Part 3 of 3: Ask Better, Raise More: 14 Proven Fundraising Ask Types & Tactics
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Part 3 of 3: Ask Better, Raise More: 14 Proven Fundraising Ask Types & Tactics
Most fundraisers spend far too much time worrying about the “perfect ask,” as if somewhere out there is one magical sentence that makes every donor instantly reach for a checkbook. There isn’t. Fundraising is not a Jedi mind trick, and donors are not slot machines you jiggle until money falls out.
The truth is much more practical: different donors respond to different types of asks, and the best fundraisers know how to choose the right one for the right person at the right moment.
That’s why experienced fundraisers don’t fall in love with just one asking style. They build a toolkit. They know when to keep it simple, when to make it visual, when to create momentum, when to lean into competition, and when to invite support without asking for money at all.
In other words, they don’t walk into every donor meeting swinging the same hammer and hoping everything turns into a nail. They use judgment, timing, and a little creativity—which, frankly, beats awkward begging every time.
In Part 1 and Part 2, we covered the foundational and scalable ask strategies that drive day-to-day fundraising success.
In this final part of the series, we turn to long-term strategy—exploring the ask types that create stability, permanence, and legacy-level impact.
Ask Types and Tactics
11. Gift Tables
Gift tables outline how many donors you need at certain giving levels to achieve your overall giving goal. For example, let’s say you wanted to raise $100,000. A $100,000 gift table would highlight how many donors you think it would take at various giving levels to achieve the goal: $10,000 (3), $1,000 (20), $500 (50), $250 (100), etc. Gift tables are typically built in spreadsheet, matrix, or infographic table formats.
You can use a giving table to help you determine specific fundraising strategies for various levels of giving within a gift table. For example, you may have a strategy to meet with major donors in face-to-face settings for gifts of $1,000 or more. You may establish a “call-a-thon” to contact people who have the potential to give between $100 and $500, and you may set up email, text, and mail campaigns for those who will likely give less than $100.
Gift tables are effective tools to help you manage your fundraising efforts, but fundraisers often use them as props during ask meetings. They will show a donor a table that outlines the details of a particular fundraising campaign and how many donors it will take at various levels of giving to achieve the stated goals. Then they ask the donor to give at a particular level in the table.
“Mr. Jones, you can see in this table [show the gift table] that we need 10 donors at the $5,000 level and 5 donors at the $10,000 level to achieve our fundraising goal. You’ve been a longtime supporter at the $7,000 level. Would you be willing to make a stretch gift this year at the $10,000 level so we can reach our goal of $250,000 by the end of June and begin construction of Cane Creek’s first child vaccination clinic in July?”
Gift tables bring order to what otherwise becomes fundraising guesswork. They help you see the campaign as a structured plan rather than a hopeful blur of “let’s just ask everybody and see what happens.”
Hope is not a strategy. A well-designed gift table is.
12. Multiyear gifts
A multiyear donation is a commitment by a donor to make a donation each year for a given number of years. The number of years and the amount of the donation may vary. For example, a donor may commit to a $250 gift each year for three years. Or, a donor may commit to a three-year gift and give $250 the first year, $500 in year two, and $1,000 in year three.
Fundraisers use multiyear asks because they know it’s an effective tactic to get donors to make long-term financial commitments. Many times, multiyear asks are made in the form of pledges.
If you do a good job stewarding a donor in the first year of their pledge, and they have been engaged in your work, you may want to ask them to increase their pledge amount for the remaining years of the pledge.
“Stan, on behalf of the entire board and the children we serve, we’re grateful for the $1,000 gifts you’ve made the last three years toward your five-year $5,000 pledge. You’ve also been one of our star volunteers. I don’t think you missed one event all year. You’ve seen the changes we make in kids’ lives more than anyone and know our work is essential to the safety of children in the community. Stan, would you be willing to increase your annual gift from $1,000 to $2,000 for the last two years of your five-year pledge?”
Multiyear gifts are valuable because they create stability. They give nonprofits something every leader craves: predictability. It is hard to plan boldly when revenue feels like weather. Multiyear giving turns at least some of that weather into a forecast.
13. Endowment gifts
Endowments are typically “permanently restricted” donations that allow donors to make gifts to support a nonprofit, or a specific program, service, or project operated by a nonprofit. In most cases, the principal (or “corpus”) of the endowment is invested, and the interest, or some portion of the investment returns, are used to fund projects.
Fundraisers like to offer endowment gifts (when available) to major donors because they know many wealthy people like to make gifts that can provide long-term recurring income to a nonprofit.
Endowment gifts appeal to donors who want durability. They are not simply solving today’s need; they are helping create tomorrow’s income. For many donors, that kind of permanence is deeply attractive. It allows them to support something they care about long after the campaign brochure has been recycled and the gala centerpiece has been tossed.
“Marcia, thank you for the extremely generous $20,000 gifts you’ve made for the last four years. The entire board, staff, and all our students extend their gratitude. As you know, we are in the middle of a three-year, $1.0 million endowment building campaign for our literacy program. We have commitments from four other donors at $30,000 a year for three years. Would you be willing to match these gifts and donate $30,000 a year for the next three years?"
