When it comes to running a fundraiser, you will inevitably have to ask people for money. This is an awkward question in any situation, even if you have a police officer around you. No one actually enjoys asking for donations, but that is something you have to do if you want to get any sort of money for your cause or organization. You might as well learn how to do this the right way so you get the best results possible. Here are some tips designed to help you ask for donation money without getting totally rejected from the start.

If They Don’t Look, You Don’t Ask

A lot of people try to stalk other people when they walk by, and that is not the best approach in the world. If someone walks by you and refuses to make eye contact, that is because the person does not want to be bothered. You need to respect that so you don’t come across as too pushy. If you just go out and talk to people without them acknowledging you, you will end up looking desperate. At that point, you might as well beat people up in the parking lot for money because you will get the same resentment overall.

Mention your Cause

People are a lot more willing to donate when they know what their money is going towards. Rather than just asking for donations in general, ask for donations for a specific group, cause, or event. Tell people that the youth soccer team needs new goals or you are trying to raise money for an educational trip to Europe. If you are raising money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, you can mention that as well. People will whip out their check books if they know their money is going to a good cause. You just have to make sure that cause is known.

Prove Some Incentive

Instead of asking for money out of the blue, you may want to think about giving people a reason to donate. Perhaps you will give them tickets to something if they make a donation, or maybe you will feed them pancakes or cookies of some sort. This is all up to you, but it is nice to provide some sort of gift in exchange for money. This doesn’t have to be super expensive on your end. It just needs to be enough to show that you appreciate the support and you plan on using it for good reasons.

Use Special Tactics

I would never tell you to con people into donating money, but there is nothing wrong with using a few tactics to get money out of people. For instance, you could use some little kids to help you ask for donations because people are more likely to go to them than they are to college students. If you are running a car wash around a college campus, you could use some hot women to lure the men into paying for their car to be spruced up. Little tricks like that will go a long way in helping you reach your fundraising goals. You just have to think about an effective plan and execute it accordingly.

If you are in genuine need of donation money, someone out there will respond. You will not get the money from being overly pushy though, so you need to keep your demands in check. A subtle but effective asking technique will go a long way in helping your fundraiser. You just have to test the waters and see what works for you.