The purpose of this FAQ is to discuss some of the reasons that asking for money is hard and to provide some tips to help people get over the fear of asking for money. In her article, Getting Over the Fear of Asking , Kim Klein discusses the sources of fear and techniques for overcoming the barriers that prevent people from raising funds for their organizations. Asking people for money is both the most difficult and the most important part of fundraising. Every community-sponsored organization uses a variety of methods to ask for money, such as direct mail appeals, special events, pledge programs, products for sale, and so on. But the hardest way for an organization to raise money is for board, staff and volunteers to ask people directly for donations.
Few people love to do it initially.
In fact, most people are afraid to do it. If you are afraid to ask for money, that's normal. If you are not afraid, that's great. People are afraid to ask for money for a wide variety of reasons and we can't hope to explore them all here. However, it is important to look at the role money plays in our American society to understand the sources of our fears.