Nonprofit Leaders: You Need To Be Yourself To Form Deeper Relationships With Donors

Nonprofit GrowthDevelopment
Written By Sherry Quam Taylor
Image of a nonprofit leader in her office and on the phone, taking the next step to build the relationship with a donor

An honest confession here . . .

 

I cringe a little bit when I’m asked for “a script for donor calls”. Whether it’s for leadership, your board members, or staff . . .

 

Why?

 

Because if you’re calling donors with a script in-hand, you’re going to show up as some version of who you think you SHOULD be . . . and not as yourself. (And to form deeper relationships, you’ve got to be yourself).

 

You also:

⚠️ Run the risk of reading (which they’ll hear) = transactional

⚠️ Won’t sound authentic when you're worried you’re not getting it right = transactional

⚠️ Will come off lacking authenticity cause, well, if you REALLY believed in what you’re saying why would you need a script?

 

What to do instead?

 

Act human.

 

I don’t mean to sound harsh. But if you simply speak from the heart in a natural tone, it’s going to be a stronger call.

 

And, have fun with it!

 

But the truth is that too many worry that we’re not doing fundraising right, that it actually KEEPS us from connecting with donors in a deeper and more meaningful way.

 

Be yourself. Show up as YOU.

 

Build the relationship. Who are two donors you can reach out to today without talking about money?

Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:

👣 Follow me on LinkedIn where I share insider info daily — the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and diversifying revenue. 

🍎 Grab FREE Guides + White Papers — download robust resources you can use to push against the sector’s misconceptions, equip your board, and shift your team into High-ROI fundraising.

📈 Work with me to diversify revenue & secure the gen-ops gifts you need to grow. If you’re a business-minded nonprofit CEO with big growth plans but need to make charitable revenue from investment-level donors a bigger part of your budget, you can apply to work with me here.

Sherry Quam Taylor

Sherry Quam Taylor works with business-minded Nonprofit CEOs whose Strategic Plans require expansive budgets and larger amounts of general-operating revenue for growth. To become investment-level ready, Sherry helps leaders see their revenue potential and helps them see what may be blocking donors from giving in this way. Sherry’s clients know how to attract larger donors by solving the funding challenges at the root of the issue.

As a result of learning her methodology, Sherry’s clients become sustainable, diversify revenue, and know how to add significant amounts gen-ops revenue to their budgets. But mostly, their development departments and board have transformed into high-ROI revenue generators – aligning their hours with relational dollars and set free from the limitations of transactional fundraising.

Sherry attributes the success of her business to her passion for modeling radical confidence to the future CEOs in her house - her two college-aged daughters.

https://www.QuamTaylor.com
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