Easier Said Than Done: Secrets for Maximizing Your Net Revenue

Secret No. 1: Ask more

The more you ask, the more you receive. Fundraising is very nearly that simple.

"But," I can almost hear people saying, "if you ask too much, you'll annoy donors and they'll retaliate by not giving — anything you gain in the short term you'll more than lose to donor attrition."

For most donors, it doesn't work that way. With one very cool exception (that I'll show you later), I've yet to find any evidence that asking donors less makes them more responsive. In every test I've seen of contact 
frequency, donors on reduced-contact schedules give less often and lapse at higher rates.