Everything Your Nonprofit Needs to Have in Place to Succeed with Major Gifts Fundraising – realistic major gift amount, prospects, research, screening/rating, pre-conditions checklist … and more!

Why you should get this Strategy Workbook

Major individual gifts are the single largest source of philanthropy, by far. The most recent data from Giving USA shows 72% of gifts come from individuals’ annual gifts and an additional 8% from bequests. And two-thirds of all household charity in the U.S. comes from the top 3% of U.S. households.  It simply makes sense to follow the money.

Individual major gift fundraising is the most cost-effective form of fundraising. Raising $1 million from a handful of major donor-investors (who you’ll be able to steward and keep loyal so they sustain your organization over time) is simply easier – and more sensible — than trying to raise $1 from a million supporters.

There’s a lot of competition for major donors.  The latest research from Cygnus Applied Research reveals what we’ve all suspected for some time: donors are giving larger gifts to fewer places.  43% of donors ages 35 to 64 are contributing to five or fewer causes, compared with 25% of people 65 and older. That means you have to work harder – and really stand out – to secure gifts from folks who in the past may have spread their giving widely.

Most mega gifts are given locally. Your potential transformational gift may be right under your nose.

Well-meaning leaders too often look at the wrong qualifiers, and this leads to wheel spinning.

What about [richest person in the community; the name on everyone’s list]? He has a lot of money. He should give here!

What about getting a celebrity to be our spokesperson? That will probably persuade others to give. Does anyone know anybody?

Let’s send an invitation to join our Major Giver Society to all the major donors on the [XYZ Charity] major donor honor roll. That organization has a mission similar to ours, so their major donors should be ours too.

Sound familiar? Drive you up a wall?

Just because someone has wealth or high name recognition does not mean they’re a good major donor prospect for you.You need a systematic plan for identifying, screening, qualifying and beginning to build relationships with viable prospects before you’re ready to approach them for a gift. And that’s exactly what you’ll learn in this Workbook.

The process of individual major donor development proceeds along a continuum – from awareness… to interest… to education… to involvement… to investment.  People must first be made aware of your organization’s existence and its mission.  Once this occurs, people who share values enacted by your organization can be identified, further educated and majorly involved.

When the relationship is sufficiently built – and only then — your prospect can be invited to significantly invest to assist in furtherance of your organization’s mission. To know when you’re ready to ask requires a strategic, well-managed plan.  It’s not a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing.

This is called A “Strategy Workbook” for a reason:  asking random people for big bucks whenever the spirit moves you is not a strategic way of going about your business!

How much more money could you raise if you felt more confident that you were walking into a situation that was primed for success?

• This Workbook will give you an entire 10-step process to get your major gifts program organized into a written, executable plan.
• This Workbook will tell you precisely why you should not put an individual major gifts program on your back burner.
  
• This Workbook will help you figure out the specific characteristics of major donor-investors for your organization.
  
• This Workbook will tell you exactly what to do to assure you get your piece of the philanthropic pie.

Major gifts are for nonprofits of all sizes and shapes, and not just for the behemoths. Don’t miss out!

I’ve been voraciously reading the workbook. It’s super helpful. — Annie Binder, Foundation Partnerships Manager, Kaboom

WHAT’S INSIDE?

• Why you need a major gifts program
• How major gifts is different
• What makes a donor major?
• Choosing your major gift amount
• Characteristics of best major gift prospects
• A to Z: Laying the groundwork for successful asks
• Who is hiding in plain sight?
• Working from the inside/out
• Where to go for research
• Screening and rating your prospects
• Pre-conditions checklist