Direct Mail Donor Acquisition: How to Ask for the Right Amount

By Alan Sharpe, CFRE
My wife and I listed our house for sale last Monday and sold it on Wednesday. The buyer offered us a few hundred dollars more than our asking price, so we accepted. But we have lingering doubts. Maybe you would, too.

You know how it is. You name your price, and your buyer agrees immediately. So you immediately wonder if your price was too low. Maybe that’s why the buyer agreed to your price so quickly.

In direct mail fundraising you’ll find this same challenge. How much should you ask a person to donate if they have never donated before? If you ask for a large gift, they will not give. And if you ask for a small gift, they will give. But maybe if you ask for a gift that’s larger than your small ask but smaller than your large ask, you’ll also get a donation. If you ask for an amount that generates a huge response, you’ll likely agonize that maybe you could have asked for just a little bit more and got it.

Here are three ways to determine how much to ask for.

1. Ask your competitors how much they ask for
Phone a non-profit organization like yours, preferably one that does not compete directly for your donor’s dollar, and ask them how much they ask potential donors to give. If your competitor won’t tell you, or if you are too timid to pick up the phone, get on their mailing list and see how much they ask you to donate.

2. Find out what the average gift is for the people on the list you are mailing
If you are mailing a fundraising letter to people who have never donated to your organization before, you are likely renting a list of those names. Ask your list broker if the data card for that list contains giving levels. Some lists available for rent tell you the size of the average gift that people on that list give to charities.

3. Test a range of asks
If in doubt, test. Some lists have a higher average gift than others. So test lists by varying your ask amount. And test ask amounts over time so that you discover the optimum amount of money to ask for with a potential donor.

Asking for the right amount with a first-time gift is critical. It can mean the difference between earning net income with your mailing, breaking even, or losing your shirt, or your blouse, as the case may be.

Handbook Number 6 101 Compelling Ways to Ask for Donations with Your Fundraising Letters. The professional fundraiser’s guide to mastering the art of making the ask.

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Breakthrough Fundraising Letters. How to write direct mail donation request appeals that attract more donors, raise more money, and build stronger relationships. Available in paperback and as an e-book.