A Wealth of Opportunity

In terms of donor cultivation, Walter says that once a donor makes a $1,000 gift he or she is contacted by a regional manager and the process of building a one-on-one relationship begins.

"One of the goals of this process is to measure the donor's interest and/or potential for making a larger gift," he says. "The actual language of the solicitations does not differ much from the direct-marketing language, but we do increase the level of personalization and production quality of the letters. The solicitations continue to offer opportunities for donors to increase their support to higher levels of giving. If justified, we will tailor individual proposals to solicit larger gifts."