Major Gifts

When Someone Says, ‘I Know All This Stuff!’
December 11, 2017 at 12:11 pm

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…

How to Win Over Your Organization to Major Gifts
December 4, 2017 at 11:30 am

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...

4 Approaches to Changing a Boring Message
November 27, 2017 at 10:37 am

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...

How Trustees Can Help Raise More Major Gifts
November 21, 2017 at 11:58 am

If you are local charity, don’t have a major giving program and assume that rich people wouldn’t donate to your charity, you are missing out big opportunity. Because there is strong evidence available which suggests that rich people love to support local causes...

Discipline Is Beautiful
November 20, 2017 at 12:19 pm

Being disciplined to work out your plan is the absolute key to major gift success. Conversely, it’s the downfall of many major gift fundraisers. At Veritus, we know that introducing a disciplined approach to major gifts will lead to deeper relationships with donors, higher retention rates, lower value attrition rates and much more revenue...

Sheer Joy Increases Giving
November 13, 2017 at 11:16 am

Paul and Rebecca (not their real names) started giving to this social service organization in the early 90s. They were a conservative couple from an average neighborhood, but they wanted to do good in their community, so their first gift was $50 to a direct mail acquisition campaign...

Why Isn’t an MGO’s Office Hours 8 to 5?
October 30, 2017 at 11:34 am

One common problem managers have with major gift officers is how to manage their time. Or maybe I should say how not to manage their time. Some managers believe that the eight-to-five rule for employees actually applies to MGOs...

Ask Yourself 3 Key Questions Before Asking for That Big Gift
October 23, 2017 at 11:51 am

For most people, asking for gifts in person is difficult. And when you are asking for one of the top campaign gifts, it’s even harder because the stakes are super high. Chances are, you don’t have very many donors who would consider giving one of those lead gifts. So, it’s no surprise that when you ask those donors for very big gifts, you are anxious...

Be a Major Gift Officer and Have a Life
October 23, 2017 at 11:21 am

The demands of a major gift officer are enormous. I don’t have to spell them all out to you, because you live it. The same can be said for a development director at a small nonprofit who has to be “everything” fundraising at your nonprofit...

Out-of-Control Major Gift Events Program
October 16, 2017 at 11:36 am

Tell me what you think is wrong with this picture: There is a major gift officer (MGO) who has a caseload, and he is also charged with doing events for the organization. He has three staff members who work with him on this agenda...