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Donor relations – how to ask questions you can expand your donor base

When we talk about our relationship, most people think of their families (for better or worse!). As a fundraiser, the term can have a broader significance of non-profit. Individual donors and foundations and corporate sponsors who gave you the money in the past, a relationship, including family, friends and colleagues on behalf of the network. How do you know? You do not know may limit your opportunities for significant fund-raising.

Let me tell you a non-profit community arts groups on a true story. Over the years, local banks have sponsored the 7500 U.S. dollars donation of the Group's annual fund-raising activities. The donation is a non-profit organizations, one of the larger gifts. When the Group to recruit a new development director, chairman of the board to take her to meet the bank's president. As an experienced fund-raising campaign, the new staff who know the importance of learning, what interested donors. She noticed that his desk behind a dynamic landscape. She asked about the painting and lessons, the president's wife is an artist. The pursuit of this conversation, development director learned that the president's wife has given a foundation of the family, given arts groups in neighboring countries.

Why is there such information will never be in 10 years, the bank support the arts organizations? Because no one is required to spend time outside of their business of banks. The new staff members who raised questions, and then she learned. First, she must be personally invited his wife to expand in the upcoming major events of its guests. Development Director and then sent her a letter of thanks, and invited her to a small gathering of artists.

Wife attended the meeting and so impressed, she went to her family the next meeting of the foundation, and persuaded the trustees to expand its geographical boundaries, so that they can help her husband's business has many years of arts organizations support. Within six months, on this basis to arts groups 10 thousand U.S. dollars of prize money, sponsorship of children's arts programs. The following year obtained a larger non-profit arts grants and the following year, the president's wife agreed to serve as director, she can help her contact with other family foundations and nonprofit boards.

Likelihood, a similar situation may occur in your organization? In my experience, most of the non-profit organizations to donors who can connect people who may be the future of their supporters. Why do not happen more often? I think this is because people do not take the time to ask questions about their donors more. Fund-raising is a business relationship, so it is important to time to as much as possible about your donors. A good question, may lead to the gold pot at the rainbow's end … or at least a small donation to the donor in a new journey to become a major source of the first step.