Can you ask your donors right now for a donation?
This has been the question that everyone’s been asking.
My personal survey of the mosdos Torah I’m working with, alongside a broader reading in the fundraising world, is showing that donors are giving. Some are giving even more than usual!
This is because…
- These organizations’ board members, partners, and donors recognize the need. They understand the urgency. They see the opportunity.
- With so much instability, donors are getting much satisfaction from giving, being the hero, and gaining a bit of ‘control’ within the insanity we are all facing right now.
- From a spiritual perspective, some are looking for the protection that their tzedakah brings. It’s a way of acquiring zchusim.
- With so many losing money, some donors want to protect what they have. For some, that protection comes by giving it away.
So should you ask your donors for a donation right now?
For some the answer is absolutely not. For the ones whom you can ask, I’d like to suggest an alternative approach to dealing with this question.
If you want to be a viable organization in the long term, as a Jewish leader, as a mosdos Torah, you have to do all you can to survive the short term.
That’s the next 3-4 months.
How many weeks/months of cash flow/liquidity does your mosdos Torah have today?
To guarantee the long term, the focus right now is to get the funding you will need to stay afloat for the next quarter. Based on what’s going on right now, you will minimally need that amount of stability.
To do this I suggest you..
- Clarify what you will optimally need for the next 90-120 days? This is the goal amount of funds you will need to solicit as soon as possible from your board members, partners and donors.
- Then, create a short plan for the next 3-4 months? What do you need the money for? Write out your plan in three or four sentences to clarify.
- Make it clear what the outcomes will be when you make this plan happen.
- Then explain why it is worth your best donors and partners stretching for you right now. That’s your emotional pitch with a clearly articulated vision of why this is so crucial.
Once you’ve got that clear, you’ll need to decide who you should approach first to make this happen. Generally those that will most likely back you – Your best donors and partners.
These are sensitive areas to discuss without knowing you or your organization, but the key here is to secure your next 3-4 months.
B’hatzlacha raba raba, b’soros tovos,
Avraham
Just Launched – New ‘One on One’ Coaching Program for Leaders of Mosdos Torah.
- Need to respond to the rapidly changing fundraising landscape as soon as possible?
- Not sure how to fundraise with your unique circumstances?
- Want a coach/accountability partner to get you through the challenging months ahead?
Over the last two weeks, based on the rapidly changing fundraising landscape, I’ve rebuilt my ‘one on one’ mentoring program.
This refocus will allow me to guide Jewish leaders, like you, in this unpredictable time, so you not just survive, but thrive.
While most people would admit that investing in one’s professional growth right now is something important, the reality is with so many pulls on one’s finances, it’s hard to commit.
For this reason my full ‘one on one’ mentoring program comes with a BIG promise.
If you don’t raise at least 3X times your investment in coaching, from new donors or increased donations, then 80% of the fee will be refunded.
Spaces are obviously limited.
Feel free to email me for more details and to see if this would be a good fit for you: avraham@avrahamlewis.com
