for a thriving nonprofit. And loyal donors are invariably the ones who become major givers.
By Don’s description, donations (such as annual fund donations) are frequently given and asked for, come mostly from discretionary income, represent 2 to 5 percent of an individual’s gross income across all of their donations, and provide sustaining/operational funding with few or no strings attached. In a mature nonprofit, donors represent the majority of contributors (about 90 percent) but provide about 10 percent of the dollars raised.
Gifts (such as major gifts) are infrequently given and asked for, come from assets (requiring a longer decision process), are built on personal relationships, represent 10 to 20 times an individual’s annual donation or 2 to 4 percent of net income-producing assets, and usually support specific projects or programs. In a mature nonprofit, givers represent a minority of contributors (about 10 percent) but provide about 90 percent of the dollars raised.
Don’s specialty and expertise was in major gifts, where he practiced a dynamic cycle of successful development – from identification to initial contact to “creating the joyful giver” to “making the artful ask” to “invoking the grateful recipient” (details of this cycle would require a chapter rather than a post). But for those nervous about making that “artful ask,” he suggested a basic, six-step approach.
Once you had done significant relationship-building, research, and rigorous project planning, Don suggested the following as the structure of “the artful ask”:
Bestow honor/praise on potential giver
“You are a dynamic and impactful civic leader…”Show organizational pride (knowledge, commitment, passion)
“…who has played an essential role in our organization’s impact on young audiences.”Be considerate, as for consideration
“Would you consider a gift of…”State a specific amount
“…$250,000…”State a specific purpose
“…to establish a new arts education institute that helps school-age children in our community discover and unleash their creative potential?”Shut up.
The “shut up” part is particularly important, and requires practice in advance of the ask. Your impulse will be to fill the silence that follows steps one through five. But that is both disrespectful and dangerous: disrespectful because you’ve just asked someone to consider something significant, so they deserve a few moments to consider it; dangerous because your internal anxiety, embarassment, uncertainty can lead you to say something dumb.
I always encourage my students to practice their “artful ask” with a significant other, a mirror, or a patient pet. The structure above can be a first framework upon which you can build your own.
From the ArtsManaged Field Guide
Function of the Week: Gifts & Grants
Gifts & Grants involve attracting, securing, aligning, and retaining contributed resources (also called fundraising or development).
Framework of the Week: Connection Concern Capacity
Connection Concern Capacity is a framework by Kay Sprinkel Grace that identifies three key attributes of potential donors: emotional connection (emotional), concern (intellectual), and capacity (financial). Grace argues that emotional connection and intellectual concern are stronger indicators of a donor's potential involvement than financial capacity alone.
Photo by Jennifer Bonauer on Unsplash