Put your ask where your money is

When seeking donations for your auction or other fund raising event, start with the small businesses where you personally spend the most money. Some examples include:

your grocery store
your favorite restaurant
your hairstylist
your coffee shop
your hobby shop - it could be a ski store, a clothing boutique, a nursery, a bar or anywhere that you spend the most of your leisure money.
you get the idea....

Try this: Take a look at your last bank statement. Identify the five small businesses where you spent the most amount of money that month . Ask each of those businesses to make a cash or in-kind donation in the amount that you spent. I bet you'll get a least one positive response and that's one more positive response than you had before. Please let me know how it goes.

What's the worst that can happen when making an ask? No?

One of the hardest perceived aspects of fund-raising and planning fundraisers is "making the ask." This applies to cash donations and in-kind support. The worst thing that can happen when I make an ask is that I am told 'no'. I've realized that 'no' puts me in the same place I was before I made the ask. I didn't have a commitment before and I may not have a commitment now, but I am no worse off than before I asked. No harm has been done by simply asking a question. NOTE: most people have a hard time saying "no", so just go ahead and simply ask a question.