What if you could make $50k in a three-minute phone call?
There was a Bais Yaakov who was gearing up for a matching campaign three weeks away.
The year before, one of their biggest donors (at $25K) had been a certain impossibly busy businessman. This year, they wanted him to serve as a matcher. They also wanted him to up his gift to $50K.
But they weren’t going to be able to meet with him. Thus, they were stuck making their solicitation over the phone.
Now, as you probably know, I'd generally prefer to make a major ask in person.
But what if, like this Bais Yaakov, you’re stuck? What if you have no other way to make your ask?
Go ahead and make the call. Just be brief and to the point.
I call this approach “Bullet Point Fundraising.”
Here's how it works:
- Step 2: After you've said hello and exchanged a few pleasantries, get to the point with a statement like “Joe, your donation made a huge impact on our school last year. Here’s how…” Then share three points elaborating on that, pausing between each one. No point should be longer than 20 seconds.
- Step 3: Now move from what his gift has already accomplished to what his continued support could make possible. “In the year ahead, your continued support will allow us to accomplish three important things…” Once again, elaborate with three up to 20-second points.
- Step 4: Check in with the donor. Does he have any questions about what you've shared?
- Step 5: Make the ask. Clearly and confidently.
But if you’re wondering where Step 1 went…
Step 1 doesn’t happen on the call. It happens beforehand.
It’s preparation.
The better you prepare your six points, and the more you practice delivering them clearly and briefly, the more effective your pitch will be. And when you've got five, six, or seven figures at stake, you'll want to prepare pretty well.
And FYI… that Bais Yaakov we mentioned earlier? They used BPF and got their $50K. (In under 3 minutes!)
© 2026 Avraham Lewis & Co.