So many opportunities . . . where do I begin?

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the number of prospective donors who could help fund your mission?  Have you ever felt like you’ve wasted your time talking to the wrong people?

Over the years, I’ve developed a system that I believe can help organizations like yours know the best place to start when it comes to prospective donors.

This prospect rating scale looks at three categories and gives prospects an A, B, or C rating.  Just like in school, A is the best.  The three categories we look at are affinity, capacity, and generosity.

Affinity deals with the question of mission.  Does this donor have an affinity for our mission?  Do they care about what we care about?  This is not the same as having an awareness of your particular organization, however.  If the donor has a track record of giving to organizations with missions similar to yours, that means that he or she already has an affinity for your type of organization, even if they don’t know your name.

Capacity is an assessment of the donor’s capability to give at a certain level.  This is a measurement of their perceived ability to give a percentage of your fundraising goal over a 3-year period.  For example, with a $10MM goal, a prospect would receive an A rating if they could give 5% (or more), $500,000, over the 3-year timeframe.

Generosity is probably obvious to you.  Does the prospect have a track record of being generous?  Do they give regularly?  Periodically?  Modestly?  Significantly?

Prospects are rated in all 3 dimensions.  AAA are your strongest prospects, and this rating system helps answer the question, “Who should we be talking to first?” You’ll obviously want to talk with your AAAs first!  If you find that someone doesn’t care about our mission, doesn’t have money, and isn’t generous, (a “Triple-C”), they would likely be removed from your prospect list.

This system can help you sort through your potential donors and focus on prioritizing your calls.  If I can be of any help to you in this process, please let me know.  My goal is to help you accomplish your mission

Sincerely,

Kent Stroman,
America’s ASKing Coach

PS:  Have you figured out which donors you should be talking to, but you aren’t sure of the next steps? Send me an email. I’d love to help you plan what comes next.