Major Gifts

Why Major Gifts Officers Should Ask Again
December 28, 2015 at 9:43 am

Your major donor has given in the last month or so, and you now are turning your attention to the donors on your caseload who have not given so far this calendar year. This is good. But you may be missing an opportunity to ask your major donor for another gift. “What?” you say. “Ask again? I can’t do that! It would not be right.” Well, let me present a different point of view...

Reviled Drug CEO's Arrest Sparks Debate Over $1M Donation
December 23, 2015 at 10:30 am

What would you do if your organization received a sizable donation from an individual who, months later, was charged with a federal crime? Would you keep the donation or give it back? That’s the question facing Hunter College High School in the wake of Thursday’s arrest of Martin Shkreli, a 32-year-old multimillionaire pharmaceuticals executive who once attended the school...

Tech Leaders Pledge $1B to Artificial Intelligence Research Nonprofit
December 14, 2015 at 11:32 am

Several of the biggest and richest names in Silicon Valley have collectively put $1 billion behind a new artificial intelligence research organization called OpenAI. "Our goal is to advance digital intelligence in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return," reads the introductory…

MLB Pitcher Donating 1 Percent of Annual Salary to Diamondbacks Charity
December 14, 2015 at 11:26 am

New Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke will donate 1 percent of his annual salary to the team’s charity each year, reported Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. With Greinke, 32, set to make at least $31 million in each of the next six seasons, the donations will be sizeable. After leaving the Dodgers for the division rival Diamondbacks, Greinke’s new contract…

Giving and Getting Grief: For the Rich, Increasingly Common
December 9, 2015 at 10:47 am

To give is to gain a heap of grief if you're a mega-rich donor these days. In recent months, a hedge fund billionaire was denounced for his $400 million gift to the already wealthy Harvard University, David Geffen took flak for gifts that plaster his name on a Manhattan concert hall and a Los Angeles…

What Happens When You Show Love and Loyalty to a Donor?
December 7, 2015 at 10:53 am

Fran was a major gifts officer (MGO) who had great relationships with his donors. Then, in October 2008, a disaster struck for a donor he greatly respected that left the donor unable to make his usual gift. Many MGOs might have given up on this donor and moved on. But Fran was adamant about not giving up this donor. In fact, Fran did the opposite...

Mark Zuckerberg Takes on Critics of His $45B Giveaway
December 4, 2015 at 11:02 am

Two days after announcing plans to donate $45 billion over time to his family foundation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded to criticism about his philanthropic ambitions. In a Facebook post on Thursday, he pushed back against accusations that he had structured his foundation, not so much as a charity, but as a vehicle for evading…

6 Best Practices for Writing a Major-Gift Proposal
December 4, 2015 at 10:52 am

A formalized major-gift proposal, whether mailed in a letter or delivered in presentation format, has to hit certain beats. These written major-gift proposals are the conclusion of all of your cultivation efforts. They are informed by everything you have learned about the prospect in preceding meetings. If you've researched major-gift asks, you likely have seen…

Mark Zuckerberg to Donate $45B in Facebook Shares to Charity
December 2, 2015 at 10:41 am

Mark Zuckerberg will put 99 percent of his Facebook Inc. shares, currently worth about $45 billion, into a new philanthropy project focusing on human potential and equality, he and his wife said Tuesday in a letter to their newborn daughter. The plan, which was posted on the Facebook founder and CEO's page, attracted more than…

Anonymous Donors Slip Big Money Into Salvation Army Kettle
November 30, 2015 at 11:48 am

A check made out for $500,000 was dropped in a Salvation Army kettle over the weekend in Rosemount, Minn., a startling act of generosity that a couple said was their way of saying thank you. The Salvation Army said the donation made Saturday at the Cub Foods on County Road 42, just east of Shannon…