6 Best Practices for Writing a Major-Gift Proposal

A formalized major-gift proposal, whether mailed in a letter or delivered in presentation format, has to hit certain beats.

These written major-gift proposals are the conclusion of all of your cultivation efforts. They are informed by everything you have learned about the prospect in preceding meetings.

If you've researched major-gift asks, you likely have seen that speaking with the prospect in person increases your chances of securing the donation. That's true.

However, there are some situations when a formal proposal letter is the best option. If you have a small team with limited resources and little time to spend, you probably can't book up all of their days with introductory meetings, exploratory meetings and solicitation meetings. Instead, follow proper cultivation, and you can have your team craft a major-gift proposal letter.