Don’t Ask … Don’t Get

*Not offer an option to give at the same level. Ask strings should start at nearly double the current gift.

*Be highly personalized, referencing the current membership level and what it offers, as well as the added benefits of the upgrade. “This is a value situation,” Hines says. “You can do the math for them and kind of play their game: ‘If you are a member at the $250 level, you’re going to receive X number of passes,’ and you value that at X number of dollars. So you can really illustrate for them how the upgrade is a good value in addition to helping support the zoo or the aquarium or wherever they might be a member.”