Hit By The Recession – And Asked To Give

Someone just asked me: “Why should we sink our resources into individual donor development…nobody’s got any money?”  She was asking the million dollar question: Is it still possible to raise money from individuals this year? 

Let me counter that with a case for giving that I’ve been using which is making money fly out of people’s pockets (feel free to borrow and use it).

It goes like this:

By this point, just about every single person in this room has been hit by the recession this year.  There’s nobody that hasn’t been touched, in some way.   But that makes it even more important that everyone steps up to the table and gives this year.  People aren’t going to be able to give as much as they have in past years – so it’s even more important for each of us to do our part. That’s why we’re reaching out even more broadly, and asking everyone, even people who haven’t given in the past, to step up.  If we all give, and we get a broader base, then we can all carry the weight forward together and get the job done. So I’m asking every one of us to dig into our pockets, and come up with what we can, knowing that it may not be as much as it was – but if we all do this together, it will be enough.

I have presented this case in group meetings, and literally had people come up to me and say: “I was one of those people and I wasn’t going to give, but now I see how important it is and I’m willing to do so.”

Of course, you have to have a good cause, and have targeted people who share your beliefs about its importance – but framing the conversation this way removes the barrier of “My income has downsized so I’m not going to give this year.”

The fact is, just about everyone’s income, or assets, has downsized through this financial maelstrom – making it even more important that we all step up to the plate however we can.

Try it – and let us know the results.