“I am amazed! The wealth estimate was not particularly helpful, but Abacus suggested almost the exact 7-figure amount the donor gave to the Center.” – Natalee Martin, VP of Development (formerly) at Seacoast Science Center, probably still doing a happy dance.
Before using Donor Abacus™, fundraisers were about to ask a donor for $250,000. Abacus suggested $970,000 instead. The actual gift? $1,000,000. That’s not just leaving money on the table – that’s leaving enough money to buy the table, the chairs, and the entire restaurant.
Here’s how to stop the fundraising equivalent of asking Bill Gates for $200:
1. Challenge Your Institutional Self-Esteem
Many organizations limit ask amounts because of their fundraising impostor syndrome: “We’re not worthy of seven-figure gifts!” Snap out of it! Your mission deserves proper funding, and your donors have the capacity. It’s like the nonprofit version of settling for the wrong partner because you don’t think you deserve better. You do!
2. Validate Ask Amounts Through Multiple Lenses
Cross-reference wealth capacity estimates with engagement metrics and giving history. When multiple indicators suggest higher capacity, trust the data over your gut feeling, which is probably influenced by what you had for lunch or whether someone cut you off in traffic this morning.
3. Create Separate Aspirational vs. Conservative Projections
Develop stretch (Ask) and conservative (Goal) numbers for each donor. It’s like having both a “what we hope to weigh” and a “what we actually weigh” on our bathroom scales – one inspires us, one keeps us honest. Both have their place in successful planning.
You can’t afford to keep under-asking your best prospects unless you enjoy leaving Scrooge McDuck-sized piles of cash unclaimed. With a 90% accuracy rate in predicting actual pledges, Donor Abacus helps you confidently make the right ask – ambitious enough to maximize potential yet still respectful enough that donors don’t laugh you out of the room.
To transformational giving – that actually transforms your budget.
We hate seeing money left behind more than we hate bad fundraising puns.
