Major Gifts: The Art, the Heart, the Ask and the Attitude
It’s important to choose a private, relaxing place for a meeting site and find out if an individual plus his/her partner will be involved. Make the appointment details work for you to enhance the probability of success.
Once the appointment is secure, you need advance planning. I have developed the concept of P3 over the years that I use in preparation for the ask. The letter “P” stands for priorities, prospects and the processes that tie it all together. The first “P,” priorities, includes the fact that you must determine if the solicitation will feature capital renovation and construction, equipment, education, research, endowment, or a combination of priorities. You also need to determine if the ask will be for unrestricted or restricted gifts.
Duke Haddad, Ed.D., CFRE, is currently associate director of development, director of capital campaigns and director of corporate development for The Salvation Army Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He also serves as president of Duke Haddad and Associates LLC and is a freelance instructor for Nonprofit Web Advisor.
He has been a contributing author to NonProfit PRO since 2008.
He received his doctorate degree from West Virginia University with an emphasis on education administration plus a dissertation on donor characteristics. He received a master’s degree from Marshall University with an emphasis on public administration plus a thesis on annual fund analysis. He secured a bachelor’s degree (cum laude) with an emphasis on marketing/management. He has done post graduate work at the University of Louisville.
Duke has received the Fundraising Executive of the Year Award, from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Indiana Chapter. He also was given the Outstanding West Virginian Award, Kentucky Colonel Award and Sagamore of the Wabash Award from the governors of West Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana, respectively, for his many career contributions in the field of philanthropy. He has maintained a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation for three decades.
