"Self-implementers" tend to zero in on the Ask Event^™ (the third step of our four-step model) and overlook the rest. Because the pressure is on them to raise money fast, they cut to the chase, minimizing or skipping over the Point of Entry^® and Follow-Up altogether in order to pick all their low-hanging fruit.

This hasty focus on the Ask Event diminishes the model to nothing more than this year's faddish event and, in fact, risks upsetting people who have become attached to the normal yearly golf tournament or gala. Because those people may not be familiar with the mission-based Benevon Model, they do not understand many of the nuances of our "Ask Event" and may even be offended by it.

Basic Ask Event Requirements

If your organization has decided to implement the Benevon Model without training and coaching, you need to commit to meeting the following criteria for your Ask Event before you even begin planning the event:

• It is free to attend
• It only lasts one hour
• A minimum of 20% of the people who attend the Ask Event must have attended a prior Point of Entry Event, received the Follow-Up Call within one week, and become involved with the organization however they wish
• Ask Event guests must be invited via word-of-mouth by a friend who is a Table Captain
• 100% of the Table Captains must have attended a Point of Entry
• No more than 10% of the Table Captains can be staff members
• Ask Event guests must be told in advance that they will be asked to give money at the end of the event but that there is no minimum or maximum gift
• The "Pitch" must ask people to join a Multiple-Year Giving Society^™, which has only three giving levels
• The lowest giving level must be a pledge of $1,000 a year for five years (Note: all pledges must be for five years and no less)

There is a formula for calculating the next two giving levels based on your organization's prior giving history. If your organization's single largest unrestricted gift from an individual in the past two years is less than $10,000, your levels will be:

• $1,000 a year for five years
• $5,000 a year for five years
• $10,000 a year for five years

Or, if your organization's single largest unrestricted gift from an individual in the past two years is $10,000 or more, your levels will be:

• $1,000 a year for five years
• $10,000 a year for five years
• $25,000 a year for five years

Choosing anything other than these tested levels does not allow you to attain Benevon's minimum acceptable results for the first year, which are needed to grow the model year after year. At a successful first Ask Event, the following should be expected:

• At least 40% of the guests will make a gift or pledge on the day of the event
• At least 60% of the donors will be new donors to the organization

Finally, it is important to remember that there is no further soliciting of people who attend the event and do not make a gift or pledge on that day. This fundraising approach is permission-based. You need to "bless and release" those people who do not make a gift or somehow express interest in getting further involved with your organization. Do not add them to your direct-mail list! By letting them go—without pressure—you will earn more friends and respect for your organization in the long-term.