Ep. 141: The 100% YES Method: Fundraising with Confidence and Clarity
EPISODE 141
The 100% YES Method: Fundraising with Confidence and Clarity
About the Episode:
This episode is one of those had-to-record-it-right-away moments. I’m sharing a mindset shift that will completely change how you approach donor outreach, fundraising campaigns, partnerships, and even your emails. It’s called the 100% YES Method—and once you understand it, you’ll never pitch or plan the same way again. Inspired by a little league coaching moment with my son (stay with me, sports fans and non-fans alike), I’m breaking down why assuming the answer is "yes" until it clearly isn’t creates unstoppable energy, faster results, and wildly magnetic campaigns. We’re talking less hesitation, more conviction—and yes, way more funding. If you've ever caught yourself holding back your ask, hedging on your goals, or burying your CTA at the bottom of your email, this episode is for you. It’s time to get out of the “no zone” and move into confident action that actually gets results.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
What is the “100% YES Method”—and why it works in fundraising, partnerships, marketing, and beyond
How a little league batting tip inspired a mindset shift that can transform your campaigns
Why most fundraisers hesitate—and how to ditch doubt and show up with confidence
The ripple effect of showing up like your audience already wants to say YES
Real examples of how this method applies to donor meetings, social media outreach, email campaigns, sponsorships, and board engagement
The signs you’re stuck in the “NO zone” (like burying your CTA or playing small with asks)
How to build confidence, momentum, and scale your impact faster without burning out
It’s not your stories—it’s how you’re telling them. If your amazing work isn’t getting the attention (and donations) it deserves, it’s time for a messaging shift. The Brave Fundraiser’s Guide guide gives you 10 done-for-you donor prompts to make your message impossible to ignore. Get it for free here! https://christinaedwards.krtra.com/t/xKuLs6tOiPZa
Christina’s Favorite Takeaways:
“It's a YES until it isn't!”
“You believe fully that there is a YES. You don't hold back. That confidence is infectious.”
“When you start from YES and stay in YES, you move faster.”
“The 100% YES Method works because you move faster. You're not second-guessing yourself; you're not wasting your time hesitating. Instead, you communicate with conviction.”
“The 100% YES Method could change the trajectory not only of your 1-to-1 outreach but also of your wider, bigger, more scalable online campaigns. The words you choose, the energy you choose, the tone and language you choose, the frequency of your updates, your outreach, your letters, email, and social posts will be completely different when you're in the YES zone.”
“If you save your ask for the last five minutes of the conversation of the donor meeting, that's a symptom - you're NOT in 100% YES.”
“Start treating every donor, opportunity, partnership as a YES, until proven otherwise.”
“When you're in a growth mindset, when you believe it is possible for you, it will become possible for you.”
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Christina Edwards 0:31welcome back to the podcast. This is one of those episodes where I was like, I have to record this right now. I was so excited about this concept and to share it with you like it just had, like, a very click in moment. And so I can't wait for you to listen to this episode. I think it's going to change the way that you think about outreach, change the way you think about taking action, change the way you think about fundraising and marketing outreach completely. So let's dig in to the 100% yes method. This is a new concept that I created after experiencing watching my son in a one on one kind of coaching session for Little League for baseball. Okay, so I'll explain to you what happened, and then we're gonna dig into how you can use the 100% yes method in your own nonprofit.
Okay, so this idea, this method, is an idea that you approach every opportunity like it's already a yes, until clearly it isn't, okay. You're going to change the way that you approach donor conversations with this. You're going to change everything. So you're going to create more momentum when you're approaching things with 100% yes, more confidence and faster results, because you're not waiting for permission, you're already assuming alignment. Okay.
