If you’ve been following the Major Gifts Challenge, we’re getting closer and closer to asking for a gift.
And if you haven’t been following along, it’s never too late to start!
Let’s take another quick look at the four stages of the fundraising cycle.
1. Identification
Congratulations! You’ve already identified your top prospective donors.
2. Cultivation
Building relationships with prospects and engaging them with your organization so they feel more inclined to support your cause.
3. Solicitation
The moment of truth: The Ask.
4. Stewardship
The follow up process – more than just a simple “thank you.”
Cultivating Major Gifts
The next step before asking for a major gift is to cultivate the people on your list.
In the previous weeks, you should have created a cultivation plan for your prospective donors and, if you haven’t already done so, started working your cultivation plan.
The goal of each cultivation activity is to move you one step closer to asking for a Major Gift.
With each cultivation activity you do, ask yourself, “How is this bringing me closer to asking for a gift?”
What did you learn about a donor and how will that help you secure a gift?
Did you find out what motivates them to be philanthropic?
Did you find out what they love most about your organization, and which area they would like to see grow or personally support?
Action Item of the Week — 2 hours or less
Take your cultivation plan and put it into practice.
Start by taking your top 10 prospects (from your prospect list) and complete one cultivation activity for each individual, from their cultivation plan.
Who will you call for a meeting? Who needs to be invited for a tour? Go ahead and schedule in-person meetings with at least 5 of your top prospects for the next two weeks.
I just finished presenting at the International Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Conference in San Diego. In my speech, I mentioned Brian Tracey’s book, Eat that Frog.
The premise of the book is that if you do your most dreaded task first (eating a frog) then you can be much more productive.
You know you need to cultivate your prospects before you can ask them for a major gift, so don’t delay, cultivate today! Eat that frog!
Recap: Begin Putting Your Cultivation Plan into Practice
As always, I encourage you to post your comments and concerns. My role in the Challenge is to hold your hand and guide you through each step. So share your progress with me and I promise to offer my professional advice and words of encouragement.
Leave your comment below — I read each and every one and I’ll leave no question unanswered.
This post is part of Amy’s Major Gifts Challenge. Read the entire series to learn how to solicit major gifts by spending just a few hours each month.
How do I know who is able to make a large gift? How do I know their income or ability? Where does that information come from?
Great question, Edith. Unfortunately, it certainly is a challenge. And, what someone is capable of giving and what they are willing to give could be two totally different figures. First, start with people who are already giving to your organization, so you know they are interested in your mission and your organization, and that they are philanthropic in nature.
If you had lots of time and resources (which people at small development shops never do) then there are ways to research a person’s net worth. However, I’ve often found this research faulty, so the best way to find out what a person CAN AND WILL give is to ask them.
During cultivation, disucss the organization’s needs, and tell them that you hope they might consider supporting the organiztion in a bigger way. We will get to the specifics of asking – how much, etc., later on in the Major GIfts Challenge, but I hope this is helpful for now.
Amy,
I spent some time calling and talking to seven of my top and most loyal donors. What I found is that many of them are previous volunteers, either board members or listeners. When someone gets involved in our agency and can see mission in action, it really motivates them. They all appreciated my call and were more than willing to talk to me. (Which means I need to work on getting more people in our doors to see us in action more often.)
What I found is a deep loyalty and passion for what we do. And they like the organization as it is. There’s not much they would change, except for us to grow. And that, Amy, is a great entrée into giving more – for us to grow. All I needed to do was listen what was important to them and I know what to do to make them feel that they will be contributing to something important, because they’ve already told me that they value what we do and why.
I’m assuming from here we’re going to discuss the mechanics of the gift in our ask, the who, what, where and when of it.
Amy, your advice has been so helpful to me. I am blessed to have a major donor challenge us with a two to one match to build an endowment fund. Your timing is perfect for me as I set out to raise money to meet the maximum match. Thank you.
Joanne, thank you for your post! I, too, have had this experience and it is a wonderful thing when thing start to gel, isn’t it?
Woo Hoo! Thanks Joanne and Gretchen. I’m so glad this is helpful for both of you. Yes, we are getting to the what, when, where, why, and how much of asking! For now – Cultivate those donors!
Hi Amy,
Where do lapsed donors fit into the cycle? What is the best way to re-engage lapsed donors if you think they are/could be major donor prospects?
Thanks!
Suzanne
Hi Suzanne,
Great question. Treat them somewhere between non-donors and donors. In other words, they will need more cultivation and engagement than loyal donors. Call them to ask them for a meeting. During that meeting, ask them how they feel about your organization, why they started donating, and why they stopped (although they may not be aware they stopped, so be careful on this one). Also, be prepared to really LISTEN if they say they had a bad experience with the organization. Dig deep – find out what happened and if there’s anything that can be done to repair the damage. Invite them to volunteer as a way to improve the organization. Continue to cultivate and build the relationship. If you have board members who are friends with the person, use them to help.
Let me know how it goes.
Amy
Hi Amy,
I often struggle with the first ask “which is to ask them to meet with me”. What suggestions do you have when making the first contact call? I have asked to give them a tour and often they don’t agree. What is the best practices in getting them to meet? Any magic words?
Sharre
Hi Sharre,
Yes – tell them you’d like to get together to ask for their advice. Let them know you’re willing to meet them at their home or office – at their convenience, and won’t take up too much of their time.
Here are some questions you can ask them when you meet: What do they like most/least about your organization. What suggestions do they have for improvement. What do they wish you did more of/better. How is your organization perceived in the community and what should you do to improve your reputation/increase awareness about your organization.
I hope that helps!
Amy
Thanks Amy! I have one more question, Is it ok for my assistant to call to set up the meetings for me or should the call come from me directly? Thanks again for all your insight.
Hi Sharre,
It’s better for you to set up the meetings, but if you need your assistant to help, that’s okay too. Remember, you’re building relationships, so you want to connect as much as possible.
How do you encourage your Pres/CEO to make calls and develop his/her own relationships to secure funding? Fundraising should not just happen from the Devel dept but sometimes it can be very hard to get the head of the orgn to make calls. Any tips for encouraging the CEO to also ‘get out there’ when he/she would rather not spend the time doing this?
Marie
My position was just turned into a development job 2 months ago. My job description includes “coaching the board for fundraising activities”. Today I told to “just go out and get donations” but that I should not expect (or even ask) my board for their support and/or involvement. It sounds like my job is on the line.
Should I even bother to be successful?
Hi Cory,
Point your boss to my website or books if you dare – and back to your job description. Sounds like it could be time to polish up that resume.
I find that a tour is a great icebreaker, and once donors see the faces of the recipients of their gifts; they move very quickly through the process.