torah fund - The Jewish Theological Seminary

DISPELLING THE FEAR OF ASKING
Conduct a couple of exercises with your development team. The discussion that comes out
of these exercises can help everyone look at raising money in a new way.
EXERCISE ONE
Ask each woman to imagine asking someone for a large amount of money. Then ask each
woman what she thinks will happen. What will the person she is asking think of her? What
will she think of herself?
After this brainstorming session, you will probably have responses that fall into three
general categories:
I’ll faint. (extremely unlikely)
I won’t be able to ask/answer the questions. (possible)
The person will say no. (definitely happens occasionally)
Group the fears into one of these three categories. Then spend some time on appropriate
responses to the possible fears, such as, “I’ll find out and let you know,” when you don’t
know the answer to a question.
EXERCISE TWO
Imagine being asked for a donation of $25 to $50. For one minute, write down all the
reasons why you would say “yes.” Then take one minute to write down all the reasons why
you might say “no.”
You will see that there are more reasons for giving than not giving. Then, divide the “no”
reasons into two groups:
Reasons that are not the asker’s fault (person is in a bad mood)
Reasons that appear to be “no” but are really “maybe”
If the person knew more about Torah Fund and how the money was used, she might be
inclined to give. You must be prepared to discuss the reasons and hope to get to a “yes.”
Evelyn Auerbach and Janet Arnowitz
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