The end of the year is a time to stop for a second and reflect. How is your relationship with your donors? Did you have enough funds to carry out everything you had planned for 2014? Have you discovered how to ask for more? This last question troubles a lot of NFPs – after all, if you don’t do it right, you lose a potential donor and all the benefits that would come for your organisation. So, if you are not sure how exactly to do it, take a look at our 5 top tips that will help you ask for more.

Be upfront and honest

People donate because they want you to use their money for something. Instead of weaselling and making up long and dim explanations, tell them clearly what exactly their money will be used for and what results will be achieved through their help. This will be far more appreciated than unclear and unrealistic promises.

Don’t be embarrassed by asking

You are responsible for the fundraising of a NFP organisation and people realize that – they know that you will use their money to help those in need. Therefore, you have nothing to be embarrassed about – you are not doing this for a personal benefit.  Every time you need to ask, think what difference will the donation make and how many people will be better off after your campaigns and events. Motivate yourself and the whole process will be a lot easier.

The small donors are worth the effort

Of course, it is important to have big donors who can solve most of your financial problems with a single donation, but the $50 donor is also worth asking. After all, if you develop a strong fundraising campaign, the small donors may make a great difference. $50 is not much, but imagine 100 people giving it – wouldn’t that be great? And remember – if you make people who can’t give much feel involved now, they will come back when they have more to give.

Don’t get disappointed

In the field you are working, you are bound to be refused. There may be periods when you don’t have much success with fundraising, but that doesn’t mean to give up. Today your donors may not be able to give, but you should keep asking regularly – maybe next month the situation will change. Every time you ask for more, your chances to get more increase, so don’t waste the opportunities to provide some extra funds for your goals.

Target properly

By now, you have properly realised that some people or companies are more likely to donate to your cause than others. Make sure you know your demographics and target the prospective donors properly – a customized fundraising campaign is likely to win you much more funds than a generic and monotonous one. Be creative with your target audience and you will have much more success.

In a nutshell, there are a lot of donors out there willing to give you more – you only need to ask. Be honest and think of it as your duty and you will see the process from a different perspective. The new year comes with new opportunities, so make sure you target your donors in a proper and well-planned way and don’t give up – even if you fail 9 times, success at the 10^th attempt is worth the effort!