How I follow up with wealthy prospective donors after an event
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Hi Reader, Earlier in April, I went to a summit full of high-net-worth women. Today, I was on a call with a fellow fundraiser and she asked me "How do you even follow up with these people?" That's the key question! Everyone knows follow up is important - or even THE most important - thing you can do. But what does that look like when you meet someone at an event and they say "let's connect!" Suddenly, you have a list of contacts and absolutely no idea who actually wants to support your organization with money. So here's what I'm doing: Start with whoever made an impression. At this summit, I had a short exchange with one woman (we spoke for 5 minutes, max!) We exchanged numbers and that was it. 2 weeks later, I texted her. I asked for her email and whether she'd be open to a call to continue our conversation, and she said yes, so we scheduled a call for the following week. On the call, I didn't pitch. I asked about her philanthropic interests and got to know her a little more. She asked about my organization, so I shared about our work. Was it clear she'd support us? Not really, but I did ask if she'd be interested in joining a call with one of our clients, and she said she's interested - a great next step! Now I have upcoming touchpoints I'll invite her to. I'll invite her to this call I already shared with her (and confirmed interest), and will invite her to other events and share updates in the future. I'm going to focus on adding value and keeping the relationship warm. And eventually, once I have a better understanding of what she's looking to accomplish, I'll ask for a gift to make that impact real. The reality is, people give to people. Especially wealthy women who get asked for money all the time. What you can do is be a real person who follows up thoughtfully, listens more than you talk, and invites them into your world before you ever ask them to fund it. If you're walking away from events like this wondering what to do next, start with one person. One text. One call. One invitation. That's how it starts. What do you think? Hit reply and tell me how you handle post-event follow-up, I'm curious what's working (or not working) for you! Cheers,
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