Know Your Donor. Know Your Donor. Know Your Donor.

Now that you know what the donor is interested in, you must match that interest to a program in your organization. I have several suggestions in this area:

• During the matching process, keep your eye on the need for the organization to have undesignated funds. This sounds counterintuitive, I know. And it feels like I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth. I'm not. If a donor is interested in helping younger children, there's a big difference between asking him to give to your multifaceted program to help younger children and asking him to help the 15 younger kids in the literacy program on Thursdays in the Westside section of Detroit during the January to March sessions. Obviously you want to talk about all that detail, not only of that program but all the programs. But your ask, while still staying in the interest section, should be as general as possible. I always suggest being open with donors about the need for the organization to have flexibility in program spending. Donors almost always understand. They just want to know that their gifts will help those younger kids.
• Look for gender and age matches. Who does the donor want to help in terms of gender and age? Get to that first. Is it older people? If so, older men or women? Is there a preference? If younger, what age? What gender? Is there a preference? If the donor is interested in causes that are not related to people directly, like the environment, then move down to the next point. But if it is people, start here. Then …
• Look for sector matches. By sector, I mean the type of program. Is it education, shelter, work development, counseling, protecting the environment, etc.? This is the "what" part of the matching. What does the donor want to do? What is the technical thing that is of interest? For instance, after providing emergency help in crisis situations, I want to help a person create independence — so, training, finding work, getting counseling, etc., 
are all good for me. What is it for your donor?
• Try to determine the desired outcome of the match. After you have "done a match" for an individual donor, try to visualize if the match is satisfying to the donor. In this step I suggest spending a moment thinking about how the donor will react to your suggested match. Visualize sitting with the donor and proposing what you have come up with as a place he/she or they can help. Does it work? Is it satisfying? Does it bring fulfillment and joy? Can you feel it? If not, start over.

Step No. 4: Prepare the ask