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FOR FUNDRAISERS LOOKING TO BUILD MOMENTUM FOR THEIR MISSION BY CLOSING MAJOR GIFTS:

THE CONNECTION-BASED ASK 
Collection 

Know who's ready, land the Ask, and navigate your next steps, whether you hear "Yes", "No" or "Not yet".

A 3-workshop SERIES CREATED BY MAJOR GIFTS FUNDRAISING EXPERT, BETH ANN LOCKE

GET THE COMPLETE SERIES

Save $47 off the regular price

The moment of the Ask matters.

So does what comes before — and what happens next.

You've been cultivating your donor for a while, and the relationship is exactly where you want it:

âś… They love your mission.
âś… They believe in your work.
✅ They've told you – more than once – they “want to do more”.

But you still don't know how to transition from “we have a great relationship” to naming an actual number.

Should you ask for $10,000 or $25,000?
Do you show up alone, or with a colleague by your side?
Does it matter if you just send a written appeal instead? At least an email means you get to skip sitting in that uncomfortable silence... 

Moving from a good relationship to a clear Ask is where most fundraisers get stuck — and end up leaving real money on the table.

Not because you don't care enough...
Not because the relationship isn't real...
And not because you're bad at your job...

Simply because nobody ever taught you how to lead that conversation:

  • What to open with,
  • When to bring up money, and
  • How to name a number without it feeling transactional, or awkward, or like you're asking a favor instead of extending an invitation.

It’s time for that to change.

Don’t mark another conversation as closed before reading this:

Before you let another "let me think about it" go unanswered...
Before you make the Ask too soon and watch a donor pull back...
Before you play it so safe you leave a bigger gift on the table...

STOP!

Let me show you a different way. Because if you’ve ever looked at a donor’s name and wondered:

  • “Was that a signal? Or was it just small talk?”
  • "How do I know what the next appropriate level is for an ask?"
  • "What's the actual language for asking for the meeting itself?"
  • "They pledged... and then went quiet on me. How do I follow up?"
  • "Is it too soon — or too late — to bring up another gift?"

You are not alone.

Most fundraisers are fluent in relationship-building and fluent in the Ask.

But the moment in between, where you read what's happening and choose your next move?

Nobody trains you for that.

That’s why I'm about to.

      

Introducing:

The Ask, Aligned

In this instantly actionable 60-minute workshop, you'll discover:

  • The exact roadmap that moves a conversation from relationship to Ask — and how defaulting to a written appeal (even though it feels easier) actually keeps your donors at arm's length.
  • How to frame any Ask — even a general operating one — as an invitation to create impact, not a request for money. Discover the internal/external language reframe that boosts your confidence in any room, campaign or no campaign.

  • 5 proven ways to actually make the Ask, with real language for each one. Get proven scripts for the Direct Ask, the Oblique Ask, the Gap Approach, the M-P-I Formula, and the No-Ask Ask — so you never get caught scrambling for an angle or stumbling over what to say.

  • What to do when you hear “I need to talk to my spouse,” “I have three kids in college,” or flat-out silence — so a donor’s hesitation never feels like a door closing, when it's really just them thinking out loud with you.
  • Plus: Watch me coach real fundraisers through real, upcoming Asks in live Hot Seat Coaching.

You'll walk away knowing exactly how to lead your next donor from a great conversation to a confident Ask — even if right now you'd rather send an email and avoid the moment altogether.

This brand new workshop is taking place LIVE, on Thursday, October 1st, at 11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET.

Don't scroll away without saving your seat:

REGISTER NOW

Registration includes live workshop + unlimited replay access. You'll receive a calendar invitation and instructions on how to prepare as soon as you sign up.

Hi, I’m Beth Ann Locke

I spent 30 years as a frontline fundraiser before transitioning to coaching fundraisers on how to close more major gifts.

I've personally raised more than $75 million dollars for organizations ranging from universities to hospitals, from the arts to human services, in both the US and Canada.

Here's what I know after all that time:

The biggest gifts never come from a perfectly worded ask letter. They come from a conversation where you actually said the number out loud.

If you've ever practiced your Ask in the shower and then chickened out in the meeting, you don't have a confidence problem!

 You have a gap in your skill-set that's costing you time & impact when it comes to major gifts. 

And that's exactly the gap this workshop is going to close.

He'd Been Chasing This Funder for Years. One Ask Later, She Gave $437,500.

Craig Nason had a funder he'd been pursuing for years.

He believed there was a bigger gift somewhere in that relationship — he just didn't know how to get there, what to actually say, or how to move the conversation from “Thank you for your support” to confidently naming a number.

So he brought the situation to me.

And instead of theory, I gave him specific language and scripts for that exact conversation. Not just the strategy behind it —the actual words to say.

Craig used my approach for his Ask.

And then he walked away with a five-year, $437,500 pledge — from a funder he'd been trying to reach for years.

At the time, his organization wasn't even raising a million dollars a year. That single Ask became more than half of it.

That's what happens when you finally have the words (and the confidence) to lead the conversations you've been avoiding.

Craig’s story isn’t a one-off.

Cristina Fragale did it at Preston High School — landing their largest single gift ever: $100,000.

Lorie Fees used my approach to execute an end-of-year request for funding that resulted in several additional gifts from donors at the $50,000 level.

