Fundraising Tip of the Week: The Big Ask

For Hyannis Port participants, you are down to the final stretch...Congrats and see you soon! For Hearst Castle participants, hopefully you are at least thinking about fundraising. HP participants, this tip is a little bit more for you to do in the next week or so. By now, you've sent emails and follow up emails and you have either passed your goal or are "this close" to it. Now is the time for a big, final push. Look back through the list of people you've reached out to and check to see who has donated. Next, look specifically at the list of those who did not donate. Is there one person on there who you were expecting to donate...possibly a big donation? This is who will be your Big Ask.

Invite this person for a cup of coffee or simply pick up the phone and call this special person to talk a little more about what drew you to participate in the Best Buddies Challenge. What about the Best Buddies mission impacted you most and is worth challenging yourself to ride/walk/run the many miles? Remind this person that you are not raising money for yourself, but instead for all of the people who are impacted by Best Buddies 6 different programs. Now comes the most important part. Ask for a specific amount, and aim high! Sometimes these donors don't know what you need or how much to give. By giving them an actual number, there's a good chance you will have a check being written out to Best Buddies on your behalf. Whether they give what you ask or more/less, that is a (big) donation that you would not have gotten had you not taken the extra time and personal touch to describe exactly what you needed from them.

For ideas of what to say, check out the Best Buddies International website or the Audi Best Buddies Challenge website. We are so excited to have 300+ more participants in this year's Hyannis Port Challenge (and hopefully more late-joiners) than in 2008! Happy Fundraising and enjoy your last pre-Challenge week!