Ep 22: The Art and Science of Asking for Money (with Brian Saber)

Joan Garry (0:00)

In my work, I spent time with non-profit boards, working to make my joy of fundraising contagious. I'll admit it, it's not always easy. I often begin with a pretty easy exercise. It's just an index card. I ask them to put down one word to describe how they feel about fundraising. What do you think is the word that comes up most often?

Yep, terrifying, or a synonym of this word. Grown men and women, type A, high performers.

Then I show them a slide of what terrifying looks like to me. And I have found this remarkable photo of Sully Sullenberger landing a 737 in the Hudson River. Now that is terrifying.

I am not an alien being for enjoying the art and science of fundraising. There are others like me who really love fundraising, who love bringing money in the door, who love teaching folks how to be good at it. The art and science of asking for money is not a one size fits all activity. Each of us has a different personality, and how you ask must be tailored to who you are as a person. Today we help you figure out what is your asking style, and how do you make the most of it for the organization you care so deeply about.

Brian Saber (1:14)

Get out.

SPEAKER_3 (1:21)

Welcome to Nonprofits Are Messy.

Not enough money, too many cooks, and an abundance of passion. Leading nonprofits isn't easy. Joan Garry, the dear Abby of nonprofits, gets it. And she is here to help.

Joan Garry (1:36)

To answer this question, Brian Saber joins me today. He has spent his entire career asking for money for nonprofits. From his early days working telethons, to university fundraising, to life as an executive director. And he continues to hone that art today, cultivating and soliciting select major donors for various clients. He's a sought after trainer, coach and consultant around the country and abroad. He develops major gifts programs, conducts campaign feasibility studies, creates training courses, and coaches top level staff, taking organizations to the next level. What I believe many of our listeners will find really valuable is that Brian typically works with organizations having budgets under $10 million.

With his co-founder, Andrea Kielstedt, Brian built Asking Matters, a web-based company at askingmatters.com that trains people how to ask for money and motivates them to do it well.

Brian, I'm really glad you're here.

Brian Saber (2:35)

Thanks for having me, Joan. I'm delighted to be here today.

Joan Garry (2:38)

So, um, when you were a kid, did you want to grow up to be a fundraiser?

Brian Saber (2:44)

That's funny.

It is funny. For two reasons. One, definitely not. Two, I ask that question whenever I train. Because no one grew up saying, I want to be a fundraiser. I don't think. I've never met anyone who did, did you?

Yeah, I didn't think so. No one does. Even people who have fundraising parents don't say, gee, I want to be like my mom or dad when I grow up and go into fundraising. Maybe into the nonprofit world, but not as a fundraiser. Definitely.

Joan Garry (3:21)

So what did you? So actually, so what did you want to be when you were a kid? I'm curious.

Brian Saber (3:26)

First, I wanted to be a veterinarian, which is funny because as an adult, I don't have an incredible love of animals like some people do. I don't even have a pet, but I wanted to be a veterinarian.

Then I wanted to be an architect. And as an aside, I went back to school in my thirties and got a degree in architecture, which I still haven't used. I had no idea what I wanted to do. And then I got to college and I started working for the school. I had a work study job and I got really involved in all sorts of student activities. I became a real big student leader and I loved the sense of community, the sense of being together with others to make something happen, to do something above and beyond just in enriching myself.

And it just became a calling card to be in the nonprofit world. And that's what happened. And when I graduated from college, I said I want to be in the nonprofit world. Didn't even know what that really meant in terms of what I would do. But that was the environment in which I wanted to be.

Joan Garry (4:38)

So what do you do? There are so many people for whom fundraising, the word terrifying comes up, right?

Clearly, you have chosen a line of work that speaks to your love of fundraising. What do you love about fundraising? Because I feel like if we could actually share that with people, maybe they'd actually get it.