Generosity Questions.

• Frame: “We are interested in the origins of generosity. How staff members, volunteers and donors think about it, teach it. How they learned to be generous.
• Question: “May, I ask about your earliest memory of giving back?”
• Follow-up questions:
  • “How has that experience influenced you as an adult?”
  • “How have you taught your children?”
  • “How important was that experience to you?”
  • “How does that experience influence your philanthropy and volunteering today?”
• What these questions reveal: You’ll learn about the depth of the donor’s commitment to philanthropy. You’ll help your donor think more deeply about that commitment, tap into life-shaping memories that they are passing along to children and/or grandchildren. You are letting your donor talk about herself in a manner that will be productive for you and pleasing to her. It gives you an easy segue to the next set of powerful questions.

Values Questions.

• Frame: “It sounds like (whatever you learned from the questions above). I learned generosity in a similar manner (or whatever is true for you).”
• Question: “As you think about your philanthropy today, how would you describe the values that underpin your decisions?”
• Follow-up questions:
  • “To what degree is that true for (the decision-makers)?”
  • “Which of our institutional values do you find most relevant?”
  • Alternatively: “What values do you believe people who work for institutions like ours (people who serve on the boards of institutions like ours) should demonstrate?”
• Why values questions are so important: Research indicates that values play a critical part in major donor decision-making. Most want to give where there is values alignment. This line of questions helps you uncover the donor’s values but also gives you opportunities to share (or remind the donor of) the values for which your institution stands.

Impact Questions.

• Frame: “We believe in reporting to our donors. We want everyone to understand the impact of their investments in (the people you serve, the cause you represent, or the societal problem you are solving).
• Question: “What impact do you believe we are having in the community?” “How so?” What impact do you believe your philanthropy is having on the institutions in which you invest (on the societal problems you are trying to help solve) (on the people (causes) you help with your philanthropy?”
• Why impact questions are so powerful. People give to make a difference. You can tell them about the difference they are making and you should, you must, through your stewardship program. You can demonstrate it with stewardship experiences, connecting your donors directly to the impact of their inspired, joyful, generous investments. You should. You must. In addition, by asking these questions you reinforce that knowledge and BELIEF. “My gifts matter. I just said it aloud. It must be true.”