Major Gifts

Jeff and I very strongly feel that authenticity is one of the key attributes of a successful major gift officer. And one key to authenticity is that the words coming out of a MGO’s mouth are believable and true...

I’m going to describe for you the state of one organization’s major gift program that we worked on a few years ago that will highlight what’s going on with thousands of other organizations' major gift programs... and quite possibly yours...

Over the course of a year, I would guess that Richard and I speak with over a hundred different leaders and managers of nonprofits. Every one of them desperately wants to grow their major gift revenue, but they, in turn, race to nonprofit mediocrity...

We are often asked if a degree or CFRE certification is necessary to be successful in major gifts. And this goes to a much larger question of the role education plays in preparing a person to do the job...

I think I’m going to lose it. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve talked to the leadership of three different organizations that have created a belief in their heads that “their” major donors will not give big nonprofit gifts...

You would think that it would be difficult to “lose” a donor who gave a significant gift. But in the last two weeks, I have received stories of a $73,000 donor disappearing, a $100,000 donor gone missing and a lost check from a $25,000 donor...

Building trust in any relationship is essential if that relationship is going to be real and authentic. And creating mutual trust in your nonprofit donor relationships is really your ultimate goal. Why? Because if you have mutual trust, then you and your donor will feel comfortable to be real with one another...

Soliciting new donors, much like growing your major gifts portfolios and upgrading mid-level donors to give more, should also start with those you already know. Prospects can be hiding in plain sight. It is after you’ve culled through your existing list that you should then utilize proven strategies to find new major donors elsewhere...

Who would ever think of running a nonprofit major gifts program as if it were a business? Not many people. And that’s too bad, because it would cause each of us to pay more attention to the things that are important. I have often said that the only difference between a nonprofit and a for-profit is that the for-profit pays taxes. Other than that, there should be no difference...

Being a small nonprofit is never an excuse to not have a major gift program. Lately, I’ve been talking to a great number of executive directors and development directors from small nonprofits. Bottom line: Everyone is overworked and doing multiple jobs...