Jun112026
Large piece of lemon meringue pie

Act Fast, Raise Big: The Skills You Need to Win Major Donors Today

Large piece of lemon meringue pieShifting politics are creating economic uncertainty for all, and it’s especially scary for U.S. nonprofits who, on average, receive about a third of their total funding from Federal grants. This means nonprofits today need to shift emphasis (and budget) toward individual donor engagement strategies. Giving USA reports 74% of all giving (lifetime + bequests) came from individuals last year.

Major individual donors are, by far, the largest slice of today’s philanthropy pie.

If I had to tell you what you need to do to succeed with major gift fundraising in one sentence it would be this:

Identify major donor prospects… qualify them so you know they want to build a deeper relationship with you… cultivate them… visit with them… listen to them… reflect back to them what you heard… ask them for something specific that resonates with their passions… steward their gift and communicate in an ongoing way to make them feel like the hero they are!

Whew – that was a mouthful!

But don’t worry. It’s definitely not rocket science. A shorter way to say this is:

Meet with donors. Listen to donors. Ask donors. Thank donors.

See — it’s simple!

It’s just good old hard work. Satisfying and rewarding work. And it’s a type of work anyone can learn to do.

Over my 40 years in fundraising, 30 of them working in the trenches as a director of development for organizations with budgets ranging from $1 – $40 million, I have asked for a lot of major gifts.  I know what works, and what doesn’t work. Today I want to give you:

(1) some of my best pro tips and words of wisdom, and also

(2) answers to some of the questions folks frequently ask me .

I hope this information will help you tweak your mindset and invigorate your systems so you can be more successful fundraising in the coming year!

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Leave a commentMajor & Legacy Gifts
Jun82026

Major Gifts Fundraising: Pie in the Sky, Pie in your Face or Your Piece of Pie

Painting of pieces of pie by Wayne Thiebaud

Which major donor prospects are your best ‘piece of pie?’

Do you think Bill Gates, Warren Buffet or MacKenzie Scott are likely prospects for major giving to your nonprofit?

Sadly, all too often I hear board members suggesting names like these (perhaps it may simply be the richest known philanthropist in the community) – despite the fact that the prospect has (1) no known interest in the cause, and (2) nobody at the organization knows or has any link to this person.

Really, this practice must stop!

There’s a much better way.

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Jun12026
Volunteer holding handful of seeds

Why Creating Donor Engagement Opportunities Boosts Fundraising

Volunteer holding handful of seeds

Awareness alone is passive

I wish I had a dime for every time a nonprofit board or staff member told me

“We’re the best kept secret in town; if people knew what we do, they’d give to support us.”

Sound familiar?

If I had all those dimes, I could make a nice contribution to your cause.

But I likely wouldn’t choose to do so, unless you intentionally made it clear the following were important to you:

  • Learning a little bit about me,
  • Engaging me personally,
  • Making a specific, not vague, ask.

You see, merely “building awareness” will not ipso facto raise more money for your cause.

Just because I care about something, and somehow learn you are involved in doing something about that thing, doesn’t mean I’m going to support you financially.

Why should I?

There are a lot of good causes out there, and making a decision to invest in you is something I need to act on.

I’m busy.

I’m overloaded with information.

Inertia is just too powerful a force.

Want to do something to shake me awake?

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Leave a commentAnnual Giving