Not sure what to ask for? Use a one-hour call to find out

This guide is for the moment many small charities know well: something isn't working, everyone is tired, and you can't quite say what help you need. Maybe donations have dropped and you don't know why. Maybe the board keeps arguing about the same thing. Maybe your books "feel wrong". You don't need a plan before you ask for help. You can ask for one hour with someone experienced, simply to work out what the real problem is and what to do first. After reading, you'll know how to ask for that hour, prepare for it, and turn it into a clear next step.

Why one hour works

A one-hour call is the smallest, easiest kind of help to give and to receive.

• It's easy to say yes to. An experienced person can fit one hour into a busy week. A vague, open-ended project is much harder to agree to.
• It doesn't need a plan. The point of the call is to make the plan.
• It's a common format. Taproot Plus, a pro bono matching service, offers one-hour Sessions for nonprofits to problem-solve a real-time challenge, brainstorm, get specialized advice or "map out next steps", alongside longer multi-week Projects.
• It's affordable on Golden Hint. One hour of help is worth 1 credit. A verified charity starts with a welcome grant of 5 credits, and a balance can go down to −5, so a first call doesn't have to wait until you've given help yourself.

Step 1: Describe the worry, not the solution

Write three or four sentences about what's happening, in plain words. Say what you've noticed, not what you think the fix is.

• "Our spring appeal raised half what it did last year, and we don't know whether it's the letter, the list or the timing."
• "We have six board members and two of them do almost everything. Meetings run long and nothing gets decided."
• "Our treasurer is leaving in three months and nobody else understands our books."

Step 2: Pick the area that's closest

On the Golden Hint Exchange, help is organized into 13 areas, such as fundraising, finance, governance or technology. Pick the one that seems closest. If you're unsure between two, pick either, and say so in your request. The person who answers can point you to the right kind of help afterwards.

Step 3: Ask for the call

Post a request on the Exchange, or propose an exchange to a charity whose strengths match. Keep it short. Here's an example:

One-hour call: why did our spring appeal fall short? We're a small food pantry run by volunteers. Our spring appeal raised about half of last year's, and we don't know why. We'd like one hour with someone experienced in fundraising letters to look at what we sent and help us decide what to try next. Format: video or phone call, 1 hour, 1 credit.

Our guide on asking for skilled help explains the five parts of a fuller request. For a one-hour call, the goal and "done when" are enough: done when you know what to try next.

Step 4: Prepare for 20 minutes

Before the call, gather what the other person would ask to see in the first five minutes:

• the thing you're worried about, such as the letter you sent, last year's numbers, or the board's last three agendas;
• one or two sentences on your charity: what you do, for whom, and roughly how big you are;
• what you've already tried;
• the question you most want answered.

Send these a day ahead, without anything private. Don't send donor lists, client details or passwords. Our data privacy guide explains why.

Step 5: Use the hour well

A simple shape for the call:

1. Five minutes: you describe the worry.
2. Twenty minutes: the expert asks questions. Let them. The questions are often the most useful part.
3. Twenty minutes: talk through what the real problem might be, and two or three things you could try.
4. Ten minutes: agree one next step, and whether a longer piece of help would make sense.
5. Five minutes: thank them, and agree who writes down what was decided.

Step 6: Turn it into a next step

Within a day, write a short note of what you learned and what you'll do. It might be:

• Something you can do yourselves, now that you know what to fix.
• A bigger, well-scoped request, such as "Review our next appeal letter, about two hours", now that you know what to ask for.
• A decision for your board, with the expert's view summed up in a paragraph.

Then finish the exchange: both sides confirm the call happened, and the credit moves. Our guide to your first exchange explains each step.

Your one-hour call checklist

• We wrote three or four sentences about the worry, not the solution.
• We picked the closest area of help.
• We asked for a one-hour video or phone call, and said what "done" means.
• We sent the materials a day ahead, with nothing private.
• We let the expert ask questions before we asked for answers.
• We agreed one next step before the call ended.
• We wrote down what we learned within a day.
• Both sides confirmed the call, so the credit moved.

Not knowing what you need is normal, especially when you're small and stretched. One hour with someone who's been there is often all it takes to see the way forward. Ask for a call on the Exchange.