NonProfit PRO

FEBRUARY 7, 2022

That’s why we’re starting a major gifts program.” This is how many leaders think the economy of a major gifts program works. These leaders need a dose of economic reality as it relates to major gifts. “We need more money. They decide to do it and — bam! — the money starts to flow in immediately.

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NonProfit PRO

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

Have you ever blundered into disaster asking for a major gift? A blunder is a careless mistake. It happens when you don’t 100% have a handle on what you’re doing, so taking good care becomes challenging. Let's review the top eight blunders I have encountered.

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Nonprofits Management Fundraising Fundraising 245

NonProfit PRO

AUGUST 16, 2021

What he said is that the investment in a major gifts officer (MGO) was not worth the result in revenue in the first two years of the MGOs tenure — and that those donors were better off just being communicated with by direct mail. Now, to be fair, he didn’t exactly say it that way.

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Finance Retention Communication Management 280

NonProfit PRO

APRIL 18, 2024

Nonprofits need to understand that major donor fundraising has a seasonality. Here's some guidance on how to work with this ebb and flow.

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Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 228

NonProfit PRO

JULY 25, 2022

I am often asked for a formula for adding major gift officers (MGOs) to an organization. And while there are many variables to consider, they boil down to these four points.

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NonProfit PRO

FEBRUARY 21, 2022

A major gift caseload is not just a bunch of donors who meet a certain giving or capacity criteria. Current giving and capacity play into the selection of a caseload pool. From this pool, you should qualify the donors who want to connect.

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NonProfit PRO

JUNE 14, 2021

In major gifts, there is nothing better than a good finance person to be your partner. If you have a good one, pour on the love. They need affirmation just like you do, and they do not get enough of it. If you have a bad one, try to win them over through education, information and appreciation.

Finance 288

Finance Education Education 288

Veritus Group

MAY 8, 2024

We recommend setting an aspirational goal that will help you imagine the possibility of asking for a larger gift. The post Do You Need Both Revenue AND Aspirational Goals in Major Gifts? appeared first on Veritus Group.

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Finance Fundraising Fundraising 77

NonProfit PRO

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

As a major gifts officer, the primary question asked is, essentially, “How’s the money coming in?” The finance office needs to know because it can't pay the bills with air. The goal you made also set an expectation that a certain amount of money would come in. So, it is a fair question.

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Finance 288

Top Nonprofits

JANUARY 10, 2024

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project , a drop in gifts from major donors and a decrease in donor retention have led to fundraising challenges for nonprofits this year. As a nonprofit professional, you know that major gifts don’t just appear out of thin air.

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Management Retention Volunteerism Volunteerism 105

NonProfit PRO

MAY 3, 2021

Below is a perfect example from our colleague Diana Frazier on how she advised a major gift officer to use a news story to support a major gift ask. I am going to explain exactly how it happened so you can copy the idea for your situation.

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NonProfit PRO

AUGUST 9, 2021

So, the major gift program suffers because you’re not feeding major gifts a healthy diet of qualified major donors. Donors get stuck at a mid-level point of giving because even though they are giving at higher levels, nonprofits are still cultivating them like a $20 donor.

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Nonprofits Management 264

The Chronicle of Philanthropy

OCTOBER 6, 2023

By Elaine Gantz Wright Getty Images Experts explain why a data strategy is no longer optional and share real-world examples of how they use data to attract big gifts.

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Fundraising Fundraising 258

Get Fully Funded

MAY 9, 2024

When it comes to reaching your nonprofit’s revenue goals, major gifts are critical. For the average nonprofit, roughly 80% of all revenue comes from only 20% of its donors—and most of these earnings are major gifts. What role should marketing play in your major gift strategy? Let’s get started!

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Marketing Marketing Public and Nonprofit Management Participation and motivation 52

Bloomerang

NOVEMBER 10, 2023

This small portion of your nonprofit’s supporter base is known as your major donors. To secure the support of these crucial donors, your nonprofit needs to build a robust major gifts fundraising strategy. Because major gifts are so large, it requires time and dedication to cultivate and acquire more of these donations.

Public and Nonprofit Management 97

Public and Nonprofit Management Retention Management Fundraising 97

Donorbox Nonprofit

DECEMBER 15, 2023

When looking for fundraising tactics that will bring in major gifts and other large donations, sometimes you have to be willing to spend money to make money. We’ve put together a list of these high-dollar […] The post 7 Big Money Fundraising Ideas to Bring in Major Gifts appeared first on Nonprofit Blog.

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Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 104

iMarketSmart

MARCH 27, 2024

In our quest to inspire past major donors and board members to refer us to their friends and colleagues, we must first address the following five significant obstacles that stand in our way. The post How to generate referrals for major gifts appeared first on MarketSmart LLC. What do you think of these ideas?

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Values Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 52

NonProfit PRO

JUNE 21, 2023

Here’s a look at how to cultivate event attendees into major donors. After all, events are a great entry point where you can make a donor want to be part of the community your nonprofit is building around your cause or mission.

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Nonprofits 242

iMarketSmart

JULY 7, 2023

If you want to hear how the best major gift officers succeed (and fail) in fundraising… look no further The Greatest Worry of Newly Wealthy Families – and How Major Gift Officers Can Help LIKE THIS BLOG POST? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AND/OR SHARE IT WITH YOUR PEERS!