So a few weeks ago, my son, who's been playing baseball for several years now, he's nine, he had a one on one kind of private coaching session to work on his hitting to work on his batting. Okay? And the way the schedules worked out, I was the one that took him to this session. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't even know I don't know anything. I'm starting at zero with this. I knew that he has a lot of skill, but I also knew that something was happening when he was getting up to bat where, like, it just wasn't translating. It's sort of like in practice, when he's in practice with his team, or in practice with us at home, or, you know, we're just practicing with friends, there's kind of like one version of how he would hit, and he would absolutely just rip it, and it was awesome. And then there was another version when he would get up to bat. And so we talked about it, and we're like, let's, let's have him work with this hitting coach and just see kind of what happened. So we had one session, and I didn't know how to kind of do this session. So they're in the batting cage, and I'm kind of like, just popping in, just being like, alright, you know, here you go. Have at it. And then at some point, I'm like, I should probably listen in and kind of distill what Coach says to my husband, who's more of the baseballer of the family, so that we can help work with him in between. You know, next practice, and sort of have a through line of, like, okay, here are some things he can work on at home. Or here are some things that we're seeing in his, like, batting stance. You can see, I can know all the terminology, okay, so I let them kind of take the first 30 minutes, and then I kind of came back to check in, and what I noticed was fascinating. So at first, Coach says, He's like, he's got an amazing a beautiful swing, he has a beautiful swing. And he's like, he's got a lot of power. Beautiful swing looks great. And then they got through sort of the hump of, you know, like the first it's almost like a workout the first 30 minutes. Or for you it might be whatever period you're, like, hyped up, you're feeling good, and then you get kind of tired, or you're just kind of over it, whether it's like, mentally tired or actual physical fatigue. So that kicked in, and he started throwing a lot of pitches. They were just like, pitch, swing, pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch. He has a big old container, kind of bucket of balls, and what happened was, he's like, Okay, I notice that you're hesitating. So what would happen is he'd be thrown a pitch, and my son would hesitate and not swing in time, so he wasn't actually making contact with the ball. Okay? so the coach Trent said, this one amazing thing. He said, Okay. He said, Here's what I here's how I look at it. And especially my son is right at this age, which, if you're not into little league, totally fine. I wasn't either look at what's happened. Um. This is when kids move from Coach pitch, where they're getting, like a great pitch from a coach and it moves into kid pitch. So kid pitch is wild because sometimes a kid pitching is throws an amazing, hittable ball, and then 50% of the time it's a wild card ball, like, you don't know if it's coming at you. You don't know if it's gonna go above your head. You don't know if it might hit you, right? You sort of have to be prepared for whatever. And the big through line with Kid pitch that I'm learning is you have to be prepared that you're going to have to hit, or at least try to hit, a non ideal pitch. The pitch you are going to receive might be like it. It might be kind of mediocre. Okay, so knowing that Trent says to him, he says, when you're getting up to bat, when you're getting ready to swing, I want you to go yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no. He said, decide it's a yes. It's a yes until it isn't. It's a yes until it isn't. And that was a huge change. He's like, what you're doing right now is you're telling yourself it's a no until it's a yes, it's a no, I'm not gonna swing. I'm not gonna swing until, oh, I think I can swing that by the time you swing. What's happening? It's too late. The ball has hit the ground. Okay? So he said, That's what I do. He said, That's what I do. He's like, I decide it's a yes until I decide it's a no. And right there it like, clicked in. I was like, holy shit. What if you assumed it was a yes, it was a yes, it was a yes, until definitively it wasn't, okay. So what does that look like? What does that look like? This slight mental shift can change everything. So when he made that shift, he was swinging faster, he was more decisive, and he was actually making contact, and that beautiful swing suddenly was back.
So here's the fundraising connection, assuming it's a yes, until In fact, you know it's a no, fundraisers often hesitate in this same way. How does it look? They approach donors, donor prospects, businesses, social media, influencers, partners, the world wide, humans, with caution, with doubt, even fear of rejection, instead of confidence and assumption of success. So that's like you're walking into a conversation hoping to turn a no into a yes. Imagine that you're walking into a coffee meeting and you're hoping for that $10,000 gift, that $5,000 sponsorship, right, whatever it is, but really deep down, you're telling yourself they're probably going to say no, unless I can figure out how to make them a yes. That is very different energetically, then they're a yes until I find out otherwise, literally, if you just walked around believing that the people in your world, your subscribers, your followers on social media, your donors, your prospects, your board, all wanted to be yeses and are yeses until you find out otherwise, you'd double your revenue because the actions you'd take from that place, from that being, from that knowing, would be so confident, they would be magnetic. And yes, there are going to be times even then, that you'd be in a meeting and you'd hear a no. But do you know what happened when you'd hear a No, it wouldn't stop you, it wouldn't phase you. The no would be data. The no might be No, right now, the no would just refine your pitch. The no would just get you further to more. Yeses,
