Making The Ask

If you’re a fundraiser or social entrepreneur keen to secure large gift for any kind of social cause you need to be able to ask the right people for the right money in the right way. But how do you do that? In this ground-breaking book, global experts Bernard Ross and Clare Segal share their approach - used by major fundraising organisations from UNHCR in the Middle East to MSF in the US and from UK’s Oxford University to MEF Museum in Argentina – which has been used to secure gifts up to $110m in a single ask. Whether you’re an experienced fundraiser looking for new ideas, a newbie keen to get to the right approach fast, or a board member anxious to help out, you’ll find the answers you’re looking for inside. The book also has a special social bonus - every copy you buy will result in a donation to the WHO foundation to pay for a Covid 19 vaccine in a developing nation. “One reasonably useful book = one life-saving vaccine.”

Originally published by Stevenson, Inc., this practical resource helps nonprofit professionals improve presentation skills; prepare effective solicitation teams; and train staff, volunteers and board members on the ask. It also gives expert advice on approaching donors for major gifts, tailoring individual proposals, and improving efforts to solicit major gifts. Important topics covered include: Closing techniques Donor communication Overcoming call reluctance The science of asking questions Negotiation skills Setting the ask amount Dealing with objections and refusals Prospect conversation starters Major gifts advisory committees Listening skills tips Decision delays Upselling Corporate solicitation Gift proposals Sales skills Evaluating prospects Please note that some content featured in the original version of this title has been removed in this published version due to permissions issues.

FOREWORD BY BRENE BROWN and POSTSCRIPT FROM BRAIN PICKINGS CREATOR MARIA POPOVA Rock star, crowdfunding pioneer, and TED speaker Amanda Palmer knows all about asking. Performing as a living statue in a wedding dress, she wordlessly asked thousands of passersby for their dollars. When she became a singer, songwriter, and musician, she was not afraid to ask her audience to support her as she surfed the crowd (and slept on their couches while touring). And when she left her record label to strike out on her own, she asked her fans to support her in making an album, leading to the world's most successful music Kickstarter. Even while Amanda is both celebrated and attacked for her fearlessness in asking for help, she finds that there are important things she cannot ask for-as a musician, as a friend, and as a wife. She learns that she isn't alone in this, that so many people are afraid to ask for help, and it paralyzes their lives and relationships. In this groundbreaking book, she explores these barriers in her own life and in the lives of those around her, and discovers the emotional, philosophical, and practical aspects of THE ART OF ASKING. Part manifesto, part revelation, this is the story of an artist struggling with the new rules of exchange in the twenty-first century, both on and off the Internet. THE ART OF ASKING will inspire readers to rethink their own ideas about asking, giving, art, and love.

The Ask is a complete resource for teaching anyone—experienced in fundraising or not—how to ask individuals, in person, for a contribution to for a local nonprofit or a special event or community project, an enhanced annual gift, a major or planned gift, or a challenging capital campaign gift. Written by fundraising expert Laura Fredricks, The Ask shows what it takes to prepare yourself and others to make an effective ask and includes over one hundred sample dialogues you can use and adapt. Step by step, the book reveals how to listen, what to say, and how to follow up on each and every ask until you receive a solid and definitive answer. In addition, The Ask covers such topics as how to Examine your views on money before making an ask Learn the ins and outs of asking for money Work with others to make an ask Determine if you should or should not ask a friend, colleague, or peer for money Figure out how many asks you can do given your time constraints Deal effectively with all the responses you will get to an ask

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together

The authors of Make Just One Change argue that formulating one’s own questions is “the single most essential skill for learning”—and one that should be taught to all students. They also argue that it should be taught in the simplest way possible. Drawing on twenty years of experience, the authors present the Question Formulation Technique, a concise and powerful protocol that enables learners to produce their own questions, improve their questions, and strategize how to use them. Make Just One Change features the voices and experiences of teachers in classrooms across the country to illustrate the use of the Question Formulation Technique across grade levels and subject areas and with different kinds of learners.

In times of recession, the library is more critical than ever for those who want to start a business and need to do research, and libraries are at the heart of a growing need to research business questions.

Let The Smart Cookies show you how to eliminate debt, spend smarter, save better, and achieve financial freedom—without sacrificing your social life or your sanity! They were five dynamic young women: smart, successful—and secretly drowning in debt. Inspired by an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show on personal finance, Andrea, Angela, Katie, Robyn, and Sandra formed a money club, together developing strategies for turning their finances around. Just one year later they had dramatically improved their financial situations—and had made major developments in their careers, relationships, and life goals to boot. Their proven recipe for success has since been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, MSNBC, and in the New York Daily News. How did they do it? These five women—with varied careers in marketing, public relations, social work, and TV production—joined forces to create a fun, simple, effective strategy for achieving financial success, forming a money club and supporting each other every step of the way. Now, in this extraordinary hands-on guide, the women, who soon dubbed themselves The Smart Cookies, share the secrets of their success. Weaving anecdotes from their own lives with practical, how-to advice, The Smart Cookies offer strategies that cut across the financial spectrum, whether you’re deeply in debt or just want to manage your money better. Tackling the unique financial challenges facing women today, they offer easy-to-follow advice on everything from creating a spending plan to boosting your income to starting your own money club.