Sound Off

What significance does your organization place on donor-relationship management?

“We are about to begin our 2006 Annual Campaign (which begins in late August and closes at the end of May 2006), and we are in the middle of a community capital campaign. This annual campaign year we have developed an account executive model for each of our (160) major-gift donor families (donors of $10,000 or more). For each donor we have assigned two or more volunteers or staff to meet with that donor, along with a senior professional staff member who serves as the point person for the particular [donor family] and volunteer solicitors for that donor. Additionally we’ve created a spreadsheet on our major-gift donor families highlighting information such as:

• Best time of the year to solicit the donor;

• Personal or business information that is pertinent in regard to their upcoming pledge to the 2006 Annual Campaign;

• Status of their community capital campaign commitment; and

• Recommended solicitors.

This information is going to be reviewed with a team of close to 50 volunteer solicitors (all of whom are major-gift donors themselves) to confirm that the information put together is appropriate (especially in regard to the recommended soliciters) and complete (with details that are important to the annual campaign solicitation).

We’ve also established benchmarks for the solicitation of these major-gift donors, which will also be outlined at the meeting with the team of volunteer solicitors. Benchmarks include:

• Upcoming major-gift events;

• Volunteer solicitors report meeting in late November;

• Winter visits to major-gifts donors who hold residences in southern and western communities; and

• A mission overseas to see how our annual campaign dollars are allocated and are of benefit.”

— Tanya Mazor-Posner, campaign director, Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Milwaukee, Wisc.

This letter was provided by a reader of FS Advisor, FundRaising Success magazine’s weekly e-mail strategy guide, in response to a survey question posed in the Aug. 2 issue.