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As a fundraiser, I raise millions of dollars for charity, but my friend Rochelle raises hundreds of millions of dollars. Therefore, I was quite startled when I visited her house and her young son said to me, “I’m trying to raise MONEY for my elementary school. Will you subscribe to some magazines?” I looked at Rochelle and asked, surprised, “You didn’t teach him how to just ask for money?”

If there is a cause you believe in, at some point you will be asked to raise money. While Toastmasters policy prohibits fundraising by clubs for any charity, as an individual Toastmaster you can practice persuasive speeches and learn how to ask for money so that you can help a charity of your choice outside your club. And you won’t have to sell magazine subscriptions or host golf tournaments or produce fancy fundraising dinners where most of the money ends up going to the caterer.

We fear asking for money because money is a forbidden topic in most of the world. Think of your closest friends. Chances are, you know their views on politics and religion. However, you probably don’t know the size of their salaries or bank accounts. We rarely talk about money, even among our closest friends.

So when it comes time to ask for money for a charity, we may feel like our throats are closing. Think about what makes you uncomfortable. Does it feel like you’re begging? Are you afraid that, if you ask for money, you’ll have to donate to someone else’s cause in return? Do you fear being asked a question that you can’t answer? Or is it just that you don’t know how to do it? If you know what you fear, it becomes easier to face that fear, and some knowledge and practice will help. You can learn how to create a speech that will persuade people to donate.

The most common fundraising scenario is the “group ask,” where you stand in front of a group of people and ask for money. This is the equivalent of a six- to eight-minute Toastmasters speech, and, in fact, you might want to practice