okay, so when I watched this happen, I was just like, I was it was so good. And I was like, I have to share this with you. 100% yeses, I want you to think about that thing that you're working on. Maybe it's an event, maybe it's recurring, giving, whatever it is, maybe it's an upcoming campaign, and you're raising $25,000 for that campaign. What if you believed every single piece of outreach you do, every single campaign action you do, the people on the receiving end are yeses. Can you think about that energy? What that would sound like? Can you think about the actions you would take? You think about like the board text a THON, if you're like, of course, the board wants to do this. Of course, the donors want to say, yes. Of course, that donor that gave three months ago, of course, they want to give again. It would be magnetic. Okay, if you're like, all right, I'm listening, but I'm not. I'm not. How does this really look? So let's apply the 100% yes, method to fundraising, to partnerships. What does that look like? Okay, so for donors and prospects that would be approaching every conversation with the mindset that they are yes ahead of time and in the middle of a conversation, you are not allowed to let that inner, grumpy inner, I call her like inner Debbie downer, mid conversation, you're not allowed to let her creep in. In and be like, Nah, they're a no. You believe fully through that whole thing, there a yes. You don't hold back. You don't hedge your ask, Who here has hedged their ask. You know you are going to ask for 50k somewhere in the conversation, you said, Screw it. I'll take 15. I'm just going to lead with 15k because 50 is audacious, and I'm gonna hear a no, and that feels terrible, right? I can't possibly handle that No. What if you apply the 100% yes method there. You don't hold back, you don't hedge your ask. You don't preemptively talk yourself out of an opportunity. You don't dim your ask, where you get kind of soft, and you take your voice up here, and your ask sounds like a question, and they're like, Huh? That confidence is infectious. So with your influencers and ambassadors, again, the 100% yes method, what would that look like? So when you're reaching out to new partners, assume they want to help, assume they're a hell yes, I'm until they say no, and when they say no, and we go, one foot in front of the other, and we go, we don't make any mean anything. It doesn't stop you, because the amount of people that are behind your cause and mission, that want to help, that want it to have a greater impact, that want it to grow, is so massive that one teeny, tiny, little no doesn't mean anything. That's okay. That's not a problem. How would it look with major gifts and sponsorships you don't approach with the mindset of, let me convince them. I have to squash objections. I have to figure out how to make this meeting, this pitch deck, this phone call, perfect, right? Oh, instead, you assume and you lead with the value that they see, the value you have, that confidence and belief in your mission, your programs, your sponsorship ask that there is a natural alignment with their philanthropic goals. They do have them, by the way, right? You're not taking their money. You're both co creating something, and they want to be a part of it. Showing up in that mindset changes everything. So here's why, the 100% yes, method works.
when you start from yes and stay in Yes, you move faster. You aren't second guessing yourself or wasting time hesitating. And it's really funny for me, because when I think about this idea sports just naturally, just is, is the ultimate for me. Like I can see this parallel. So I did gymnastics for when I was, like, super young, I don't know, maybe six or seven or something like that. I started doing gymnastics, and I started doing a lot, and before I had like, full growth spurt and got way too tall for it. I was really into it. And somewhere around like that growth spurt, probably pre teen years, I stopped doing it. Okay? I stopped doing it, but I still had the skill set. I still could do a few tricks, right? And then there was a gap in me doing gymnastics in really any way, shape or form. And then I remember I was in high school, and I was in high school, PE and some sort of, like, not semester, quarter was like, we would do gymnastics. And I distinctly remember being maybe, like 14 or something, and the vault was there, the vault was there. And I remember being like, I know the vault. I've literally done the vault for my whole life. And something changed in me. My confidence dwindled in being capable to do it. I got really in my head about it. And what happens when you do that is you actually start with, like, a sprint. You start with a sprint towards the vault. So you're like running down this long, you know, path, and you trip over yourself. Basically, you sort of get your footing wrong. And when you get your footing wrong, you don't hit the springboard right, you can't get yourself up over the vault. It's kind of a disaster. And that started happening to me. And the reason why it started happening to me was because I was stuck in No, I was No, no, no, no, no, no, yes. You feel me. I was running down this the vault Hall, I don't know, corridor, path, whatever it's called, going internally. No, no, no, no, yes. And by the time I hit yes, it was too late. My footing was all wild and wonky. And I remember that the stakes were so low, it was just PE I wasn't on a team at that point, but it was such a good example of being stuck in the no while wanting the Yes. I didn't want to have it flub. I didn't want to flail on it. I didn't want to like, have it look like what is happening, but that's what was happening, versus if I were to do it today, i. Have to coach myself around being yes all the way to the point where, yeah, maybe my footing does still be maybe I'm a little off in it. Maybe I don't make it over on a few of them, right. But if I come to it and I'm running down that path Full Tilt, yes, I'm going to make them. I'm going to make it at least nine out of 10 times versus running down that path as a no, hoping it translates to a yes last minute. Okay, so this method works because you move faster. You're not second guessing yourself, you're not wasting your time hesitating, you're not going I got to convert those nos into yeses. How do I sell myself on being a yes? How can I sell them on being a yes? Right? You're not doing that. You communicate instead with conviction. That conviction makes people magnetically drawn to you. It makes them want to say yes. If you have ever encountered a great salesperson, same concept, same concept. They're like, of course, Christina wants to buy these earrings. They're not going she don't want to buy anything today. I don't know why she's here. She's just looking around. No, a great salesperson is like, I got her, I'm gonna take care of her. I got her. She's a yes until the point she says she's a no, she's a yes. You're not also you're not stuck in defensive mindset trying to salvage and No, instead, you're proactively moving towards Yes, this mindset, this method, could change the trajectory not only of your one to one outreach, but to your wider, bigger, more scalable online campaigns, because the words you choose, the energy you choose, the the tone and language you choose, the frequency of your updates, your outreach, your letters, your email, your social posts, will be completely different when you're when you're in the yes zone, when you're in the 100% yes zone versus no, no, no, no, no, yes.
