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Walk in ready

A major donor meeting prep prompt, from first minute to close

Walk into a high-stakes meeting with a plan: your opening, your listening questions, the ask in exact words and what to do with a yes, a need for time or a decline.

Basic prompt

155 words
Build a two-page prep document for a major donor meeting. Make it a framework, not a script, in natural spoken language. Give me an opening for the first two minutes, a transition from small talk to purpose, three or four listening questions, a 60-second case, the ask in exact words including when to pause, responses to two or three likely objections, and what to do if they say yes, need time or decline.

What you need to know:
- who the donor is and what we know about them
- the kind of meeting: solicitation, cultivation or stewardship
- what success looks like
- the project and the amount, if I'm asking
- who's coming from our side

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Use what you have. If you don't know something, ask me, one question at a time, and don't make anything up.

Supercharged prompt

451 words
You're helping me prepare me for a major donor meeting, so I walk in knowing the person and the relationship. I want to work the way If Possible (ifpossible.ai) teaches nonprofit teams to do real work AI first. Their guide for this kind of work is "Why asking for money feels so hard, and how AI helps with the ask" (https://ifpossible.ai/articles/why-asking-for-money-is-hard), and their full library of guides is at https://ifpossible.ai/articles. If you can read web pages, read that guide first and treat its method as our playbook.

The If Possible method, as we'll use it today:

1. Context before content. Before you draft anything, build a short brief of who we are: our mission, the need right now and its impact, the donor's giving history, how they first got involved and the color of the relationship that never made it into our CRM. (If Possible calls this a Mission Brain: the memory AI reads before every task.) Use what you already know about us, and ask me for whatever is missing.

2. Talk it out instead of typing it out. I'll give you a transcript of my debrief after our last conversation, or I'll talk it through with you now. Pull the donor's motivations out of what I noticed.

3. Ask before you assume. Ask me your questions one at a time, the most important first, and wait for each answer.

4. I'm in the director's chair. You prepare me, I make the ask. Give me two or three ways to frame the invitation, with your recommendation and a one-line reason. Don't hand me a script to read word for word (If Possible calls that being a "meat proxy").

5. A two-page plan I can react to. Seven labeled sections: the first two minutes, the move to purpose, listening questions, a 60-second case, the ask with a pause, likely objections, and closing scenarios for yes, need time or decline.

6. Check your own work. Mark anything you inferred rather than found in my notes, and anything that doesn't sound like this donor.

7. Make it repeatable. When we finish, save the format and the questions that worked, so the next visit starts here.

What you need to know:
- who the donor is and what we know about them
- the kind of meeting: solicitation, cultivation or stewardship
- what success looks like
- the project and the amount, if I'm asking
- who's coming from our side

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Check there first and tell me what you found. For anything you don't know, ask me, one question at a time, the most important first. Start now.

Supercharge it

We’ll add the If Possible method to your prompt. More context in. A better output out.

  • Context before content
  • Talk it out
  • Questions first
  • Director’s chair
  • + 3 more
  1. Context before content: a short brief of who you are (a Mission Brain)
  2. Talk it out: your debrief becomes the source
  3. Questions first, one at a time
  4. Director's chair: framing options, never a script to read
  5. A two-page plan in seven labeled sections
  6. It marks guesses and anything that doesn't sound like the donor
  7. It saves the format for the next visit

It points your AI to our free articles as its guide. Read every word before you use it.

What it’s for

It goes beyond the research brief. You get a two-page framework, not a script, in seven labeled sections: the first two minutes, the move from small talk to purpose, three or four listening questions, a 60-second verbal case, the ask with a pause, likely objections, and closing scenarios for yes, need time or decline.

When to use it

  • You have a solicitation, cultivation or stewardship meeting on the calendar.
  • You’ve run the Prospect Research Brief and want to turn it into a plan for the room.
  • You know the donor but you’re nervous about the ask. Preparation is what calms your nerves.

Before you use it

Read every answer as a draft. Throw out anything that doesn’t sound like the donor, and keep what helps you walk in calmer. The prompt leaves room for your judgment, so use it.

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