{"id":47137,"date":"2022-08-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/?p=47137"},"modified":"2024-05-09T01:53:22","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T01:53:22","slug":"major-donors-how-to-attract-and-keep-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.causevox.com\/blog\/major-donors-how-to-attract-and-keep-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Donors: How to Attract (and Keep) Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019ve been in the fundraising game for a while, you\u2019re aware of the important role major donors play. On average, gifts from major donors make up the bulk of a nonprofit’s fundraising revenue each year<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Put simply, major donors are individuals who make the biggest donations to your org. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who Is A Major Donor?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There isn\u2019t a universal dollar amount that tips someone into the ranks of a major donor – that threshold varies based on the size and budget of a nonprofit. Smaller organizations may consider $500 a major gift, while larger nonprofits may start at a $1,000 mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With any significant donation, major donors aren\u2019t easy to come by no matter how big or small your nonprofit is. It takes time, effort, and trust to build lasting relationships with high-level donors. To help you successfully create and sustain a major donor program, we\u2019ve pulled together key takeaways from this workshop<\/a> with Charles Burge and Chanda Lockhart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About The Presenters <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Charles Burge serves faith-based nonprofits as a Nonprofit Development and Communications Executive. He loves coaching people and helping them find the best way to develop major donors within their organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chanda Lockhart brings 15+ years in development and marketing to the table. She has a background in education and youth-serving orgs, especially grassroots org and small shops. She\u2019s data-obsessed and strives toward community-centric fundraising<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attracting Major Donors: \u201cPeople Give To People\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At its core, fundraising is a people business and it\u2019s intensely personal especially when it comes to major donors. A fundamental concept to keep in mind is that people give to people that they know and trust projects and concepts that they believe in<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As you soak in the mantra above, we\u2019ve dialed in on some guidelines for attracting major donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guidelines for Major Donors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1. Go For The Donor (Not The Dollar) <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

If you go for the dollars, there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019re going to lose the donor. Instead, if you go for the donor, the funding will follow. Your donors are smart and they can sense when a relationship is transactional rather than genuine. In order to truly build a genuine relationship with a major donor, you have to understand their passions and what drives them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Provide Value<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Give your major donors a reason to talk to you. Ask yourself, what value do you provide for them? For instance, the value that you provide can be your organization\u2019s mission and the impact of your programs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Be Honest<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t overpromise and underdeliver. Remember, people give to people they know and trust,<\/em> which means you have to prove yourself trustworthy to your major donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Do No Harm<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Building relationships with major donors is a lot like taking the hippocratic oath. Respect your donors, their privacy, and their boundaries. If they feel like they\u2019re being played, it erodes any existing trust and the potential longevity of a relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Greater The Engagement, Greater The Giving<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This one is kind of obvious – the more that your major donor is involved with you and engaged with your organization, the greater the giving will be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Steps of Donor Cultivation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Donor cultivation is a lot like dating. You\u2019re trying to get to know the person better over time, build a relationship, and hopefully have them stick with you for the long haul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Discovery<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In this step, you\u2019re identifying prospects<\/a>. Your donor is getting to know you and you\u2019re getting to know them. After a while you get the sense of whether or not they\u2019re interested. If they\u2019re not interested, it won\u2019t do you any good to continue pursuing a relationship so you have to respect them and move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Cultivate<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Cultivation is all about getting to know your major donor<\/a> at a deeper level. It\u2019s learning their communication preferences and finding out where their passions and interests lie. Once you understand these critical aspects about your major donor, you can craft an outreach strategy tailored to their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Ask<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Similar to how you wouldn\u2019t propose to someone on the first date, you want to build a solid connection with your major donor before making a big ask<\/a>. If it seems awkward when you pop the question, you\u2019re probably not doing it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Report<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Donors want to know the impact of their gifts. How you report back to a donor is going to vary with the donor, especially a major donor. Some major donors are story-oriented; they want to hear a story about how their gift impacted a family or individual. Still, others may prefer high-level stats or an executive summary<\/a> of what you accomplished in the last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Repeat <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

These donor cultivation<\/a> steps are actually part of an infinite cycle. After reporting back (and thanking) your major donor, you\u2019ll want to keep them engaged with your mission in hopes that they will renew or increase their gift.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retaining Major Donors <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you\u2019ve got your first gift from a major donor, you\u2019re probably wondering how you get them to come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Personalized Stewardship?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Having a personalized stewardship plan is a fail-proof approach to retaining major donors. It\u2019s a systematic approach to cultivating, improving, and maintaining your relationships with major donors. In order to successfully steward a relationship<\/a>, you\u2019re going to have to lay some groundwork:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Groundwork<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Is Their Relationship With You, A Board Member, Or The Organization? <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, you want your donors to create a relationship with the organization and its mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because you\u2019ll see that donors follow their friends. When you have a major donor tied to a board member (or an individual affiliated with your org), you will usually lose the gift or see a decrease in giving once that individual rolls off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personalization<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Personalize your communications to your donor! Rather than sending generic emails, use their first name or add a personal note. These small touches really do make all the difference by showing your donors that you care. People give to people – not to email machines<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donor Intention<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Donors have different reasons they give and it\u2019s important to understand why they give<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n