Small cash donations are the lifeblood of every individual giving effort by a charity. Unfortunately, even for small donations, donors generally don’t give unless they are asked. Nearly all charities have a website with a “Donate Now” button. People in the area know they need money. So why don’t they just give? Its because they need to be asked.

Smaller cash donations are the best way to ask for initial donations. They open up the door to perhaps a lifelong association through giving.

Wealthy benefactors also need to be asked before they give. But they need to be asked either in person, or by a means of contact that comes as close to in person as possible – either a phone call from a senior person connected with the charity, or a letter written by a very senior person, such as the Chair of Trustees.

Donors like to make gifts in memory of a person or a pet that meant a lot to them during life. Gifts in Memory are the perfect and compelling way to tap into this desire. These gifts tend to be much greater than one-off cash gifts. Good In Memory campaigns involve donors making an annual collection among family and friends to honour a cherished memory. In Memory gifts, cultivated over time, can become a mainstay of individual giving. In Memory donors are the most likely to go on to include a gift to a charity they support in their will.

Gifts in Wills are usually the largest single gifts by value. They  usually come from people who have had an association with a charity for a long time. This association can range from the donor or someone they know being a beneficiary of the charity ( the donor got a rescue dog from them, for example) right through to being a volunteer or donor.

Using the incentive of a prize is often overlooked as a way to attract a first donation. Prize-led donors do go on to make non-incentivised donations, including, over time, In Memory Gifts and Gifts in Wills.