Endowment conversations tend to be larger, more strategic, and more legacy-oriented than annual fund conversations. They are less about immediate urgency and more about institutional permanence. They are fundraising with a longer horizon and a slightly bigger vocabulary.
14. Estate gifts
Estate gifts, also known as “planned gifts,” are contribution commitments made during a donor’s lifetime with the benefits of the gift becoming available to a nonprofit at a present or future date. Experienced fundraisers like estate gifts because they can provide substantial long-term financial benefits to a nonprofit and to a donor. Wise nonprofits regularly suggest estate gifts to donors of all sizes, not just major donors.
There are many types of estate gifts: wills, charitable trusts, gift annuities, charitable lead trusts, remainder annuity trusts, and life insurance. The details of estate gifts can be complicated because there are legal and tax implications. If you’re a small nonprofit, you probably don’t have the expertise to manage estate gifts, which is why it’s cost-effective to partner with an estate planning professional.
The professional’s job is to educate you on how to integrate wills and estate gifts into your fundraising program and to handle the details and paperwork once a donor decides to make a gift. This means you get all the benefit with little effort.
Your job is to promote estate gifts. You can provide estate gift options in literature, at events, and on your website.
“If you’re interested in including us in your will, or learning more about planned giving options, check the box below and we’ll give you a call.”
Small call-to-action reminders like this can trigger a response from a donor when they feel the time has come for them to address estate planning.
Four out of five estate gifts are bequests, most of which are set forth in wills, but 70 percent of people don’t have wills. Also, older couples without children are five times more likely to leave a bequest than couples with children.
Knowing this, you may want to send out a questionnaire asking donors if they have wills, or if they have an interest in learning more about wills and estate giving.
If the response is good, host a luncheon and have a financial planner talk about wills and estate planning. Make sure it’s super fun, interesting, and not too long; no one wants to attend a boring workshop.
Planned giving may sound intimidating, but promoting it does not have to be. Much of the work is simply normalizing the conversation and making it easy for donors to raise their hand when they are ready. Estate gifts are not just for the ultra-wealthy. Often they come from loyal donors of ordinary means who care deeply about the mission and want their values to outlive them.
Summary: Bringing It All Together
The most effective fundraisers are not the ones with the flashiest pitch, the fanciest brochure, or the longest list of donor buzzwords. They are the ones who understand that asking is situational.
Different donors respond to different forms of invitation. Some want a straightforward ask. Others want a challenge. Others love to fund specific items, join exclusive clubs, commit over time, or leave a legacy gift that keeps working long after they are gone.
Great fundraising is less about memorizing one magic line and more about knowing which tool to use, when to use it, and how to make the donor feel like a valued participant rather than a target.
That’s why mastering multiple fundraising ask types and tactics matters so much. It gives you flexibility. It helps you meet donors where they are. It allows you to move seamlessly from first conversation to long-term commitment—from initial engagement to lasting impact.
Because in the end, this isn’t just about raising money. It’s about building a system of invitations that grows with the donor. This can start with simple asks, expanding into structured support, and ultimately creating opportunities for people to invest in something that outlives them.
Learn these forms. Use them well. Mix and match them thoughtfully. Because the goal isn’t just to raise money—it’s to build something meaningful with people who want to be part of it. And that’s when fundraising starts to scale.
What’s Next (and What You May Have Missed)
If you’re starting here, you’ve been learning about ask types and tactics that focus on strategic, long-term forms of fundraising, the types that create stability, permanence, and legacy-level impact.
But these ask types don’t stand alone. They work best when built on a strong foundation and supported by the right structure.
In Part 1, we covered the core ask types and tactics that help you start conversations and create momentum. You’ll learn how to:
Lower resistance with non-monetary asks
Make clear, direct requests with simple asks
Build urgency with challenge and matching asks
And use pyramid structures to make giving visible and compelling
These are the tools that get donors engaged in the first place.
In Part 2, we focused on building consistency and scale. You’ll learn how to:
Turn one-time donors into recurring revenue
Use lead gifts to unlock major campaigns
Build giving clubs and sponsorships that increase loyalty
And leverage wish lists and gift tables to make giving tangible and strategic
These are the systems that keep donors involved and giving over time. Taken together, all three parts form a complete approach to fundraising, one that moves donors from initial engagement to sustained support to long-term investment.
Tom Iselin
Rated One of America’s Best Board Retreat
and Strategic Planning Facilitators
About the Author
Tom Iselin is recognized as one of America’s leading authorities on high-performance nonprofits. He has built nine sector-leading nonprofits and two software companies, written six books, sits on multiple boards, and has been rated one of America’s Best Board Retreat and Strategic Planning Facilitators. His work on nonprofit strategy, board leadership, and culture has been featured on CNN, Nightline, and in Newsweek.
Tom is the president of First Things First, a firm specializing in board retreats, strategic planning services, fundraising strategy, and executive coaching for nonprofit CEOs.
Board Retreats & Strategic Planning
If you’re looking for a board retreat facilitator or strategic planning facilitator who has been in the trenches and understands real-world nonprofit challenges, Tom can help your board gain clarity, build alignment, and create an actionable plan that improves performance and impact. His sessions propel organizations to the next level of performance and impact . . . and they're fun!
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