FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE PODCAST

Today, let’s talk about YES. This is a word every fundraiser wants to hear, especially when it’s in response to a major gift ask. But it’s important to remember that BIG yeses are built on SMALL yeses.

I’ll give you a daily life example we can all relate to (whether as the child or the mother):

A child asks her mother if she can play outside. Mother says, “𝘠𝘦𝘴 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” She does. She then asks her mother if she can ride bikes with her friends. Mother says, “𝘠𝘦𝘴 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘺 6𝘱𝘮.” She is. Finally, she asks if she can go to her first sleepover party. Mom’s mind starts to race with a lot of what-ifs, but she says, “𝘠𝘦𝘴 – 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦.”

The smaller yeses built the trust and rapport to give the mother confidence in the big yes. And, if you noticed, it was an exchange of yeses – with the daughter staying true to her word each time.

As arts leaders, our exchanges of yeses are mostly based in transactions. A patron buys their first ticket, and we captivate them with our artistry. They buy their second, and we provide a warm, welcoming environment. They spring for the season subscription, and we broaden their musical perspective. They donate, and we bring them inside our world to experience the act of creation.

I don't believe in a magic number of touchpoints, but I do know that small yeses are the path to strong donor relationships.

Without them, your ask will be met with questions. In our mother-daughter example, these would sound like: 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨? In the arts world, they sound like: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨?

Even if you take all the right steps, donors are likely to respond to a major gift ask with such questions – but the trust and rapport you’ve built along the way will help you quickly move through them to the BIG YES.

It’s like climbing a mountain. Our friends in the marketing realm would call this the Marketing Mountain (moving a customer UP the mountain from not knowing you to devoted loyalty through a series of interactions or impressions.

In reality, this is a relationship mountain, and ALL strong fundraising is relationship-based. This is especially true of individual giving.

You don’t leap from the base to the summit. You take it step by step — building trust, creating momentum, and gaining altitude. Fundraising works the same way.

I often see fundraisers trying to make that summit leap by putting so much information in an email that it resembles a grant application and confuses the donor about what you want. Do you want to meet, do you want my advice, or do you want my donation now? It should be kept simple: you matter to us, and I want to meet with you to share some exciting updates.

What you see in this example is that you should seek small, singular yeses along the way: agreeing to meet for coffee. Other small yeses could be touring your facility, experiencing one of our educational offerings, or giving feedback on our plans for the future. Each of those yeses matters. These are “engaging yeses” and they are part of the ascent.

Even “transactional yeses” — things like buying a subscription or making a first-time gift — are not the finish line. They are part of the trail. Each one is an opportunity to move someone from transactional support to true philanthropic support.

The key is to honor those yeses, keep momentum moving, and never lose sight of the fact that the “Big Yeses” don’t just appear out of nowhere. It’s the natural outcome of building a path of trust and engagement.

So as you work with your donors, remember. Take it ONE yes at a time, and celebrate the small yeses. They’re the stepping stones that get you to the top of the mountain.