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

But Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, president and CEO of the fundraising consulting firm Capital Venture, says that instead of using formulas, it’s essential to assess donor potential on an individual basis.

“I don’t use strict fundraising formulas because you can base a formula on a person’s net income or assets, but then you have to account for his or her [individual] circumstances,” she says. “A person might have a high income, but he or she might also have four kids in college, aging parents they’re caring for and high medical bills, so it’s very difficult to base things on a formula.