20 Questions to Get Better Donor Relationships and Be a Better Leader

How to be a better leader, AND get better donor relationships?

It’s all about the questions.

When you ask good questions, they can take your relationship from a handshake to a hug. And incredible questions can take your $50 donor to a $5,000 donor.

Mazarine’s magical list of questions to help you get the deeper donor relationships you crave:

1. Tell me about how you grew up. What are some of your first memories?
2. Who had a deep impact on you personally or professionally?
3. Who is one of your heroes, and why?
4. You’re here for a reason. Would you mind telling me how you first got started with our cause?
5. How do you like to be involved with nonprofits?
6. What makes a nonprofit trustworthy in your eyes?
7. Do you feel in the loop about what’s really going on at our nonprofit?
8. What’s a song you habitually hear us sing?
9. What do you wish more people knew about you?
10. Is there a question you wish people would ask you?
11. What are some of your hopes for our world right now?

But good questions aren’t just for donors.

Mazarine’s magical list of questions to help you develop better staff rapport:

1. Where would you really like to be in 5 years, and how would you like help in getting there?
2. What’s one situation you had in a previous job that you’re worried will happen in this job?
3. What are your favorite tasks at work?
4. What are the tasks you’d rather not do?
5. When you communicate with me, what’s your favorite method?
6. What do you think are some good metrics for your job?
7. What could I do better as a leader?
8. Do you ever see me saying one thing but doing another?
9. What can I do to build trust with you?