Major Gifts

Your major gift officer is an incredibly valuable member of your team. When your officer has these five top traits, they’ll help lead your nonprofit to success...

This is where I run a risk of getting in trouble, but I have to write about it because it is a huge problem in many nonprofits that not only hurts the organization but also hurts the people involved. I’m talking about taking your very best major gift officer and making them the manager of the major gift program...

It all started with a $1,000 gift. What drew notice at North Carolina State University’s development office was the age of the donor. The check was written in November 2016 by Rede Wilson, a freshly minted graduate from the College of Textiles...

Welcome back to #NPPTrendingNow, a weekly video series where NonProfit PRO Editor-in-Chief Nhu Te breaks down the top three coveted stories of the week. Here's what we've got going on for you this week: hosting successful donor cultivation events, how to better engage major donors and improving monthly donor retention...

Most nonprofits receive the majority of their funding from major donors. Engaging major donors is a must. These donors want to have a connection and make an impact with your organization. How your nonprofit creates engagement with major gift prospects and current donors can make a huge difference in your organization's ability to convert and retain your biggest stakeholders...

When Richard and I are out talking to prospective clients, one of the questions they often ask us is, “For the clients you have worked with who were not successful, what was one of the contributing factors?” We love this question...

It is always amazing to me to hear managers and leaders who want to start or rebuild a major gift program say, “We will just hire some major gift officers and get going,” or something like that. It’s as if this MGO will arrive on the scene and suddenly, money will be pouring into the organization...

I think I’m changing my language on how a major gift officer’s approach with a donor who is difficult to engage should be. For years, both Richard and I have said you should be patient, yet persistent with a donor… eventually you will come together...

It is important to start right in a major gift program as a new major gift officer. And starting with donors, program and back office familiarization is the key. Everything else, while important, is a distraction, in my opinion...

17 years ago, I was working at one of the top direct-marketing fundraising agencies in the country. We had just landed a brand-new client, and I was in charge of leading the team to work on their account...