How to Ask Coworkers for Money For a Gift

Asking for money from coworkers can be a daunting task. You want to make sure that you’re asking the right way, at the right time, and in a way that is not too pushy or out of the blue.

If you are planning on asking your co-workers for donations to buy your boss a present, these tips will help you get started!

Considerations about how to ask coworkers for money for a gift

1. Make sure you have a solid plan for how to spend the money

If you’re asking for money for boss’s gift, it’s important that you have a plan in place.

If there is an annual office party coming up soon, ask everyone when they would want their donation delivered and how much they’ll give to make sure you get the whole thing covered!
But if not, try to figure out something your co-worker has been talking about recently or is interested in – maybe even go someplace together with them once and then offer them tickets as part of the fundraising campaign?

Don’t wait until last minute because people are less inclined to be donating at this point. You also don’t want things awkward later on if someone didn’t donate right?

how to ask coworkers for money for a gift 1

2. Be specific about what you want to get with the money

If you want to know how to ask co-workers for donations, be very specific about what they would want.

This will make it easier on your co-workers and let them know how much money is needed so that they can decide if this is something that’s worth donating some of their hard earned cash!

If the person who has been doing all the work setting up fundraisers in the past year helped with one or two before but otherwise did not contribute financially as well as other people, then ask him/her first.
You may get more out of him than someone else; he’ll feel like he needs to give back after being asked once before.

Don’t just say “help me raise money“. That doesn’t say anything.

Don’t ask for a specific amount of money because you’ll get different responses from people, although if you’re asking for less than $100 or so.
It’s fine to let them know the goal is lower and they should only donate what they feel comfortable with.

If this seems like something worth donating some cash towards then there are several ways that your coworkers can help out:

Giving an individual donation;
Taking part in online fundraising;
Setting up fundraisers at work;
Holding events on their own time outside of work hours (like posting flyers around town).

how to ask coworkers for money for a gift 2

3. Keep your request short and sweet – don’t go on forever about why they should help you out

If you are asking for money for a gift, make it short and sweet.

Don’t keep going on about how they should donate because they have been so nice to work with or how much of an amazing person the boss is, etc., even if that’s true!

People will tune out pretty quickly and then not want to participate at all (even those who may actually be willing)

Instead, make your request very clear: “Would you like to contribute $25 towards our gift?”.
If they say no then thank them politely and move on to someone else; don’t put them on the spot by making it seem like there’s something wrong with their decision
Don’t go overboard when asking people – most office workers are not rich and don’t have large sums of money to spend on things like this

4. Consider offering to do something in return for them, like buy their lunch or coffee every day for a week

Consider offering to do something in return for people who donate.

It’s a great way to show your appreciation and also makes them feel like they are contributing more than just money!

If you’re asking for around $100, offer lunch or coffee every day of the week (or whatever is on their agenda).
You can even buy it right then so that he/she knows how much his/her contribution was worth.
This will make sure everyone feels valued no matter what – whether they donated a lot or not too much at all
Just be careful when doing this because if someone asks why they aren’t getting anything back, you may need to get creative with some other kind of reward instead!

5. Be respectful of their time and feelings by being mindful of when is an appropriate time to ask them (don’t be too pushy)

how to ask coworkers for money for a gift 3

If you’re asking for money, be mindful of when is an appropriate time to ask them.

Don’t wait “until the last minute” and then expect people to drop everything they are doing at work just because it’s important; that won’t make anyone feel appreciated!
Instead, start a conversation with co-workers some weeks beforehand so they’ll be able to save up money or set aside time on their calendar.
The goal is not to make people feel like you don’t care about them, but rather that this will just take a minute of their time and it’s worth asking!

6. Give your coworker some space before asking again if they’ve already said no once

If you’ve already asked once before and they said no, it’s best to give them some space first.
Don’t bug them about the same thing again right away or else your coworker might think that you don’t care if he/she is interested at all!
Give a few days for him/her to consider (or talk to the boss!) and then try again.

It’s always best not to pressure people who might be on the fence about an important decision like this one!

You can find some cheap gifts ideas for coworkers at: https://coworkersgiving.com/cheap-gifts-for-coworkers-under-dollar5/

Conclusion

I hope this article has helped you figure out how to ask your coworkers for money for a gift. If not, please feel free to comment below and let me know what question(s) still need answering! Happy holidays everyone 🙂

Frequently Asked Questions about how to ask coworkers for money for a gift

How do you ask for donations from coworkers?

Telling someone outright that they should donate their time, money or other resources is rarely an effective way to share information. It’s far more effective to subtly move conversations in this direction instead. One of the primary reasons for this subtle approach is that it prevents the reluctant from feeling resistant and judged – which may stifle your message all together.

How do you ask a coworker for money for a retirement gift?

It can be somewhat awkward to ask a coworker for money because there may be a sense of indebtedness, so the best strategy is simply to say something like “I’m going to take my kids fiber optic cable fishing this weekend and I need some help on catching them.” This will show that you’re not only asking for it as a gift but really need their help.

How do you politely ask for money at a party?

People often have these type of financial requests fall to their discretion because they don’t want to cause a scene, so it’s important to make it clear in the beginning before you start working together that you would like them to give their retirement gift to you directly and not send them a notice.
It sounds like you’re looking for an honest way out of doing this favor for someone else. If that is the case, on your first day at work have a conversation with the person and ask what other people typically do when wanting to purchase something as a retirement gift. It might be difficult at first but just think about how relieved they will be if four months from now all they need to worry about is writing letters – not wrapping presents!