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TPF JOURNAL
got it. You would like to know something
about such and such, how we produce
these outcomes/those statistics, what other
major funders support us, etc. etc…. Let
me tell you… / I’ll get back to you… / I’ll
provide you with that ….”
Then, keep your promises!
• When you think about the causes you support,
what do you want those causes to fix, wipe out or
resolve?
• What is it about the [issue, problem, disease, social
condition] that bothers or concerns you so much;
how does that affect your charitable decisions?
MORE ON THE THREE SIMPLE QUESTIONS
• What’s at stake if your preferred charities are not
able to achieve their mission?
Question #1: The Success Question, to elicit
the donor’s positive motivators.
• What do you think or fear might happen, if [this
social or medical, etc., issue] is not resolved?
This question is very simple: “What do you want to
achieve?” Like all three Questions, these six short words
offer enough variations and options to keep your prospect talking for hours. Here are some variations and
elaborations on the Success theme:
• Why is that important to you?
• What inspires you to give to charity? What
causes or missions are most likely to draw your
attention? Why?
QUESTION #3: THE ‘RIGHT CHARITY’ QUESTION,
to elicit donor expectations about service and
recognition.
• What do you want your gifts to accomplish?
• Why is that important to you?
• If the nonprofit that you support were to be
completely successful, what would that do for
you? Why would that be important to you?
As you can see, the Success Question alone will open up
enormous amounts of back-and-forth discussions with
your prospect, and just as well with a current funder. In
fact, there is no limit to the number of times you can
find a use for some variation of the Success Question.
IF AND ONLY IF: If you are interviewing a current donor,
it is legitimate for you to ask specific questions about
your agency, such as “what inspires you to give to our
agency year after year?”“Why is our agency important
to you?” and the like. Current donors are the best source
for learning what motivates future donors.
QUESTION #2: THE ‘AVOID’ QUESTION, to
elicit the donor’s negative motivators
The second question is the ‘Avoid’ question: “What do
you want to avoid?” This question elicits the flip-side
of the ‘Success’ questions, giving more perspective into
motivation. It offers many variations.
THE PHILANTREPRENEUR JOURNAL
NOTE: Some people respond better to Success Questions,
while some open up and exhibit more trust with Avoid
Questions. Using both techniques produces more complete insights and engages trust more deeply and quickly.
The Avoid Question is highly unexpected, demonstrating
your meaningful grasp of and respect for the prospect’s
reasons for charitable giving. Use both approaches.
The ‘Right Charity’ question asks: “How do you decide
which charities to support?” Like the first two Questions, it
can be presented many ways, but its real purpose is to find
out how the prospect makes the decision to give. Some
variations:
• How do you choose the charities you want to
support? What would you need to see or hear from
a nonprofit in order for you to make a significant
commitment?
• What would a charity need to show you, after
you’ve made your gift, to convince you that you had
made a wise investment?
• When selecting a charity, what is uppermost in
your mind?
• Have you ever decided not to invest in a charity,
or even withdrawn your support from one? Why did
that happen?
• When you think about other charities that you
have supported or currently support, what did you
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