Congratulations on making the commitment to take the Major Gifts Challenge!
If you missed the first post, click the link below:
Be Rich and Famous: Take the Major Gifts Challenge
Are you ready to start raising major gifts?
Good!
What is a Major Gift?
The first step is to define what a “Major Gift” is for you. The term major gift means something different at every organization.
For example, when I started my career in fundraising at the battered women’s shelter, we rarely received gifts (excluding grants) over $1,000. When we received our first $10,000 there was cause for major celebration around the office — that was a MAJOR Gift. We considered any gift from an individual over $5,000 a major gift.
On the other hand, when I worked at Rutgers University many moons ago, we considered a major gift any gift over $25,000. And, during the same period of time, just down the road from Rutgers was Princeton University where Major Gifts were $100,000 or more. And I imagine by now it’s $1 million or more.
If you’re at a small organization, just getting started with individual giving and major gifts, it would be ridiculous to hold you to the standards of Princeton University.
So, what’s considered a major gift at your organization?
Remember major gifts don’t have to be over six figures to be considered major, and they aren’t only for capital campaigns. There’s no better way to skyrocket your annual fund than to infuse it with some major gift power.
Action Item of the Week — 2 hours or less
Determine what constitutes a major gift at your organization.
Step 1: Check your database (donor records) to identify your top five individual donors (not foundation funders). What is the range of your top five donors’ gifts? Is one of the gifts significantly more than the other four? For example, four are $1,000 each and one is $10,000 or more?
NOTE: You’re working to expand individual giving, so don’t include foundations on this list. If you have donors who give from their family foundations, but you don’t need to submit grant applications, it’s fine to include them on the list (they’re really individuals who are giving through a foundation).
Step 2: Pick an amount that you think would be a good major gift level as a result of step 1 — let’s say $10,000. Then, run a report to determine how many people have given at that level or above (cumulatively) in the last twelve months. Depending on the number of donors you have, if there are a lot of people who have given over that amount, it’s too low. If you don’t have any donors at that amount, then it could be too high.
A Donor Database is a Must
No database?
It’s time to start one.
A database is a computerized method of keeping donor records, and if you’re going to be serious about fundraising, you need one. That’s not to say you need expensive fundraising software. Microsoft Access is just fine. (By the way, Microsoft Excel is NOT a database, for those of you using it as such.) I discuss donor databases in both of my books if you need additional info.
Choosing Your Major Gift Amount
Remember, fundraising is an art and a science. In this case, there are no hard rules to determining what you consider a major gift at your organization.
If you’re still not sure, here’s a good rule of thumb: An appropriate level for a major gift is an amount where approximately five percent of your donors can (and will) give at that level. It should be high enough that when you receive one, it’s cause for celebration at your office. But, it shouldn’t be so high that you never receive one.
After you’ve identified an appropriate level for major gifts, have a discussion with your executive director, development staff, and key board members to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
Be realistic and yet optimistic when picking an amount. If you’ve never received a gift of over $1,000, then $25,000 is too big of a stretch. In that case, you should probably start with $5,000 or less.
You’ll see later this spring that the gift amount and how much you can raise depends largely on who you have in your donor pool. We’ll get into that later.
Recap: Set Your Major Gift
So for this week, determine the amount you will consider a major gift at your organization. The number doesn’t need to be set in stone – you can always raise it once you start to see some success.
After determining an amount, please share your amount in the comments. Tell us how much you consider a major gift at your organization and how you came to that decision. Posting your number in public will solidify it for you, as well as help us celebrate when you get your first gift of that size this year!
If you have other ways of determining how much a major gift should be, please share them in the comments. This is a dialogue among nonprofit professionals, so your own expertise is welcome.
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.
Amy our higest individual gift amounts are betwwen $1,000 and $1,500 based on this information what should our MG level be?
Cate
You may want to set it at $2,000 or even stretch to $5,000. Do you think your donors have the capacity to do $5,000? If so, then set it at $5,000.
Amy, I’m excited to participate in this challenge. We have 3 “BIG” donors who give between $30,000 and $50,000 each year. This is waaaay above our typical large gifts. Out of 500 donors only about 40 give between $1,000 and $5,000. Most are $250 or less. With such a huge variance how would I determine what we would consider a major gift. Also, we are located in a very small rural town, not a metropolitan area which I think also determines what a major gift could be. Am I wrong? Thanks for your help!!
Sounds like you’re doing great, Lynn! I would probably consider major gifts at $5,000 or even $10,000 at your organization. You’ll work this year to get your $1,000 donors closer to the $5,000 level, and your $5,000 donors up to $10,000.
Our major gifts in our “LitCircle” begin at:
$1,000+ (Partners) 60 donors
$5,000+ (Advocates) 16 donors
$10,000+ (Innovators) 8 donors
$25,000+ (Leaders) 2 donors
$50,000+ (Visionaries) 7 donors
total of 93 donors in our LitCircle.
Fantastic, Jeff! You already have your levels set. You’ll want to work to move several donors up to new levels this year. Looking forward to hearing about your success.
I bow to your boldness Jeff! Thank you for teaching me (unknowingly,of course) that I need to be bold!
A board member contributed $96,000 last year to get the organization up and running, but among other donors, the largest cumulative gifts we received were from three donors–one gave a total of $10,000, another gave a total of $3,000 and another gave one gift of $2,000 from his family foundation. I think $10,000 is a good place to set our major gift level for now-we’ve already received this amount before, but only from two donors, so while it’s realistic, it also gives us a goal to shoot for when cultivating our other individual donors.
Sounds good to me too, Elizabeth!
We found that over the past two years, 7% of our individual donors gave over $1,000, 3% gave over $1,500, and 1% gave over $2,000. So, I’m thinking a major gift is $1,500. We have a lot of individual donors who give $300-400 over the course of a year, and we have received individual gifts and family foundation gifts in the range of $5,000-20,000.
I suggest you stretch and make it $2,500.
Yes. I like that.
Hi Amy – Our individual donor major gift amount has been decided on – $5,000. We receive higher amounts from corporations and foundations but our individual gifts hover between $1,000 and $5,000. with most giving $1,00 – $2,500. FYI, I just ordered “50 Asks” book.
Moving forward! Thank you.
Thanks, Genevieve! Sounds like you’re on the right track.
Amy, we have one individual that gives us $5,000, and one who gives us $2,500, a few at $1,000 and then the rest below. I’m thinking a major gift at our organization should be set at $5,000 – what do you think? This was eye opening to me as I have always thought we should set our major gift at $1,000 as we are so new at fundraising in this organization.
I realize that this post and this week’s activity is focused on a specific dollar amount, but in the long run, you’ll see that it’s really about moving people up a giving “ladder”. Whether you consider a major gift $2,500 or $5,000 is up to you and you’ll adjust the amount as you get larger and larger gifts.
We are starting from scratch, so we do not have a donor base or data base.
Our funding has come from government, earned income, foundations and a few corpoate donations of no more than $2500. At this point in our development, $1,000- $5,000 would be a major gift. We will set up a donor/data base. Your thoughts….
Hi Lyn,
Yes, set up a donor database as soon as possible, so that you can grow a list of supporters and track their giving!
Amy …
You mentioned excluding foundations. How do event sponsors fit in? For our organization, event sponsors, which are typically vendors, have been our major donors. Do you look at them as a major donors? Should I use their gifts when trying to calculate what a major gift is for us. Where do they fit in?
Olivia – Would your vendors continue to sponsor or donate once you stop using their services? If not, I think you know the answer. If you can engage the business owners on a personal level, that’s great. Then, ask them for donations in addition to sponsorship.
We decided to go with $3,500 which will consist of donors who give 1% or more to our total operating budget. This ends up being our top ten individuals.
Only 10 donors gave us over $1,000 in last 12 months. I thought it would be more. Of these 10 donors, the gifts range in size from $2500 to $25,000 – quite a range. The $25,000 is a bequest pledge, so we did not actually receive the money. Excluding that figure, the range is $2500 to $10,400.
I should have mentioned that we have a database (Raiser’s Edge) of about 38,000 constituents. Of that 38,000, we have 2,333 donors who have given – all amounts – in the last 5 years.
Although a bequest commitment is exciting, it’s not a gift until realized. I would start at $10,000 and see if you can move those $1,000 – $5,000 donors up the giving ladder.
At this point, I think our organization would consider $5,000 and above to be major. Aside from foundation/corporate grants, the “above” goes up to a few instances of $30,000, $40,000, or even $50,000 in a given year. Certainly not the norm, but every year will have a handful in that five-figure range.
We consider any single gift over $500 to be a major gift. We define a major donor as anyone who has given a single gift in the last 24 months of $500+ or gave a gift of $5,000 or more to our capital campaign (which ended in 2009). This is set by the Director of Development, CEO and Development Committee; I am the Major Gift Officer which was a newly created position in 2012. We have roughly 400 donors who fit that definition. Based on your advice at setting a major gift level amount, I think it would be $15,000.
My position has a goal of at least one $15,000 gift this year and moving a good amount of $1,000 donors to $2,500 and $2,500 donors to $5,000.
One thing I would like to hear more about from you and other readers during this challenge is what metrics and tracking reports are being used for major gifts on a monthly basis. We have Raiser’s Edge, but for the most part have made our reports from scratch.
Thanks!
Hi Kourtney – I think a major gift for you would be around $5,000 or even $10,000. If you’re only going for one at $15,000, that’s probably too high. Raiser’s Edge should have all types of reports to help do what you’re looking to do. Call their tech support line or plan to attend a training.
Our donors give between $50- $500, but a few have given $1,000-2,000. I believe our major gift level would be $3500, at least. It appears that aside from a few fundraisers, money is donated primarily from a once a year letter campaign.
Genevieve – You’ve come to the right place. Let’s try to get some of those $500 donors to give $1,000 or more this year. Your major gift level really may be closer to $1,000 and up.
5% of our individual donors give $10k or more, 13% give $1k or more. Only 6% give $5k or more. We want to start with Major Gift being $5k or more. Your thoughts?
Hi Cathy –
If you have more than a handful of donors giving $10,000 or more, then I would set your major gift level at $10,000. How many donors equals 5%? Is it one or two or is it ten or more?
Hi Amy,
The top tier ($1,000 and above) of donors to our Annual Appeal consists of 300 donors.
Their gifts are segmented as follows:
•1-$10,000
•5-$5,000+
•19-$2,500+
•17-$2,000+
•60-$1,500+
•25-$1,250+
•173-$1,000+
I’m thinking a major gift threshold of $10,000.
Hi NIck,
Looks like you’re in a great position to move lots of donors up the giving ladder. You could say a major gift is $10,000 or even $5,000. Can’t wait to hear how many donors you have over the $5,000 level at the end of this year! You’ll want to laser focus on the ones giving at the $2,000 and up!
The gift range of our top five donors all-time is $2,5,00-$10,000. For the past 24-month period, it’s $1,700-$5,000. I think we should set our major gift level at $2,500. We are presently using Microsoft Access and are planning to purchase additional fundraising software in the next few months.
Our top five largest donors made gifts in the $50,000 – $5,000 range. The $50,000 gift was a big success for our organization as this was the first times a donor was carefully cultivated and solicited. I would like to set our minimum major gift level at $10,000, knowing that many of our annual donors who give in the 5,000 range have the potential to move up if properly cultivated and asked throughout the year.
Tina –
Congratulations on the $50,000 gift! I’d love to hear more about how you cultivated and solicited that donor. Yes, I think $10,000 sounds like a great major gift level for you.
At my last job, I set up the first donor database the organization purchased. The organization had 7 major gifts ranging from $1,000-$7,000-all from faith organizations. Major donors in the individual category were 10 or less. The number of donors for the past 3 years was less than 200.
I started meeting with the faith organizations to get on the committee agendas. Unfortunately, I left before any results were seen.
The real problem was that the organization was not ready to fundraise. I was expected to stay glued to my desk and was discouraged from interacting with my coworkers. The management expected fast results from major gifts.
What do you recommed in a situation like this?
Hi Libby,
Sorry to hear about this situation. It’s always challenging when the administration and/or board members of an organization don’t really understand fundraising. In a situation like this, I recommend education. I try to get the executive director and board members to good training – like through AFP, and/or hold a board retreat with an experienced facilitator (like myself). Culture change is always hard.
Hope that helps.
Amy
Great article (as always) Amy!
You have such a wonderful way of bringing clarity to the topic. Thank you.
I agree wholeheartedly with your approach … thanks for sharing it.
Best,
Kent
We’ve had major donors who have given $50k to $100k and pledges of up to a million all for our capital campaign. I’m thrilled when we get $10k but I’m thinking $25k is more in line for our major gifts. We don’t have a large database but we are trying to reach out to more people to grow this lists. Our org is less than 10 years old and we had some major believers who donated to get us started.
Sounds like you’re doing great, Nic. Can’t wait to hear about $10,000 and $25,000 gifts you get this year.
Amy, I’m a little behind on the assignments, but in 2012 we had a one-time gift that hit $15,000.00. Additionally, we have one donor who gives $2,000.00 per month. They are our highest annual donor at $24,000.00. Finally, we have three others that gave single gifts at $5,000.00,. Everyone else is around $2,000 or below.
So, it seems to me that a major gift for us would be at $5,000.00.
Hi Jim –
I’m glad you’re on board. Don’t feel badly about being behind. You can go at your own pace… as long as you keep going.
$5,000 sounds like a perfect major gift level. Just keep moving donors up from wherever they are!
Thanks for the great article. I’m loving the “top 5%” suggestion, and looking at that, we may consider moving from $1,000 to $2,500. That could be a very strategic move for us at this time. I’ll have to bring that to my development team at our regular meeting Monday morning.
Thanks for the challenge, that’s great!
Thanks, Michael. So glad to have you participating.
I have set $2,500 as our major gift amount. Amy’s suggestion that 5% of our donors can/will give at or above this amount helped me. We have one large donor, then a handful between $5,000 and $15,000. The totals then drop to near $1,000 and quickly fall to the $500 and below level. We will see some at or above this $2,500, but the goal of having more in this range is exciting!! And, it does not feel impossible!
Hooray, Cindy! Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
Should you only identify in the last 12 months? we were looking at the last five years to consider major gifts as they have trickled in throughout that timeframe. We might have only one in last 12 months but a few more over the years. please advise.
Hi Kendyl,
You should certainly look at giving history if you have it. However, if someone gave five years ago, and hasn’t given since, they probably aren’t the best prospect. But, if you have donors who have given four out of the last five years – they are great prospects!
We had one gift over $10,000, one over $5,000, 3 at $5,000 and 7 between $2,500 and $5,000. $10,000 feels like a big stretch for us, but $5,000 seems low. We have some donors capable at the $10,000+ level, so I’m guessing that would be the right spot for us?
Hi Amanda,
Fundraising is an art and a science, so there’s no exact right answer. The only time it really matters is when you are giving “benefits” and recognition credit to one level and not the other. Seems like $5,000 is a major gift for your organization.
My nonprofit is in its infancy so we have to set the major gift low at this time: $1000-5000. We’ve had donations from $300 – $1000 in years past (before becoming a 501c3) so I now it’s out there!
Perfect! You’re on the right track, Carolyn!
We celebrate at $1,000 have 12 people who gave that or more last year. Except for a few people who’ve been founding supporters, $5,000 seems like a significant stretch, $3,000 perhaps for a major gift target?
Laurie,
I love that you celebrate your major gifts! $2,000 or $2,500 seem like good amounts. Remember, fundraising is often more of an art than a science.
Legacy Donors ($50K+): 0
Visionaries ($10K-49,999): 1
Sustainers ($5K-9,999): 0
Companions ($1K- 4,999): 16 (all $1K)
Partners ($50-999): 58
Advocates ($1-249) 153
Our BOD and ED consider a MG to be 1K. What do you think about raising the bar to 5K? Or is 2.5K more reasonable?
Kathryn,
$5,000 seems like a stretch, and I want to make sure you have early successes, and reason to celebrate. $2,500 seems like a major gift to me!
I am just jumping on this major gift train! Our major gift amount is $10,000. When I looked at our list, I thought it might be too low however, when I truly looked at each donor’s giving history and took our the event donations (where they received something in return), I feel like we are on track. So with event info, our top 5 individual donors ranged from $28,420-$12,400. Removing their event donations it changed from $18,620-$6465. Does that sound right to you?
Sounds good to me, Liz!
We have a large donor base and I am developing the first MG program. I typically think of the major gift ask as 3-5 times larger than what they have been giving so it varies per person. I am identifying donors who have given $1,000+ per year for 4+ years.
At the Maryland Humanities Council, we decided that for us, anything of $1,000 or more over a 12-month period would be considered a major gift, and we have had some fair success with this since we did so about 18 months ago. And we’ve branded that level of giving as our Leadership Circle to give donors at that level a sense of exclusivity and appreciation. Perhaps it should be more, but at that time, we were only receiving one or two gifts out of several hundred at that level. Now almost 12% of our gifts are at that level!
Woo hoo, Aaron! Can’t wait to hear more.
Looking at our gift history over 5 years, I think our major gift is anything $5,000 or over (and yes, I would be doing the happy dance). We have maybe 2 individual donors that give at this level, a couple between $2,000-$5,000, 10-15 at $1,000-$2,000. There are quite a few below that. We have not received an individual gift at $10,000 or above in the two years that I have been on staff, so I think that $10,000 might be too much of a stretch for us. What do you think?
Although I do want you to aim high, I also want you to be realistic and have early success. $10,000 seems like too big of a stretch to start. However, I’m sure you’ll get one this year and then we can really celebrate.
In our Southern California region, our gifts range from $1K-$25,000, with the majority falling between $1K-$2,500. Organization-wide, we consider gifts of $1K+ to be major gifts. In the current year, for example, 10 donors out of 121 thus far have given at $1K+, so $1K seems to be the right amount, no?
We are going to set our Major Gifts level at $5000. We have had a handful of people give at or around $1000, one at $2500, and one at $5000. Therefore setting the level at $5000 is a little bit of a reach but still realistic.
Hi Amy.
Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Planning to set our major gift level at $5,000. Last year we received 16 donations at that level or above, but this represents less than 5% of our donor base. Would like to focus on increasing support from our existing supporters as well as identifying potential new donors.
Are we on the right track or are we setting our sights to low?
Thanks for your input!
Elayne
Wanted to add that the 5% of donors that gave $5,000 or more represent 57 of total donations for our last fiscal year.
Hi Elayne,
Sounds like you are on the right track. Once you start having more success, you can always raise the level.
I think we’re going to set it at $10,000. We have had a couple of higher gifts in the last few years. 4 over 10k. 9 between 5-10k, and 7 between 4-5k. We have 220 pledging members. (I’m taking the challenge, starting a little late).
Amy, we are also at the ground level in terms of individual donors. We have had one anonymous $500 donor who asked for nothing in return, and we have one $175 donor, one $125 donor, two $50 donors, and eight $25 donors (we call them members) who receive various tangible benefits, such as discounts on tickets. However, we have had some corporate sponsors: one at the $1500 level (actually $3000 for the year, but spread out over two events), one at the $500 level (again $1000 spread over two events), and several $250 sponsors. Both donors and sponsors receive tangible benefits besides the good feeling of donating to our organization.
What should our MG level be based on these meager donations?
Hi Ellen,
I would probably start at $500 or even $1,000. It doesn’t make any sense to call $100 or even $250 a “major gift”. Sponsors are in a different category than individuals, so don’t confuse the two.
And, that doesn’t mean that you can’t ask individuals for gifts of $100 or even $250 – you probably will this year, and work up to higher levels in the future. But, it will help you set your sights high, and let your board members know what you’re looking for.
I hope that makes sense.
We have a few $50,000+ donors, but the majority are between to $1,000-$10,000 range. I would say that our major gift level is currently $5,000.
I’m going to set our amount at $5,000. We did receive a $10,000 gift, but $5,000 seems a little more attainable.
Starting a little late here. Thanks for this series.
We have 2 people who give $20,000 + / year
3 people who give $5,000 / year
Maybe 10 people who give $1,000 / year
A lot of people (20 or so) who give $500 per year.
I am tempted to identify a major gift as $5,000
Sounds just right, Nathan. Good luck and keep me posted.
We were working on this very issue. Most our donors are at the $1000.00 level and several around $2500.00. We are setting our level at $5000.00.
Thanks Amy, you make this so simple.
John
Amy, does the source of the gifts matter? I ask because with two exceptions all of our gifts of $1k or more have come from family members of mine. As such, even though there are a few five-figure gifts, I would be inclined to set major gifts at $1k.
At the same time, we are undergoing a transition from fee-for-service being our overwhelming (80%) source of revenue to a broader source of revenue, so we are going to need to increase our annual fund quickly.
As always, any thoughts would be appreciated.
Hi Mark –
You’re right about the family gifts – I wouldn’t include them.
Reviewing the donor data, I see a number of high donations but the circumstances say it is a one time event: funds from an inheritance and the like. I think the most attainable major gift at this time is 5,000 USD.
Hi, I’m just taking the Major Gift Challenge. Of the 352 donors in 2012, about 8 percent gave more than $1,000, the highest being $15,000+. But there the vast majority of the top 8% gave $1,000 to $2,000. Should we make our major gift level $5,000, hoping to convert those 21 people from $1,000 to $5,000 donors? Looking forward to this challenge.
Hi Amy,
I’m still in the process of analyzing our donor reports but on the outset it looks like $5000 would be a good goal for us.
I have just a few questions for you. The first being, do you treat recurring (or sustaining) donors differently when moving them up the ladder? Would their cumulative gift at the end of the year count as a major gift if it reaches the threshold we set?
Lastly, have you in your experience found that having different set (and named) giving levels help you to move donors up the ladder?
Thanks!
Hi Leanna,
Yes, use cumulative giving to determine gift amount. In other words, if someone is giving several times per year – use their total giving!
There is no data (that I am aware of) to answer your 2nd question. I believe that some donors are motivated by giving levels. And, I find that it helps fundraising staff have clear cultivation plans for each level, which helps too. Keep us posted on your progress!
Amy
$5,000
I am new to the challenge. Now our gift would be $5,000 from one giver.
We have a very large donor base. Technically, we consider major gifts at the $500 level (handwritten thank you notes are sent after this is reached), however we have several donors who give way more than that ($50,000+). I am hoping to bring in gifts at the $10,000.00 level.
We have about 600 donors in the past 12 months, for a total of $700K, and a budget of $1400K.
Top gift: $23K
2–3 20K
4-9 10-15K
10-25 5-9K
25-49 3-5K
50-73 2500+
While there is some variability during the year (large amounts come in during Nov/Dec), almost all are giving through the year most months.
Question: Is our Major Gift level $3K or $10K, or something else?
Yes, I would say your major gift level is $10k. Good luck and keep up the good work.
Thanks Amy!
I am surprised by the names on the list.
Many (about half) I know at least by name and sight.
And about half, I really have almost no idea who they are. This will be an opportunity to make some new friends.
It’s an important exercise to make certain you know all your major donors. This is a great opportunity for you to start meeting them!
Based on past history, I think that starting our major gifts at $1,000 is a good point. We’ve had 2-3 non-board gifts at that level each year, so lots of room to grow that!
My organization has been around for about 8 years, and has been running an annual campaign for 4 of those years, but I was recently hired as their first Development Director (previously the organization has run a capital campaign with the assistance of a consulting firm, and that firm has been assisting with the annual fund as a side project, it’s not something their normal scope of services covers). As a result, we’re running everything out of Excel spreadsheets at the moment. There are plans to purchase a robust database at some point in the next year, but I need something temporary to work out of now. You mentioned Microsoft Access – do you know where I can look for tips in getting a database started for us in Access? I’ve used Access a bit in the past, but never as a donor database, so any specific advice for utilizing it in that manner would be very helpful!
Hi Lindsey,
If you’re planning on purchasing fundraising software in the next year or so, there’s no reason to switch from Excel to Access now. Keep using Excel as you have been. There’s no need to switch twice.
Good luck! Keep me posted on how things are going.
Thanks for the advice!
I’m starting late…better late than never!!
In the past 12 months, we’ve had 320 individual donors. 10% gave over $1000, with the largest cumulative gift being almost $19,000. However, 46% of our donors gave less than $100. For now, I’m setting our MG at $2,500. Hoping to see great results!
Our top 5 donations ranged from $600 – $2,550. I’m thinking we set our major gift level at $5,000. I’m 90% sure all of our top 5 could manage that if we would just ask.
I’m currently using Excel for our “database” (I know, I know). When I transfer over to an actual database, should I just start fresh or go back and enter in the last few years as well?
Hi Amanda,
Yes, asking is the key to getting major gifts!
As for your database – you do want to try to capture the information you already have if at all possible. Although it will cost something, your new database service provider should be able to help you transfer the information.
Good luck.
Amy
We have many 10-15 donors at the $1,000 mark and 9 donors above 1,000 and below 5,000 3 donors at 5,000 and 5 donors that are above 5,0000. Most of the donors that are above $5,000 are board members. I believe the major gift should be $10,000-$15,000.
I have set levels of $1,000 a year for 5 years–Ambassadors
$5,000 a year for 5 years–Champions
$10,000 a year for 5 years–Heroes
$15,000 a year for 5 years–Dreammakers
Does that seem like a good level?
Hi Amy,
I am with a large natural history and cultural museum that has been in existence for over 130 years in a mid-sized Midwestern city. We are working on ramping up our major gift efforts, but we also don’t want to offend the longstanding donors that we already steward.
Here’s our current individual donor count for unrestricted annual gifts over $150:
1: $200,000
1: $100,000
2: $20,000
2: $15,000
6: $10,000
21: $5,000 – 9,999
36: $2,500 – 4,999
112: $1,000 – 2,499
103: $500 – 999
992: $150 – 499
We were originally discussing setting our major gift limit at $2,500. Now that I have read this article and the comments, I feel like this is far too conservative. Perhaps we should consider setting the limit at $10,000? What would you recommend?
Thank you!
Yes! I think $10,000 is a great major gifts goal. At least $5,000.
We have 7 donors who gave over $15,000 last year – 1 at $18,000, 3 at $20,000 and 3 at $25,000. Then we have a large group about 30 donors at the $10,000 level. Should I make $10,000 the major gift level or make it $15,000, $20,000 or even $25,000?
What are your thoughts?
Hi Cari,
$10,000 sounds like the right number! Sounds like you’re on the right track! Keep me posted.
Amy
HI Amy,
As a relatively small United Way Chapter (two counties – 150,000 population) we have always considered $500 and above a ‘major gift.’ This represents 1.7% of our total giving, because we have had no coordinated major gifts effort until now and have many small donors via payroll deduction. Of our 123 $500+ givers, the average gift was just over $1,100 and the median gift was $750. Our largest single gift in the 2012-13 year was $6,400; only six gifts exceeded $2,500. As we set up a major gifts campaign a 5% target, up from 1.7 seems doable!
Great, Alan! You’re on your way. Let me know how it goes.
Hi, Amy.
I saw you at the AFP Conference and San Antonio and loved it!
My official role at my organization is as a Grants Coordinator, but I am trying to look at cultivating foundation relationships for my organizations as cultivating major gifts. The major differences I see are that the “ask” is actually a proposal, that for big foundations it is the Executive Director involved, that some foundations just want to be left alone except for proposals, and that foundations may require less contacts per year than individuals. Two questions: do you see any other major differences between individual major gift cultivation and cultivating foundations? And are there any differences in defining the major gift level and choosing the right foundations for cultivation?
Thanks for your expertise!
Alex
Hi Alex,
Thank you for your kind words. So glad you enjoyed my session in San Antonio.
Yes, I think there are differences between individual donors and a foundation, and yet there are many similarities as well. If you are applying to a family foundation, the similarities would be greater than for a corporate foundation. In other words, you would cultivate trustees of a family foundation in the same ways you would an individual donor. However, you would also want to do your best to cultivate staff members from other types of foundations as well – if they are open to that sort of relationship.
And with regard to ask amount, I think there are often specific guidelines about gift amounts at foundations, whereas the gift amount from an individual would be determined by that individual.
I hope that helps.
I pulled our listing of top donors and the amounts they gave were due to sponsorships for our fundraising events. The highest amount was $15,000, but we have a couple who have given $10,000 and then about four or five who have given at the $5,000 level for these events. As far as individual donors who have given outside of any fundraising events, our largest gift was $3,000 last year. Then we had a couple at $2,500 and a few at $1,000. Not sure what should be our goal. Maybe $2,500 for individual annual giving?
You’re on the right track! I agree with your thought process. Keep up the good work.
In the last five years our largest gift was $2,500. We only received on gift at this level. The next most frequent level of giving is $1,000 – $1,500. As we have never had a development officer focused on the College of Business before and I believe our donors have a capacity greater than $1000 – $1,500, I am going to set our major gift amount at $2,500 or greater.
Sounds good, Erin! Keep me posted.
Considering we’re a new organization & have only received 1 $20 donation. so anything would be “major. $1000 would be very major!!!
Ken,
Some words of encouragement. Hold on to your company’s Vision and Purpose. Donations will grow as you listen to quality coaching as you will find here and take action. Yes, it’s very easy to get discouraged. Monitor the discouragement and as it appears, switch to the joy your companies vision and purpose bring to you and to the public. Focus on that feeling while you take action and over time ( shorter than you may think) you will see wonderful results.
I have a charity less than 6 months old so I do empathize with you. Just remember, you are in good hands here.
Our charity is only a few months into our 501(c)3 status and we’ve been granted a program ( value 48k) that is a database software so much of our info is scattered while we convert from Excel to NetSuite. As I look at the information I have, I see our most frequent gift(s) are 25.00 and 100.00, both amounts are donated at equal frequencies. We have no individual amounts over 200.00 and only 3 at 200.00. Much of the progress we have enjoyed is through small fundraisers which I understand is a collective amount not to be considered in this lesson. I’m considering at this time listing a Major Gift for us at 200.00. Any thoughts?
Yes – but aim higher – ask all those $200 donors to consider a gift of $500! Good luck.
We are running a capital campaign at an independent school. We have pledges for 80% of our target. Our community is very diverse, hence we have contributions ranging from $500 to over $1M. This is the final year of our campaign. In order to successfully complete the campaign, now that it is in public phase, we need at least 25-30 gifts of $100K. Hence, I will consider $100K as my magic major gift number.
We don’t have a donor database, but I am working on building one (I just bought Access). In the meantime I glanced through some donation info which is stored on our accounting software. This isn’t super scientific, but since most of our donors give under $1,000/ year, I think a goal of $2,500 is reasonable.
We have set our Major Gifts at $5,000 – most of our gifts are below (or well below) that amount, with a few above. It is probably high, but I do not think it is out of reach. A main focus will be on moving people up the ladder.
pulled my numbers from last fiscal year: 30 $1000 -2499 donors 3 $2500-4999 donors 4 $5000- 9999 donors and 3 $10,000 and up donors….my gut says $5000 is a major gift
Hi Amy,
I ran a report of the largest gifts between July 2012-current (I chose 2012 because that is when we created our new Development Plan). The The largest gifts we received were between $10,000 and $1,000. Our Board will be discussing what we consider a “major gift,” but I would go with $2,500.
Looking forward to your input!
Chelsea L. Ferraro
Development Coordinator
YWCA Monterey County
Sorry for joining the party late! 🙂 I’m the only person in the development office and I work 15 hours a week.
The majority of our donors donate $25 – $100. So a major gift for me would be $500 – $1,000. Yes, I would dance for $500. 🙂
The majority of our donors are currently in the $50 – $250 range. I’ve only got a two individuals at $1,000 plus one outlier at $17,000. I’m inclined to start our major gifts at $1,000.
I saw myself taking the “Pledge” in the video a few minutes ago and it reminded me how very special your session was at the international AFP convention.
I’m just getting started with a full time press for Major Gifts after 15 years of special event fundraising focus. So excited to be taking part in the Major Gifts Challenge.
Our beginning point is $5000 – I’ve identified top prospects, by priority level, and now I’m in the cultivating process.
Looking forward to what the last weeks of 2015 reveals and the possibilities of 2016.
The largest individual donations in the last 2 years is $3000, with several in the $1000 – 2000 range, all others are below.
I think that a major gift for us is $1000.
Not sure if Amy is still checking this but just in case…
We’ll consider $5,000 tobe a major gift. We run a robust annual fund program (I work in college athletics) with approximate 400-500 annual donors to our athletic programs. Most donors fall in the 250-1000 range. Of our individuals (not businesses), only a handful are $2,500 or above annually.
Sounds good, Nate! Good luck and keep me posted!
We have 1127 givers last year, with 31 givers over 1000 and with 2 at $5000 and 1 at $10.000.
I am going to call a major gift $10,000 since we have only seen 4 gifts in that range since 1995.
We’re setting ours at $7,000. $5,000 seems just a bit too low for a major gift for us; we don’t have many people giving at that level, but those that do give consistently. $10,000 seems just a bit too high-we don’t get much of that except from foundations. $10,000 is definitely our stretch goal though!
We have a fair number for donors who give between $500-$1,000 and fewer than five who have given figure gifts. I think a good major gift target for us is $2,500-$5,000.
Do you consider a gift given through a special event fund-a-mission paddle raise as a major gift?
We have 28 contacts that have given $2500+ in a single gift in the last 24 months.
We’ve had major donors who have given $50k to $100k and pledges of up to a million. Our database is small and I am the first MGO at the organization. I am thinking $5K – 15K range.