Major Gifts

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Recently, one of our client managers for Veritus told me a story about one of our clients she is working with. When I heard this story, I was not shocked. Richard and I hear this kind of stuff all the time. This happens with major donors, because many nonprofits clearly have no structure in place for their major gift program...

I was reminded about this important topic when I had a chance meeting with the wife of a friend who, when we met, launched into a five-minute tirade on how she and her husband are mistreated by the major gift officers from their favorite charities...

As you get ready to ask people for gifts, you will certainly wonder how much to ask them for. Sometimes you’ll know enough to have a sense of what’s appropriate. You can look at their giving history to your organization. You might also find out about other gifts they’ve made to comparable projects. Giving, like many other activities, has a large element of habit...

It’s amazing to Richard and me how nonprofits—that do such great things with the programs and projects they have making the world a better place—have a total disregard for their major donors. One example of this was a story I heard from someone who quit her position as an major gift officer several years ago...