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Fundraising Fundraising Philanthropy Nonprofits 52

iMarketSmart

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

Understanding the motives for why donors make major gifts is a big part of successful fundraising. Take away the stated reason for giving, and the donor will still find another reason to make a gift because there is something more primal going on inside them. Making major gifts can operate in the same reciprocal manner.

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Universities Values Education Education 52

Clairification

JANUARY 18, 2024

Twice at the end of last calendar year I was asked for a major gift. The post How NOT to Ask for a Major Gift appeared first on Clairification. Pretty much out of the blue. Without much preparation, relationship-building or making of an inspiring case for support. It was not so clear what I would get out of it.

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Values 64

Veritus Group

OCTOBER 25, 2023

Mid-level and major gift criteria should be related to the amount of labor an organization has to properly cultivate and manage those donors. The post Get Rid of Your Ridiculous Mid-Level & Major Gift Classifications appeared first on Veritus Group.

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Management 88

NonProfit PRO

NOVEMBER 8, 2022

As year-end approaches, it's even more important that you’re focusing your energy in the most impactful places. So, here are eight more tips that will help you prioritize, focus, and create space to make sure you’re taken care of and end your year strong.

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Energy 286

Amy Eisenstein

MAY 2, 2024

The Major Gifts Challenge is back and new and improved. Commit just a few hours each week and you'll be raising major gifts in no time! Watch this video.

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NonProfit PRO

APRIL 19, 2021

Whether you are in social services, relief and development, education, the environment, some form of medical research or care, or any of the scores of nonprofit causes that exist today, no matter what it is you do, you can feel deeply about it. You just need to let yourself do it. .

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Medical Education Education Nonprofits 264

Bloomerang

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Even better, Bloomerang customers can use DonorSearch to identify volunteers with high potential to be major donors—without upsetting the Volunteer Director. there are lots of great opportunities to create volunteer opportunities for volunteers that reveal major gift potential. Their generosity might surprise you!

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Management Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 72

Bloomerang

OCTOBER 20, 2021

Believe it or not, I’ve found that there are parallels between one of the greatest Halloween movies ever made and major gift fundraising. Well, donor loyalty is the biggest factor in determining and stewarding potential major donors. Use prospect research to identify potential major donors. . Make the ask. . “In

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Fundraising Fundraising Activism Communication 135

iMarketSmart

FEBRUARY 14, 2024

How do you find, attract, and qualify people who can give major gifts to your nonprofit organization? But what continues to distress gift officers and others who work at large nonprofits is – even with the newest technologies like AI – their caseloads continue to be bloated with too many people who aren’t qualified to give major gifts.

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Values Medical Technology Fundraising 52

iMarketSmart

MARCH 20, 2024

Planned gifts often constitute some of the biggest gifts charities ever receive. We’re going to give you three legacy giving language tools you can use to bring up the idea of a planned gift, and none of them require going near the subject of death. But winning them requires you to make the donor think about their own death.

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Fundraising Fundraising Construction Universities 59

iMarketSmart

JULY 17, 2023

Some gifts may help reputation, while others won’t. Theory: The monomyth Showing that “people like me make gifts like this” matches the primal-giving game. That cycle is, Showing that “people like me make gifts like this” connects ● Original identity→ Challenge Who is “like me?” The gift helps my group. It’s complicated.

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Psychology Altruism and Helping Public and Nonprofit Management Fundraising 98

Candid

APRIL 14, 2021

One way to get more funding is to start or grow your major gifts program to channel resources toward an equitable recovery for all. Starting a major gifts program can be intimidating. First, define (or revise) what a major gift is at your organization. Major gifts fundraising is a team sport.

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Health Finance Management Culture 105

Fundraising Coach

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

One of the biggest mistakes I see with major gift solicitations is incredibly easy to fix. If you've ever made an appointment for a major gift ask, you've probably felt the stress of "getting it wrong." So they think that it must be their own intuition warning them against making a gift. What do you want?

Fundraising 108

Fundraising Fundraising Nonprofits 108

iMarketSmart

APRIL 12, 2022

If you looked up suggestions for which major gifts metrics and KPIs your organization should be measuring, most of what you’d find would seem fairly reasonable. The typical metrics measure activities quantitatively, such as number of calls, number of visits, number of solicitations, number of gifts, and so on. Staying constant?

Fundraising 98

Fundraising Fundraising Values Activism 98

Amy Eisenstein

MARCH 12, 2024

The Major Gifts Challenge is back and new and improved. Commit just a few hours each week and you'll be raising major gifts in no time! Watch this video.

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iMarketSmart

AUGUST 9, 2023

Are the people working as major gift officers at your organization in the right role? If your organization is going to continue to deliver a consistent flow of major gifts in the coming decades, you need to ramp up your ability to hire the right people for major gifts positions. You also lose the resources.

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Race and Ethnicity Universities Philanthropy Education 52

Veritus Group

FEBRUARY 17, 2023

This is the third post in a series about the barriers that prevent non-profits from achieving success in major gifts. The post Frustrating Things Non-Profits Do that Hijack Major Gifts: Part 3 appeared first on Veritus Group.

Non-Profits 70

Non-Profits Leadership Management Fundraising 70

Amy Eisenstein

MARCH 5, 2024

The Major Gifts Challenge is back and new and improved. Commit just a few hours each week and you'll be raising major gifts in no time! Watch this video.

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