5-Step Formula for Setting Up a Donor Meeting

For many nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, making the initial donor call feels about as comfortable as parallel parking a boat. Even highly confident professionals suddenly become nervous, overly formal, or strangely robotic the moment they pick up the phone to call a potential donor. And honestly, it makes sense. Fundraising calls carry emotional pressure. You don't want to sound pushy. You don't want to waste the donor's time. You definitely don't want to sound like a telemarketer calling during dinner asking whether they'd like to switch long-distance providers in 1997. So what do most people do? They ramble. They over-explain. They talk too long. They apologize unnecessarily. They bury the purpose of the call beneath five minutes of weather updates and nervous storytelling before finally blurting out something vague about "getting together sometime." Meanwhile, the donor has spent the entire conversation wondering, "What exactly is happening right now?" Tune in to learn more!