Hi Brian, I recently googled “Should nonprofits be asking for money” and after wading through pages of “asking strategies” I finally came across your article. I have been wrestling with this question of “should we be asking” as I run my own non-profit as I feel quite convicted that we shouldn’t be. I feel it is just assumed we will ask for money and come up with a slick pitch, go to classes on “How much is too much to ask for” and social media the life out of people until they give and therefore my questioning of all this actually feels like I am the crazy one.
You seem to have a lot of experience and so I hope you don’t mind me asking advice on, or thinking through with me, how to convince my board that we need to stop asking for money.
I personally am convinced for a number of reasons.
1. For many of the reasons you mentioned and that it feels like a whole industry of persuasion and just feels ugly and deceptive and something I don’t feel comfortable being associated with.
2. We are a faith based Christian organization and I just have such a trust that if God wants this to move forward, then I should move forward as far as I can in the hope that God will provide financially, and if he doesn’t, then that is a shut door on what we were trying to do. It is almost His way of leading us in the right direction and most productive pathway of long-term usefulness. If we have the money to do whatever we wanted, it is probably not going to end as well as it could have.
So as you can see, I am wrestling with this question and would love some help on how to address it with my board and commit our organization to being a zero ask organization… except for asking God of course.
I would love to have a phone conversation if that were possible, or email works, but if not, no worries, or any chance you could lead me to other articles that might help me with the question. Thanks again.