How Much Should I Give?
Parameters for making a good gift
It’s a simple question, but one that can be tough to answer. How much should I give?
First, a bit of tact is necessary. It’s almost never helpful to give a specific number, as this can make the question seem merely transactional. Worse yet, it might prevent the donor from making a larger gift than you had anticipated!
However, the good news is that anyone who asks this question is well on their way to giving already. But you can serve your donors even better by helping them to make not just any gift, but a good gift.
As mentioned many times before in this blog, fundraising supports culture (that’s actually the name of the blog!). And organizations become better when their members desire to invest more of themselves in it. This self-investment constitutes a good gift, and comprises all aspects of time, talent, and treasure.
Of course, in campaigns everyone will be asked for specific gift amounts. But otherwise, here are the two conditions I generally provide to answer this question fully:
Something
Everyone should give something. In many ways, this is simply the price of admission to being a member of a community, and any gift is always better than no gift, even if it’s relatively small.
A gift can’t be good if no gift is made. The only gift too small is no gift at all!
Just a little more than you want to give
Secondly, a donor is served well when their giving involves a bit of a flinch.
If the donor is able to consider giving just a little bit more than they originally wanted to give (the amount doesn’t particularly matter) they have made a firmer commitment to the organization’s mission.
In short: I might respond to a donor by saying, “everyone should give something, and preferably just a little bit more than they’d like.” We should always ask people to give, and to give just a bit more than they might have considered.
From here a discussion might open with regard to stretching for specific purposes. But the intention will have already been set, which is to give and to give well, which is the primary goal for all of our donors.
This is an essential part of building the generosity of a community.