1 Lesson from Me

Securing a meeting with an elusive donor has never been easy, even before the pandemic. So how do we increase our time engaging elusive donors in deep, meaningful conversations about our work, the needs of the communities we serve and illustrating how their support makes a significant and measurable difference?  

It all begins with you first investing the time necessary to gain a deeper understanding of your donor  – what do they care about most and why? – before you request the visit.  

Then take the following key steps before requesting a visit:  

• Understand the common barriers to meeting with your donors 
• Prepare an agenda for your visit that your donor can't resist 
• Get yourself in the right mindset before requesting the donor visit  
• Ask the donor for permission to request a visit 
• Be crystal clear about the purpose of your visit and the amount of time you need 
• Provide options to your donor for when to meet and how (in-person or virtual) 
• Follow up with your donor on any agreed-upon actions and update your donor database 

When teaching this CFRE-approved class, How to Get the Visit, Even with Those Elusive Donors, to the Growth members of my Fundraising Transformers Community, I explore the common barriers to gaining access to major donors. I also give practical psychology-based strategies, tactics, real-life tools and checklists for overcoming objections and getting the visit with those elusive donors. I even provide a sample visit agenda along with proven scripts you can use to request a donor visit via a telephone call, email or an old-fashioned letter. Last, I teach what steps you should take immediately after that elusive donor visit. Growth members get this class plus immediate access to over 60 fundraising classes and replays from my LIVE group coaching sessions. New content added monthly.

1 Quote from Someone Else

“When you get the visit, you’re 85% on your way to getting the gift.”

Source: Steve Jerold Panas, Legendary Fundraiser & Author

1 Question for You 

Before reaching out to elusive donors to request a visit, you must first understand their common objections to meeting with you, the fundraiser. I'll give you one to start: One of the big mistakes we fundraisers often make is over asking, while under reporting on the impact of a donor's prior giving. 

Why do you think donors don’t want to meet with us? 

Bye for now,

Tammy Zonker
Fundraising Strategist & Keynote Speaker
Recognized as one of America’s Top 20 Fundraising Experts
Creator of the Fundraising Transformers Community