Do you serve on the board of a not-for profit(s), volunteer your time to help a charitable organization(s), or work with those who do?  Do you want to help your organization(s) increase contributions?

Then Ask Masters is for you.   

• Learn new ways to increase contributed income for your not-for-profit.
• Integrate effective fund raising methods into all aspects of your charitable involvement.
• Experience the support you need for a successful fundraising effort from a fundraising expert.
• Learn each step of the most effective fundraising methods.

This round table group meets one time per month for twelve months and helps board members, volunteers, and executive staff representing a wide range of not-for-profit organizations become better, more efficient, and more effective fundraisers.  The curriculum is designed to provide best practice fundraising techniques that can be implemented at any nonprofit to increase contributed income.  Action steps are assigned for each session and each lesson builds upon the practice of the previous month’s activities.

Session 1 – Goal Setting

In addition to setting goals we’ll discuss the life-cycle of a donor and what that life cycle looks like in your organization.  You’ll set your donor development steps and establish support partners and methods.

Session 2 – Your Development and Fund Raising Plan

What does an integrated development plan look like?  How can your development plan be adaptable during a fiscal cycle?  What are the donor pipelines you use and which ones do you need?  You will identify and prioritize your current prospects for appropriate requests.

Session 3 – Donors, Donors, Everywhere?

Where are all the donors?  You’ve got donors, but you need more.  You need more contributions.  You need new donors.  You need a different kind of donor.  In this session you’ll determine where to put your emphasis to increase your effectiveness as a fundraiser.  You’ll set prospecting, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.

Session 4 – What’s Your Mission?

Why should someone support your organization?  How do you tell your ‘story’ in the best manner to connect with donors and prospects?  In this session you’ll outline strategies, scripts, and practice 30 second commercials. 

Session 5 – Major Gift Fund Raising

What’s the difference between transactional fundraising and transformational?  How do you move a donor onto the path to transform your organization?  You will segment your prospects and develop approach strategies.

Session 6 – Anatomy of a Fund Raising Call

In this session you will examine the goals, structure and roles for both a solicitation call and a cultivation call.  You will set goals for solicitation and cultivation calls.

Session 7 – Donor-Centered Fund Raising

Fund raising is more than a presentation and a request for support.  How do you connect your prospect with what motivates them to make a gift? We’ll discuss how to find the connection with your donor or prospect.  In this session you will develop your questions and role.

Session 8 – Budgets and Resources

In this session you’ll discover presentation and donor opportunities that are hiding in your organizational, campaign or project budget.  We’ll discuss how to present the opportunity to change lives from a financial and other resources standpoint.

Session 9 – Major Gift Solicitations – The Legwork Behind the Scenes

A successful major gift request is 95% cultivation and preparation and only 5% solicitation.  You’ll set your preparation, practice, and approach steps and we’ll discuss how to get the best request for the largest gift on the table. 

Session 10 – Major Gift Solicitations – The Ask

In this session you’ll learn best practices for presenting your Major Gift request.  We’ll discuss structuring your request, getting the “ask” out, closing techniques, and how to refocus your prospect on the urgency of your mission.

Session 11 – Major Gift Solicitations – Closing and Stewarding

70 percent of your donors will require additional time to make their gift decision.  Success is in the follow-up to the solicitation.  It’s time to close that gift!  You’ll learn closing techniques, how to follow-up after a gift decision, steward your donor and cultivate them for the next request.  Your success in fundraising doesn’t end at gift receipt, but with donor retention and gift upgrades.

Session 12 – Celebration, review and wrap-up

If Interested, please contact Heidi Hancock at 785-554-1041 or

click on Events to see our latest class offerings.