Tough times don’t have to spell financial distress for nonprofits. You just have to know how much to ask for and how to ask for it.

By Kevin Gault

So how can fundraising professionals determine how much to ask from donors? What formulas should they use — or not use? What else should they consider when determining the “ask”?

Formula vs. case by case
To be sure, slow economic times generate more need.

“You have more families and more individuals who are at risk during these times,” says Donna Fletcher, principal of Mission Driven, a San Francisco-based fundraising consulting firm. “The challenge comes with being able to get the message to folks that money is needed now even more than it was in the past because times are hard and the number of people who have needs is greater.”