Virtual Major Gifts Masterclass Series + Hands-on Practice Clinic
Did you know that, according to GivingUSA, 72% of all philanthropic gifts come from individuals?
Not foundations. Not businesses. Not government. PEOPLE!
If you really want to build a sustainable fundraising machine for your organization you’ve got to build relationships with people.
And that’s what a major gifts program is all about.
It’s not direct mail. It’s not events. It’s not grant proposals.
It’s targeting the right people — the ones with the concern, connection and capacity to transform your organization — and then building a plan to give them somuch love that they’ll fall in love with you too!
This means you’ve got to enjoy the friend-making part of your work.
It’s actually not that hard, once you know what you’re doing. In fact, it’s a lot of fun getting to know folks, learning about their lives and finding out about their hopes and dreams. Fascinating stuff, truly.
And it just so happens that, while you’re being fascinated by your donors, they’ll be getting just as fascinated about your mission and vision.
How cool is that?
Truly, major gifts programs can become the money-raising machine you’ve been searching for.
And all you have to do is make friends; then sustain your friendships.
Blast Your Fundraising Through the Roof by Learning to Fall in Love with Your Donors!
You have a vision of transformative change. Your prospective donors share that vision.
It’s time to really focus on your major donor prospects and make those visions come true!
Because they can’t do it without you, and you can’t do it without them.
We’ve tried to build a major gifts program, but we just can’t seem to figure out how to connect with folks.
We do a lot of donor cultivation, but we never seem to get around to the ask. How do you know if it’s the right time?
We don’t seem to know how to ask correctly. We can’t even get donor visits! We never get the results we’d hoped for.
We’re a small shop with overloaded staff and conflicting priorities. We don’t know how to fit major gifts into the picture.
We have a major gifts program, but know we’re leaving money on the table and want to figure out how to work smarter to maximize results.
If any of these statements resonate with you, then please, please join me, seasoned fundraising pro, Jay Love and the “Wild Woman” of fundraising herself, Mazarine Treyz, for this unique
Virtual Major Gifts Masterclass + Hands-on Practice Clinic
You can learn how to overcome every hurdle in major gifts with our 4-session Major Gifts Masterclass series.
Each class is 60 minutes — from 10am to 11am PT (1pm ET) on October 6th, October 8th, October 13th, October 15th, 2015 — and we’ll take you step-by-step through:
- How to get your donors on the path towards making a major gifts commitment.
- How to get inside your donor’s head to make more powerful connections.
- How to get a visit, strategize for your winning major gifts pitch and make your persuasive ask
- How to put what you’ve learned into practice.
All classes will be recorded so you can review at your leisure, or share with others on your team.
Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll get:
Class 1, October 6, 10am – 11am PT, 1pm – 2pm ET, Presented by Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE
Donor-Centered Moves Management: Cultivation and Stewardship Solutions to Love Your Donor to the Next Level
How do you know when it’s time to ask?
This webinar will lead you step-by-step to the point of readiness. No more guessing. It will become crystal clear when your prospect is primed for your ask, and since every donor is different, you’ll learn to develop a multitude of different cultivation options — different strokes for different folks. Arm yourself with the “Get to 100” system so that you avoid cultivation paralysis — a truly dreaded disease that will destroy all of your hard work unless you are mindful.
If you’ve been curious about moves management and how that might work for your organization, this webinar is for you. You’ll learn:
- How moves management works
- Key drivers that move donors towards greater commitment
- How to develop personal cultivation and stewardship plans
- How to make moves via social media
- How to choreograph and measure your moves to know when you’re ready to ask
Class 2, October 8th, 2015, 10am-11am PT, 1pm – 2pm ET, Presented by Jay Love
How it Feels to be Asked for a Major Gift – A Donor Perspective
Have you ever wanted to get into the mind of a major donor?