With more confidence in her approach, Palmer Colson closed some of the biggest gifts her organization had ever received.

When you know how to lead the conversation, frame the impact and actually make a confident, values-based Ask, you can create meaningful impact & real momentum for your organization.

SHOW ME HOW TO LEAD THE ASK

Results my clients have achieved using the language and approach I'll share in this new live workshop:

“Beth Ann has the ability to really listen to your situation and to the way you're describing it, and then give you language that says the same thing differently — but in a way that's far more productive than what you were using before.

When I started writing down everything she said and trying it out with donors, it was like a light bulb went off for them as to why they should engage in the cause.

There are phrases she’s given me that I wouldn’t use any other wording for, because hers are perfect — and they get results.”

Lorie Fees
Director of Major Gifts
Children's Hope Alliance
Statesville, North Carolina

"While working with Beth Ann, I helped close a $1 million gift, another at $250,000, and another for $200,000 from a private foundation.

These are some of the largest gifts we have closed! Beth Ann, your guidance and support gave me the confidence and support to succeed. I am so grateful for you!


PALMER COLSON,
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
HISTORIC COLUMBUS
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

“When I started coaching with Beth Ann, I was in a new role working with different donors and hoping to make a change in how we approached them. Her approach in working with donors resonated immediately — it is donor centric and human-first. 

Beth Ann encouraged me to put myself out there more, and make an Ask even when I felt I wasn't ready, which resulted in more funds. I was particularly nervous about an In Memory donor and Beth Ann helped me deepen this relationship by crafting how to talk to them.”

adele wang
SENIOR PHILANTHROPY OFFICER
COVENANT HOUSE
VANCOUVER, BC

Stop wondering what to say when the moment finally comes — and start walking in with the words already in hand.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS NEW, LIVE WORKSHOP:

THE ALIGNED ASK:

How to Lead Donor Conversations to a Confident, Values-Based Ask

THE ASK, ALIGNED:
How to Lead Donor Conversations to a Confident, Values-Based Ask

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st at 11am PT / 1pm CT / 2pm ET

REGISTER NOW

Registration includes the live workshop + unlimited replay access.
You'll receive a calendar invitation and instructions on how to prepare as soon as you sign up. 

Will this live workshop help you lead your next donor conversation to a confident Ask?

This workshop was created with you in mind if:

  • You can build the relationship, but freeze at the Ask itself — you know how to connect with a donor, you just don't know when to bring up money, what number to name, or how to move past “let me think about it.”
  • You default to letters and emails because they feel safer — even though you know a real conversation would move the relationship – and the gift – further.
  • You don't have a clean “reason” to ask — no capital campaign, no big anniversary, just your organization's ongoing work — and general operating asks feel harder to justify than project-specific ones.
  • You're not sure what to do with a “no” (or a “maybe,” or “let me think about it”) — so donor hesitation feels like the conversation is over, instead of just the middle of it.
  • You're leading with your nerves instead of the organization's mission — and that's what's making the Ask feel so much harder than it has to.
SHOW ME HOW TO LEAD A CONFIDENT ASK

“Beth Ann was instrumental in helping us secure our largest donation to date of $100,000”

“Beth Ann was instrumental in helping us secure our largest donation to date of $100,000, in addition to some smaller ones ranging in $20,000 - $40,000. Previously our largest donors were those who donated between $250 - $1,000. This donor has since gone on to make her $100,000 gift annually!

Beth Ann was patient with my limited knowledge and guided me in so many ways.  It was evident that Beth Ann was truly invested in my success.  She followed up with me, helped me to organize my thoughts and my Asks.  She even mentored me for a  phone call right before a call to a major donor.

If you’re seeking the guidance of an expert who will also provide a personal, hands-on approach and someone who is sincerely genuine, then Beth Ann is the person for you.”

cristina fragale,
senior director of recruitment & development
preston high school
the bronx, ny

Questions I often hear from fundraisers (before they lead their next big Ask)

THE ALIGNED ASK:
How to Lead Donor Conversations to a Confident, Values-Based Ask

NEW, LIVE WORKSHOP:

Thursday, October 1st at 10 am PT / 12 pm CT / 1 pm ET
$97 investment includes live workshop + unlimited replay access

You'll walk away from this 60-minute session with:

  • A specific opening line for the donor you have in mind right now — not a guess, but language grounded in what they've already shown you, so you're not standing there wondering what to say the moment you sit down with them.
  • A clear structure for naming the number — 5 ways to frame the Ask, so you can pick the one that fits this donor and this conversation.
  • A calm, ready response for “I need to think about it” or (*gasp*) silence — instead of freezing or backpedaling in the moment.
  • A reason to ask even without a campaign — so general operating support never feels like the harder Ask again.
  • The confidence to lead the conversation — instead of waiting for the “right” moment to magically show up on its own.
  • Plus: Watch me coach real major gift fundraisers on real donor situations, in real time — so you have concrete examples of what all this looks like in practice, and can apply it the same day.

By the time we're done, you'll have your own donor, your own number, and your own opening line  ready to go for the very next conversation you have.

I'M IN FOR THE ALIGNED ASK!

Registration includes live workshop + unlimited replay access.
You'll receive a calendar invitation and instructions on how to prepare as soon as you sign up.

Questions? Send us an email at [email protected]

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