January 9, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Asking: a 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers, and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift by Jerold Panas presents advice on soliciting charitable donations from individuals. Mr. Panas, chief executive officer of Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners, a fund-raising consulting company in Chicago, writes that obtaining an in-person meeting with the potential donor is a crucial step. He suggests that talking face to face does more than simply get a fund raiser’s foot in the door; it brings the solicitor 85 percent of the way to securing a donation. Mr. Panas, who conducted focus-group meetings with individuals who had recently donated large sums of money, concludes that energy, enthusiasm, and integrity are key traits a fund raiser must demonstrate during the initial meeting. He writes that fund raisers should ask probing questions about potential donors’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the recipient organization in order to better understand and deal with their concerns. The book recommends responses to the most common reasons donors might give for saying no, as well as scripts of conversations and copies of letters that may be used to gain access to people who are reluctant to meet to discuss contributions. Emerson & Church, Publishers, P.O. Box 338, Medfield, Mass. 02052; (508) 359-0019; fax (508) 359-2703; 108 pages; $24.95, plus $4.95 shipping; ISBN 1-889102-17-12
