Major donors NEVER (or rarely) begin by making 5-figure and 6-figure gifts to your non-profit organization. Remember, major donors are NOT donors at all. They are investors! Major donors expect (some will even demand) to see a return on their investment before they increase their giving.
Roy C Jones
Major Gifts and Painting Porches
When I called the major gift officer to check on how his visit went with the donor, a dear older lady answered the phone. She said that “her friend was helping her paint the front porch right now and could he call me back in an our our so?”
WARNING. WARNING. WARNING. Beware of the major gift gurus “secret lists”
Major gift “specialists” who peddle their “black book” are a dime a dozen. I call them butterflies and bumble-bees because they move from flower to flower (organization to organization) and sting a bunch of people along the way.
What is Your Major Donor Lapsed Rate? Why?
If you build the relationship, the money will follow…if your contact with the donor is only about money it will not succeed. You major gift program consists of hundreds of individual donor plans.
The Challenge…. 168 letters a year
Remember, the charity that gets the donation each day is the one that is “top of mail box”. Which letter each day will get the donors attention… and touch their heart? To quote a famous civil war general, “He who get’s there the firstest with the mostest wins…”
DRMG??? Is this a term your charity knows? Direct Response Major Giving…
Direct response major giving (DRMG) may look similar to traditional major gifts programs. Both strategies use face-to-face meetings and relationship building to cultivate a major gift, but their are stark differences.
It’s That Time Again… New Year’s Goal Setting for Your 2012 Fundraising
Unlike most people who call themselves “fundraising counsel” I am not one who wastes a lot of time with grandiose vision papers and colorful case statements. Every January I encourage charities to spend more time on practical, actionable events rather than writing beautiful superfluous words about their organization and cause.
4th Quarter Checklist – Start A Challenge Fund TODAY
You can use any major gift in the 4th quarter of 2011 to boost revenues in 2012, but you need to start RIGHT NOW. Remember that the majority of all major gifts happen in 4th quarter and the majority of 4th quarter gifts happen in the last three weeks of the year.
4th Quarter Check List – Cancel Christmas Vacations in Your Development Department
Stay open through the holidays. Have at least a few major gift officers in the office that can be making clean-up calls to donors that haven’t given yet this year and thank you calls to donors who make large year-end contributions. They’ll also be available for those last minute calls from donors who want to make gifts of stocks or other assets before year-end.
4th Quarter Check List – Pump Up Your Digital RIGHT NOW!
Most people are shocked to hear that I recommend spending a minimum of 10% of their overall marketing budget on SEM preparing for the last week of the year! That’s right. If you are spending $100,000 annually on (non-staffing) fundraising and development costs at least $10,000 should be ear marked in the 4th quarter for promoting your web site through search engine marketing and digital techniques. And yes, if you are spending $1 million a year on fundraising and marketing costs, then at least $100,000 should be earmarked for 4th quarter search engine marketing.
