Q:  When inviting people to attend our Point of Entry^® Events, I feel like I am deceiving them when I say that it's not a "fundraising event" because I know they will be asked to give eventually. Isn't it disingenuous to say that?

Sandy in Illinois

A:  People often think that the Point of Entry is just another way to capture people's names and business cards and then badger them until they give money. In fact, our data from our alumni groups shows that out of every one-hundred Point of Entry guests, only twenty-five actually attend an Ask Event^™ within the year. Approximately fifty will be "blessed and released" due to lack of interest in your mission, yet these people are often the first to refer their friends if they were truly inspired by what they saw. The remaining twenty-five of your initial one-hundred Point of Entry guests will be interested in your work but unable to attend the Ask Event for some reason, so you will keep cultivating them and inviting them to other meetings or special gatherings related to their interest—such as your new research program. Eventually, perhaps you will ask them to make a gift or pledge, either one-on-one or at a future Ask Event.

Of the twenty-five initial one-hundred Point of Entry guests who do attend your Ask Event, 50%–75% of them will make a gift or pledge at the Ask Event. The good news is that their gifts are four to eight times larger than those of Ask Event guests who had not attended a prior Point of Entry.

That may be more information than you needed, but I hope it will reassure you and your team that not all Point of Entry guests are going to be asked for money.

Terry