So let's talk about the takeaway here. How can you metaphorically, maybe literally, I don't know, step up to the plate. How can you step up your fundraising conversation so that you are literally ready to swing without hesitating, without going, Oh, I was going to convince them at the end. But, you know, I didn't get a chance. And here's a symptom of being stuck in the No, being stuck in that pattern of No, no, no, no, yes. If you save your ask for the last five minutes of the conversation of the donor meeting, that's a symptom You're not in 100% yes, okay, if you bury your call to action to donate now at the bottom of your emails, that's a symptom. If you are only reaching out to donors who haven't given in a year or a very long period of time because you were fair, afraid of ruffling feathers, that's a symptom. You're stuck in the no zone, right? You're hesitating.
So start treating every donor, every opportunity, every partnership, as a yes, until proven otherwise. Can you imagine, I'm just so excited thinking about this for you, like I really, really am. If you stepped I'm like, of course our event gala will sell out. Of course our fundraiser will hit its goal. Can you think about the change that would make? Think about the people who would want to help you, your social straight teamers, the people you pitch, your peer fundraisers, people are gonna be like, How can I help put us in coach? We're ready. We want to be part of this movement. That's how you stay in momentum, build confidence and ultimately raise more faster you .
We are actively teaching the 100% yes. Method inside both of our programs, whether you're just starting out or growing fast, this mindset shift is foundational to brave fundraising. This mindset shift is foundational, foundational to your organization, scaling quickly, scaling your funding, scaling your impact quickly, and getting you out of solo fundraising. And by the way, you're going to feel better. You're going. To feel better. This is something that will help tamp down, hedge out, reduce burnout and overwhelm. When you're in it's it's ultimately a growth mindset, right? When you're in a growth mindset, when you believe it is possible for you, it will become possible for you. Think about that. And if I may, make a side note, a little league side note, my son had a great he had a great coaching session with Trent, and he went on to have a couple of great at bats. But here's what, I noticed, his confidence has changed. It wasn't necessarily about him showing up and being like, where's my home run? No, it's about how he steps up to the plate, how he is at his swing, not worrying about hesitating. And I have found, even in just a few weeks, that skill has built and translated into different parts of his life. So when he was pitching, which he was in the last game, he had his first strikeout where he struck out the other team, and it was like the last inning. It was so fun. He said, I kept talking to myself. I kept talking to myself. And I said, you can do it. You can do it. It's it's just like when we're practicing, you can do it. You got this and that self talk. When you do it one place, it will translate in different aspects of both your work and your personal life for the better. So that's why I'm weaving in this method into both of my programs.
If you're a solo shop and haven't hit 100k in annual individual fundraising yet. The sprint method is for you. This is for organizations who may have an annual budget that is higher but that funding, it might be coming through sources like grants or foundations, but they haven't hit 100k in individual donations. That's why I built this program. It's for part time executive directors or full time solo shop EDS, where I teach you how to run five figure campaigns on repeat, so you get out of that 24/7, fundraising cycle that feels frantic and hard, and instead run sprint campaigns at key points throughout the year. But if you're a more established organization, you're past that 100k mark and already raising money ready to grow faster, saying, I need more help. Let's hit the gas on this. The purpose and profit club is where you belong. This is where we teach you to double your next fundraiser, unlock another 50k in funding, and start your first social street team, where you partner with the Creator and influence our economy, we layer on a street team to any strategy. Your street team can work for your Gala, your events, your recurring giving programs, or just your online or in person campaigns. It is how you scale with ease, without burning out, and it is changing the game for so many organizations. Head to splendid atl.com, forward slash. Start to choose your path. You'll get information on both. Let's grow your revenue and your reach. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Go. Just try on. Just put it on like a little sweater. 100% yes. 100% yes, I'll see you next time you.