Donors Give to the Magic of an Idea

“You have heard about selling the sizzle. Big and bold programs sell. The exciting programs. Innovative twists, tantalizing packaging. Some campaigns are moribund because they are lackluster, ho-hum carbon copies of other projects. 

“We have conducted feasibility tests on some campaigns that show a lack of either the necessary leadership or dollars to get the campaign started. 

“Then— by a careful addition, by injecting a new dimension, by expanding the parameters— we were able to develop a winning package. In some cases, it meant adding millions of dollars to the final objective. 

“It also meant adding the sizzle. W. Clement Stone says, ‘High achievers make big plans. Those are the kind of people and institutions I like to support.’

“Make no small plans. Donors want to cross over thresholds and be a part of expanding new horizons. Major donors want to soar to heights others have not reached or cannot reach. They give to dreams and visions that glow.” 

— Excerpt from ASKING by Jerold Panas This book is dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of professionals and volunteers involved in fundraising for great causes, and toilers all in the vineyard of philanthropy.