These choices can be explained only by some blend of laziness, stupidity, indifference or an abundance of caution. Since the people who work at Amazon. Giving to The Nature Conservancy, for all of its good work, is like giving to Harvard: These recommendations have enormous impact. In , which is the latest year for which grantee data is available, Spotlight Charities outpaced the rest by huge margins. All were Spotlight Charities. Finally, consider the possibility that AmazonSmile could ultimately lead to less, not more, charitable giving.
If it leaves shoppers feeling that they have done their part, they may be less likely to respond to a direct appeal from a nonprofit, as Brady Josephson, a fundraising consultant, wrote on Huffington Post back in What, then, is AmazonSmile? Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of charities put the AmazonSmile logo on their websites here , here , here and countless other places. His only visible nonprofit experience is as a board member of US Rowing.
In the end, though, to understand the purpose of AmazonSmile, all we need to do is the math. A note on sourcing: I tried every which way to get Amazon. If I do hear from Amazon. Originally published at nonprofitchronicles. Sign in Get started. Never miss a story from Marc Gunther , when you sign up for Medium.
Blocked Unblock Follow Get updates. They want to donate or buy, but forget.
Jeff Bezos just made a lot of people mad by admitting how he’s spending his massive fortune – BGR
Following up with a second ask is certainly fine. And if you create a great story—and you sweep people up in your project, they will rally behind you and want to know how the campaign is doing, and they want to know when you win. People love a good story. Share your enthusiasm with them.
Jeff Bezos just made a lot of people mad by admitting how he’s spending his massive fortune
Push yourself beyond your comfort zone and strike up conversations with strangers. Talk to your taxi cab driver, your bus driver, your school teacher, your yoga instructor. This time, every person you meet should be someone you can talk to about your project and process, and each person should get a targeted message or a variant of a custom message. When I was on a mission to raise money for charity: I ended up having one of my Lyft drivers laughing so hard that he gave me cash straight out and volunteered to graffiti-paint my body for the swim.
Practice over and over and over again. Every small ask is practicing for a bigger ask. Each email and correspondence is an opportunity to practice.
- .
- Fire and Climatic Change in Temperate Ecosystems of the Western Americas (Ecological Studies).
- Heart of Cat;
- The Lost Locket (Nancy Drew Notebooks).
- Raymond Chandler: A Biography.
- Small Business: A Novel;
- Why does Amazon make it hard for you to give to charity?.
In college, my swim coach set us out on missions to experiment with our psychological edges—and in one experiment, we had to ask for a free lunch. Many people said no.
The Art of Asking: Or, How to Ask and Get What You Want
And some people said yes. Each time, we practice asking for unusual things. Ask until you get a yes answer. Learn from each iteration. If you want to stand out, ask for what you want, follow up, and follow through. He ended up driving a police car, flying a helicopter, and dozens of other crazy adventures simply because he walked up to people and had the audacity to ask. Put the ask on the table. Make it easy to find. Make your wishes known. Pay attention to context and surrounding cues. People make decisions based on their physical surroundings—much more than they would probably believe.
Of all the senses, touch is one of the most important contextual cues. Researchers think this is because we develop our sense of touch first, as infants. Ask at the right time: If you are asking for something complicated and difficult, ask before the well of will-power is depleted. Be confident in how you ask. Make a statement, hone your pitch, and then put a clear request in at the end. Practice body and vocal confidence by standing tall, shoulders back, and with your head up in a controlled, confident stance.
This is a great time to fake it until you make it.
When you ask, look the the other person in the eye. And—this is the most important part—then stay quiet. Ask, simply, and then wait. The waiting part—that silence—is deafening, but critical. Give people space to consider what you said and respond thoughtfully before jumping in to fill the silent space with more words. Make a simple ask, and wait. Let them make the next move. Much like kissing a guy or gal for the first time, the sweet spot is in the pause and the time where the two parties consider each other.
If you speak up too quickly, you can push them into a space of no. Body language is critical for this step. Assume a positive stance feet hip-distance apart, casual, standing still ;and put your hands in a neutral position by your sides or with both hands touching in front of you, loosely. Keep your chin up and your heart space open.
If you don’t ask, the answer is already no.
Smile confidently and look them in the eye. An ask is a connection. Avoid terrible, generic, vague asks. Lastly, I want to know why it is that I, specifically, am useful—what is it about me that can help you more than anyone else? Instead, I write back and ask for a bit of clarification. Here are two great scripts for saying no—and helping someone focus their ask:.
A sample script for saying no to nonspecific requests for your time. There are two great ways to respond to nonspecific requests for your time:. When people email me a question like this: I love questions that are easy to answer and quick to send over, and create a lot of value for the recipient. And as a side note: Even bad emails help me write posts about what NOT to do!
Make people feel good about helping. Give people space to be kind and helpful. Believe in what you ask for. Let them know how much it means to you and how helpful it was.
You can never, ever say thank you enough. Did you like this essay? This post was concurrently posted on It Starts With as an experiment in digital publishing platforms. Follow my notes on Facebook or Twitter or leave a comment here to hear how it turns out. Do you have great tips and strategies or examples for how to create winning asks? Do you have specific templates or copy that help you create great asks?