Wondered what makes them tick? Or why they would give to you? Our innovative second masterclass will cover how it feels to be asked for a major gift. The best part? You get to ask questions of a major donor, Jay Love, and you’ll learn how you can get into your major donor’s mind and heart!
- Questions to ask donors that will ready them for the gift
- How to find out what turns your donor on about your cause
- How to determine what ticks your donor off
- and any questions you can dream up!
Class 3, October 13th, 2015, 10am – 11am PT, 1pm – 2pm ET, Presented by Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE
How to Ask for a Major Gift – Step by Step – with Art and Heart
Making an effective ask – an offer your donor can’t refuse — is not that difficult, provided you know what to do.
Unfortunately, there are some common mistakes folks make when asking for gifts; much of this stems from fear and inadequate preparation. To overcome this fear requires training, inspiration, information, planning and practice. How much more money could you raise if you felt more confident that you were walking into a situation that was primed for success? In this webinar you’ll learn:
- 3 Keys to Overcome Asking Anxiety
- Get the Visit
- Determine Your Ask Amount
- Prepare and Practice
- How to Open
- Make your Passionate Pitch
- Conversation: Listen and Observe
- Specific Ask
- Silence is Golden
- Overcome Resistance
- Close and Follow Up
- Avoid Common Pitfalls
Class 4, October 15th, 10am – 11am PT, 1pm – 2pm ET
Practice Clinic
Now you’ll have a chance to put your learning into practice! This is your opportunity to ask any unanswered questions and to try making your major gift asks with Claire Axelrad, Mazarine Treyz and other students in a warm, supportive atmosphere.
Your Master Class Team
Class 2 Presenter
Jay B. Love is CEO and Co-Founder of Bloomerang, with cutting-edge technology tools built upon best practices for fundraising and communications. Renowned as a senior statesman whose advice is sought constantly, he has served the social benefit sector for 32 years and has given more than 2,500 speeches around the world. He is an active board member of The Lilly School of Philanthropy at IU, Gleaners Food Bank, Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, The Butler University Innovation Fund, The United Methodist Foundation of Indiana, TechPoint Foundation for Youth, and The Fundraising Effectiveness Project.
Class 1 and 3 Presenter
Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE has 30+ years experience in the fundraising trenches. Named Outstanding Fundraising Professional of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Claire coaches, speaks, consults and teaches the CFRE course certifying professional fundraisers. A regular contributor to Nonprofit Pro, Guidestar, and Maximize Social Business, her blog was named “2013 Top Fundraising Blog” by Fundraising Success Magazine.
Host and Moderator
Mazarine Treyz, author of Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising and Wild Woman’s Guide to Social Media, has helped small nonprofits raise more with killer appeals since 2007. She has co-founded a nonprofit, been a one-person fundraising shop and helped boost fundraising results by as much as 100% — simply by using a winning combination of art, science, online and offline, to engage and reactivate donors.
What Does This Masterclass Series Cost?
These 3 webinars, plus the practice clinic, cost just $307. This is a fraction of a major gift for a nonprofit. Even for small nonprofits, this one-of-a-kind Masterclass will pay for itself many times over.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What if I have to miss a class? Don’t worry. All of the classes will be recorded and sent to you at the end of the series, along with the slides.
- What if I’ve never had a major gift program? You’ve come to the right place! This series will help you learn how to start cultivating donors to become major donors, and learn how they think, and finally, to ask donors.
- What if I already have a major gifts program? If you would like your major gifts program to be even more successful, you can get there with this masterclass series.
- When do the classes start? The classes start October 6th, then there’s another class on October 8th, and another one on October 13th, and then the hands-on practice session on October 15th.
- When does registration end? Make sure to register by October 4th 2015.
Secure your spot here. Your investment of $307 is a small fraction of the average major gift. Just raise one more gift and you’ll more than get your money back.
If you cannot make one class, we will have all of the recordings available to you.
If you’re not satisfied for any reason there is a 30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee.
