Major Gifts

Organizing things or work is not everyone’s strong suit. In fact, some of the best sales people and major gift officers I know seem to be (on the surface) some of the most disorganized people I know. They seem to have a heightened sense of intuition that guides them to do the right things...

Every contribution is important, of course, but major gifts are “stop-and-think gifts,” according to fundraising legend Bill Sturtevant. They’re different, for example, from those that might result from a direct mail piece or made as a reciprocal gesture to a friend...

At Veritus over the years, we have conducted hundreds of major donor assessments. These assessments reveal an incredible amount of information. Besides understanding donor retention and donor value attrition, the data reveals a whole slew of donors who donate essentially the same amount year after year. Perhaps it’s $1,000, $5,000, $10,000 or even $20,000 every…

I’ve been thinking about why some major gift officers don’t do the right things even when they know what to do. I don’t think it’s a motivational problem. Most of the MGOs Jeff and I know are motivated to be successful. So, it’s not about a MGO just sitting around collecting a paycheck, doing nothing and hoping the day will pass...

Some time ago, I was walking with one of the major gift officers I work with after lunch. She was lamenting that she felt like there were “so many things” keeping her from meeting with donors. And how she just “wished she had the time” to just get to know them...

Have you ever been around someone that is a blur of activity, but never gets anything done? I’m sure you have. And if you stop and think about it, usually this person is more interested in the process versus the result. They love the process. Just “doing the process” makes them feel good...

A few major gift fundraisers asked why it is important to meet with prospective major donors. Do meetings with high-value, prospective supporters help secure the gift or raise more money? Why can we not just rely on communicating with them via phone, email or letter?...

It was time to trot out my PowerPoint presentation and go through all the points of what we did as a company, the results we secured and how we did it. I was invited into the office of the president of a very prestigious eastern nonprofit. The purpose of the meeting was to explain what…

I think you might be making your job as a major gift officer even harder. Richard and I often run into CEOs, board members, finance and programs staff who don’t know how major gift programs work or, at best, are just down right skeptical that it really works...

So, you think you have something interesting to say to your donor. And you send it out. But all you get back is silence. In fact, it is so silent, it is deafening. Here’s why this is happening...