Identify, Approach, & Engage Major Gift Donors
New year, new fundraising goals! In order to successfully reach the new goals your nonprofit has set for 2021, you should be taking a close look at your overall fundraising strategy. One crucial fundraising tactic that should absolutely be a part of your strategy (and that many nonprofits overlook) is major gifts.
Cogeo defines a major gift as a donation that meets or exceeds .1% or 1/1000th of your organization’s annual budget. So, if your budget is $500,000, a major gift would equal $500 or more. These significant donations allow you to be highly strategic and tactical with your team’s time and energy -- and are a key component to meeting your goals.
Because this is so important, Cogeo has put together this guide to help you identify the high-net-worth or major gift donors in your community and approach them effectively.
The Makings of a Major Gift Donor
These donors typically fit under Cogeo’s “Triple A” guidelines. This means they have one or more of the following attributes:
Affluence. Those who have the means to make a significant contribution are the ideal prospect, although this is not always obvious or necessary.
Access to other charitable entities (individuals, businesses, or foundations). If an individual in your community is well-connected, it’s important to build a relationship with them in hopes of gaining access to their network.
Affinity for your organization. This is the most important attribute. Those prospects who have a deep appreciation for your nonprofit and the work you are doing will be true advocates for your organization.
If there are any community members or donors in your database that have even one of these attributes, it is worth your time to invite them to a one-on-one meeting where you might uncover additional “A’s” and see how they can contribute to the growth of your organization and the reach of your campaign.
How to Identify Major Gift Donors
1. Analyze Data from your Annual Fundraising Campaign
After finalizing your year-end or annual fundraising campaign, collect and analyze the donor data. Closely review the donation amounts. Those who contributed a donation equaling or exceeding .1% of your annual budget will be considered a major gift donor.
One additional step you could take is to look at those donors who nearly donated a major gift and consider approaching them as well.
These donors should receive separate personalized thank you letters or emails from both the Executive Director and Board Chairman. They should also be organized and tracked with other major gifts donors so they may receive quarterly updates on how their funds are being used and how they’ve impacted your community.
2. Establish a VIP List
Uncover the individuals who have the strongest affinity for your organization by establishing a VIP List. VIP List members will receive more communication from the organization such as news, upcoming events, and other ways they can be involved.
Give everyone from your community the opportunity to join, then gauge which members might have the capacity to become a major gift donor or introduce you to major gift donors through their network. These individuals will likely be energized to boost your campaign however they can.
3. Build a Steering Committee
A Steering Committee is a group of key individuals who will help drive your fundraising campaign forward. Your Steering Committee members should have at least one of the “Triple A” attributes mentioned above -- affinity for your organization, access to other charitable entities, and affluence (if possible).
Unlike most, this “committee” will not be time consuming. No group meetings or long agendas. Its members will simply serve as connectors throughout the campaign and help spread awareness about your organization, its mission, and its fundraising goals. Steering Committee members will be encouraged to create their own prospect lists and strategically introduce your organization’s leadership to individuals in their network. More social members might be asked to host or participate in small gatherings called cultivation events, to promote your campaign.
This is a tactical group that will only be engaged when opportunities arise.
4. Wealth Screening
If possible, you can conduct a wealth screening on your database. This will scientifically determine where the wealth is within your community and who is best to approach for major gift opportunities.
For instance, Cogeo has the capability to run an analysis on a database and uncover which individuals or families have a net worth of over $1MM. This information allows us to determine who has the capacity to be a major gift donor and who we should approach first.
How to Approach Major Gift Donors
If the individual has already donated a major gift then they should already be in a stewardship cycle. As mentioned before, these individuals should be updated on a quarterly basis about where their money is going and how your organization has progressed over the past 3 months.
The most tactical way to approach these donors for a one-on-one meeting is within your quarter 3 update. Simply mention at the end of your email, letter, or call that you’d like to set up a time in the next few months to sit down and talk with them about what the next year looks like for your organization.
If the individual has NOT yet donated a major gift, but you believe they have the capacity or the willingness to contribute a significant amount or help your campaign, then you should invite them to a one-on-one meeting.
Consider how this person prefers to be approached. Do you see them regularly? Are they best with email? Phone? If this person has been introduced to the organization through a specific staff or Board member, then consider having them make the introduction. The goal is to get the invitation to them in an efficient and compelling way that encourages them to agree to meet with you.
When you have the chance to connect with them, your messaging should go something like this:
How to Execute a Major Gifts Meeting
Depending on how your conversation goes with the individual, you may choose to meet them in an office or somewhere comfortable. Given COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines, you may want to meet somewhere outside or even online over platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet.
This is a general breakdown of how a meeting with a general gifts donor might unfold:
Ask how long they have to meet and tailor the meeting accordingly
Provide a brief update of your organization’s previous year and what their donation was used for
Walk through the aspects of your case statement that the individual will be most interested in
Answer questions
Make your ask (“Will you consider matching last year’s donation of $10,000 to our campaign?”)
If you do not have a dollar amount in mind, you can also use this language for an ask: “Please consider a gift at whatever level you are comfortable to this year’s campaign.”
Remain silent while they consider, wait patiently for their response!
Regardless of the response, ask whom else they are connected to (corporations, foundations, or individuals) that would have affinity for and be interested in your campaign
After your meeting, continue to perform the standard stewardship tactics. Ideally, your organization has a data management system or CRM to keep information and tasks organized.