Tag: Major donors

Plan to Build Meaningful Relationships with Major Donors

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
plan

A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #2, The Plan to Build Meaningful Relationships

Last time we worked through the steps of figuring out how many major donors you can successfully manage, and which major donors you should manage.

Now that you have your portfolio set, it’s time to start building relationships with these donors.

An exceptional donor experience is at the heart of an effective major donor fundraising program. This means attempting to build a genuine and authentic relationship with each donor.

First, work through your list and come up with a plan for each donor. Focus on your current major donors first, then your lapsed major donors, then your prospective major donors.

During this phase, you will develop fundraising offers (what would the donor be excited about funding?), communication calendars (when are you going to approach them?), and the best fundraising approach for each person (how are you going to approach them?)

Here’s what this involves:

  • Identify the best possible fundraising offer for each donor by matching up their interests with your organization’s needs. (Free eBook available here.)
  • Determine the next step for each donor in the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat communication rhythm.
  • Create a systematic but relational plan to connect the donor’s personal mission/heart with the mission/outcomes of your organization.

Plan to have three to four interactions (meetings or phone calls ) with each donor per year. Then add in some additional email or text check-ins. When your portfolio is the right size, this is very possible!

One or two of the meetings should be asking the donor to make a gift. The other interactions should be thanking and reporting back on what their giving made possible.

For a full-time gift officer, this will mean 7 – 10 major donor phone calls or meetings each week.

Next time… a bonus simple strategy to start building major donor relationships IMMEDIATELY!

Read the series:

  1. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #1, Build Your Portfolio
  2. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #2, The Plan to Build Meaningful Relationships (This post)
  3. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: BONUS Simple Strategy to Build Relationships Immediately
  4. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #3, How to Ask for a Major Gift

A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #1, Build Your Portfolio

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
major donors

Does your organization have a major donor program?

If not… or if you’d like to grow your existing program, it might seem like a big, daunting thing.

But it can be easier than you think. If you follow a few simple steps.

Today, I’ll walk you through figuring out how many major donors you can manage, and building your portfolio. In future posts I’ll show you how to build a relationship with these donors and even walk you through the steps of asking for a major gift.

Step #1 – Figure Out How Many Major Donors You Can Manage

Here’s a simple formula you can use to figure out how many major donor relationships you can manage in the time you have.

A full-time Major Gift Officer, who spends 40 hours a week on major donor fundraising, can manage 120 donors in their portfolio

How many hours a week can YOU spend on major donor work?

Write down that number, then multiply it by 3. That’s how many donors you can reasonably manage.

Let’s say you have 20 hours a week to spend on major donors. This means you can manage 60 donors in your portfolio. You get the picture.

Step #2 – Run a List of Your Donors and Assign Your Portfolio

Now, run a query or report to show all your donors with their cumulative giving in each of the last five years. You may want to export this list to Excel so you can work with it.

Sort the list using the most recent year’s giving column, from highest amount to lowest amount.

You are ready to make some decisions based on your list.

Decide who are your top donors based on the amount given in most recent year, the pattern of giving over the last five years (giving more, giving less, about the same, or all over the place…) and less-tangible factors like how closely aligned they are to the organization and how well you know them.

Leave a little room in your portfolio for lapsed major donors and prospective major donors. A rough percentage should be:

  • 80% existing active major donors
  • 10% lapsed major donors that could be re-engaged with some work
  • 10% prospective donors who have high potential of becoming major donors

This is your portfolio.

This may take a little time, but once you have your portfolio list built, you are off to a strong start.

If there are more names than you can handle, that’s okay. Let your direct mail program do the work of engaging them for now.

In my next post, I’ll share what to DO with the donors in your portfolio.

Read the series:

  1. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #1, Build Your Portfolio (This post)
  2. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #2, The Plan to Build Meaningful Relationships
  3. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: BONUS Simple Strategy to Build Relationships Immediately
  4. A Beginner’s Guide to Major Donor Fundraising Success: Step #3, How to Ask for a Major Gift

Call a Major Who Hasn’t Given Yet (and here’s what to say)

Steven Screen  |  Year-End
Call a major.

Here’s another quick tip for you as the year-end approaches…

Call a major donor who hasn’t given a gift yet.

Here’s what to do (this will be easy for some nonprofits, hard for others):

  1. Make sure you know exactly who your major donors are.
  2. Run a report to see which of them haven’t given in the second half of this year.
  3. Call each Major who hasn’t given recently, or who you think could give another gift this year.

Here’s What to Say

Our approach is that this call is a reminder – a service to the donor – not a direct Ask.

Take as much of the following script as is helpful to you and the context of each donor.

“I’m calling because I know how much you love helping [beneficiaries/cause], and I noticed that we hadn’t received a gift from you yet, here at the end of the year. You and your generosity have been extraordinary. So I wanted to call to see if there’s anything you need from me, or [your organization name], to help you make a gift or decide to make one.”

Then stop talking. Be comfortable with tension (if there is any). Let the donor speak next and take the conversation from there.

Pro major gift fundraisers will also be prepared with three things:

  1. How much you’d like the donor to give
  2. What her gift will do / the outcomes her gift will create
  3. Reasons her gift is needed before the end of the year

But even if you don’t have those things, make the call. Making the call is the most important element.

If your call goes to voicemail, leave the message on voicemail.

And if you can’t make the call, send an email. But only if you can’t call.

It Won’t Work for Every Major Donor –

Because nothing works for everyone.

But for some majors who have been busy, or traveling, or were on the way to sending you a gift but put down your letter and forgot – you’ll be providing them a great service. You’ll be helping them give a gift that they would love to make!

And you’ll be raising more money!