In all areas of life, money is a constant – we need a set amount for housing, food and shelter, the absolute number depends on the individual. After those have been successfully looked after, we all will be asked for gifts, donations, investments in a variety of other segments. Some of the segments will be related to family, some will be related to what as an individual you are interested in and some of will be related to what we see as things the government does not fund. Perhaps the government should fund, but similar to insurance, sometimes it is just outside of the regulations. Bringing into the regulations is a job itself. In all the areas above and in business itself someone or some organization is asking us for money. Understanding the steps to a successful ask is helpful in making decisions. The understanding of the steps is a book written by Laura Fredricks called The Ask, published by Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2010.

In the book, the author outlines 10 Steps in 10 Chapters how to successfully complete asking for money. In the case of Ms. Fredricks, she has worked for many non profits including successfully raising money for post secondary institutions and museums. Whether the figure is low or high, the principles will remain the same.

Step One – Know your views on money and the importance of money, before you ask for money.  There are many reasons given in the book what people believe will be the reasons for not asking are. There are equally valid reasons what the results are if you ask for money – think about where the money is going and what the results are.

Step Two – The Ask without a well-thought out plan will result in no money. The dollars that are asked for, the greater the need by the other side for accountability, thus how is their money would be used or the plan is needed. If you were in Scouts – the motto was Be Prepared or do your homework in advance. Part of the homework is the script.

Step Three – A person of great wealth does not always give great wealth.  When you see people in the top 1%, you know although many have the ability to write a large cheque, the same people receive many hundreds more requests and have more gatekeepers before they will consider writing any sized cheque. Before asking for more money the formula of Education + Involvement + Cultivation  + Inclination + Assets = the Right Time to Ask. All of the parts of the formula must be followed and the greater the expected ask, the more the pre-work must be done.

Step Four – When You Ask for money you are not taking something away; you are giving someone the opportunity to feel good. When you have done the homework in Step 3, then it time to determine who should ask and in what setting. Before asking, the asker must have give money. The ideal person is a person that knows the person very well, has made a considerable gift of both time and money to the organization and is willing to follow up with the Ask, long after the Ask has been made. Whenever possible two people should attend to follow both the said and unsaid things.

Step 5 – Top-level gifts require that someone in a Leadership position do the Ask or be present for the Ask if they were part of the cultivation process. All gifts are important, the longer someone has donated to the organization, the greater the possibility that they could increase their donation. Doing a special project often helps with the need to ask. In order to receive a donation at the highest level those in leadership of the organization at the Board level should do the ask. Before the ask all the levels in Step 3 must be done or your homework has to be completed.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, all profitable companies are approached by non-profit institutions for money. How the company gives its money, what benefits it sees from the giving is important to know. Profitable companies use part of their goodwill to outreach to non profits for the good of the community. The non profits know and use the information to gain money, they both use and need each other. As a shareholder often your interests align with the same non profits and support the dividend paying company to continue their donation pattern.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions