5 Simple Steps to Starting A

Major Gift Program and catapult your organization

Gail Perry, MBA | CFRE

FiredUpFundraising.com

GP@GailPerry.com

@GailPerryNC

Gail Perry: Who am I?

30 years in fundraising

Helped raise over $400M

Keynote speaker, blogger,

coach, consultant

Gail Perry Who am I?

Recent Honors & Achievements

Fundraiser of the Year (NC)

America’s Top Fundraising

Experts (2016)

Our Agenda:

5 Steps to Major Gifts

1. Understand Major Gift strategy.

2. Qualify your prospects.

3. Find out your donor’s interests.

4. Cultivate around her interests.

5. Ask for permission to ask.

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Free 60-Page Workbook

Skyrocket Your Fundraising with a Major Gifts Program

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How much $ is out there

for your nonprofit? (but you don’t have

the resources to go get it?)

WHY MAJOR GIFTS?

Cost per dollar raised of various fundraising strategies

Fundraising EVENT

50%

ANNUAL FUND 25-30%

MAJOR GIFT OR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

5-10%

The “profit” in fundraising is in major gifts.

Your organization’s future

depends to a large extent

on the decisions you make

about fundraising strategy.

5 Major Gift Fundamentals 5 Steps to Major Gifts:

1. Understand Major Gift Strategy

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Takes a long term approach to fund development.

Major Gift Strategy

It’s Not About Selling or “Pitching”

Major Gift Strategy Focus on the FEW at the TOP

Steps in the Major Gift Cycle

THANK THANK

THANK AGAIN

CULTIVATE AND

INVOLVE

ASK FOR

SUPPORT

IDENTIFY

PROSPECTS

Time and Energy Involved in The

Major Gift Fundraising Cycle

Identify

Ask

Thank

Involve

Major Gift Strategy It Takes a Full Organizational

Commitment

Internal Attitudes Toward Fundraising?

What IS a culture of

philanthropy?

Is This Your Board?

Is This Your Board?

Is This Your

Board?

“Shared Responsibility”

for Fund Development

What is a Culture of Philanthropy? Everyone values donors and supports fundraising.

Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

Step 2:

Qualify Your Prospects

No place like home to look:

You already have ALL

the major gift prospects you

need.

The first place you look is inside:

Gift history? Recent gift? Lifetime?

Who knows the prospect?

Anyone been in touch with them

recently?

Level of involvement?

Attended anything lately?

What do you know about their

interest level?

Data Mining Your Own Records

Narrow,

narrow,

narrow

down your

focus

What’s the Difference Between a

Suspect and a Prospect?

Identifying Prospects Where Does Barry Bucks Fit?

High $$ Low Interest

High $$ High Interest

Low $$ Low Interest

Low $$ High Interest

DOLLARS

INTEREST

What is a “Qualified Prospect?”

A prospect who. . .

1. Has capacity

2. Is interested in your

cause

3. Can be cultivated

for a gift

Permission to Ask The Cage-

Rattling Questions

Your Data.

Your Results.

Your Challenges.

Your Special Opportunities.

What’s Working and What’s Not Working.

How to Qualify a Donor?

1. Determine Their Inclination

and Capacity

How to Qualify Major Gift Donor

Prospects

• Ask questions to assess interest

• Ask questions to validate capacity

Questions to Assess interest

• Tell me about your experience with us.

• How do you feel about the xx we do?

• What aspects of our work interests you the most?

• “Tell me more. . .”

• “This is fascinating, what happened next?. . .”

Questions to Validate Capacity

● Tell me about the type of work you do (or did.)

● Are you planning to travel this summer?

● Do you have any favorite organizations you like to

support? Tell me about your involvement?

● What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Play The VIP Prospect Game

Pull out a sheet of paper.

You do not have to turn the

paper in.

Can you identify 10 people or

funding sources who could

catapult your organization’s future?

Sample Major Gift Prospect Rating Chart

Prospect

Name

Rating $

Capacity

Rating

Interest

Last Gift Largest

Gift

Area of

Interest

Back-

ground/

Comments

1.

2.

3.

4.

Major Gift Prospects Worksheet

Prospect

Name

Relationship Donation

Track Record

Likelihood/I

nterest

Level

Financial

Capacity

Example –

Mary Higgins

Former board

member

$20k gift to

capital

campaign in

2008

High

Used to

volunteer with

us & loves the

kids program

Just sold her

family

business for

$4 million

John Smith

Husband of

key volunteer

$1k gifts over

the past 5

years

Medium

We have

engaged

with him in

the past

year

Owner of

Internet

Start-up

Your Prospect List Is a Living

Document!

You will revise it monthly

as you take stock

of where you are with your

major gift effort!

Step 3: Find Out Your Donor’s Interests

and Hot Buttons

Power Questions to Get The

Donor to Talk to You

• “I’d love to hear why you chose

to give.

• “What inspired your gift?

• “Would you be willing to have

coffee with me, I’d love to

understand your story.

• “Mr. Jones, you’ve been a

donor all these years. My job is to

know our patrons . .

~Eli Jordfald, Senior Major Gifts Director, Lineberger

Cancer Center, UNC Chapel Hill

More Power questions

Asking

for advice:

Probing

for interest:

Probing

for opinion:

• Tell me what you think about…

• Can we brainstorm this idea?

• I’d love to hear about your

philanthropy…

• What causes are you most

passionate about?

• What’s your opinion of our

organization?

• Do you think it’s a good idea?

The 4 magic words

What are your

impressions?

Fundraiser’s kiss of death

Being boring

Talking too much

Donors Expect To Do the Talking

Donor You

Listen Your Way to the Gift

“You have to listen to their story,

write a lot of notes and go with the flow—

and don’t be shy to propose something -

- it opens new doors and opportunities.

Major Gift Coaching Member

Patrick Berard, Hema Quebec

Can I pick

your brain?

What do

you think? I’d love

your opinion.

If you want money ask for advice.

If you want advice ask for money.

Animated

I had an ‘advice visit’ today with a very prominent woman in the community who on the spot offered a $10,000 challenge grant!!

What's even more amazing is that she did not want to meet because she said her foundation had no money to give us!

Linda Frenette, Community Music School

Gail, thank you for your coaching!

I used one of your Advice Visit Strategy to

meet with our top major donor.

He committed to match $1.5 million

over five years,

starting with $200k now!

Thank you for your help!

Step 4: Design Cultivation Opportunities

Around Your Donor’s Interests

Sample Cultivation Opportunities

1. Visit a site?

2. Meet top staff?

3. Lunch to discuss?

4. Advice visit coffee?

5. A meeting or event?

6. Something specific

to your friend’s

personal interest?

Major Gift Sample Cultivation Plan

Donor name: _____ Date: Targeted Gift Amount:

Capacity rating: Interest Rating:

Area of interest at our organization? Relationship

Manager:

Background notes re the donor:

________

Cultivation steps and date for each step; Who is responsible for

each step

Donor-Centered Cultivation

Follows up on your donor’s area of

interest.

Engages her with direct program staff.

Pulls her into leadership groups and

circles of VIPs and other top donors.

Awesome Donor Experiences

Awesome

Donor

Engagement

Porch Parties for Donors!

Mini- Video Course

on Porch Parties https://www.gailperry.com/10-tips-hosting-small-social-

porch-party-fundraising/

Awesome Donor Experiences

Prospecting for Major Donors

BIG QUESTION What’s Holding You Back?

Can’t get out of the office?

Not sure what to say or do?

Don’t feel like you are prepared?

Feel unorganized?

Nervous and maybe a tiny bit afraid?

Step 5: Ask for Permission to Ask

My Fav Warm-Up Question

Would you like to know more about

how you can impact

this project?

Ask-Warm-Up Questions

• If you were to make a major gift,

where would you want to focus?

• We have a very important

opportunity we’d like to discuss with

you.

• May we come talk to you about this

project?

Present an Opportunity

“We have the opportunity to . . .”

Our Agenda:

5 Steps to Major Gifts

1. Understand Major Gift strategy.

2. Qualify your prospects.

3. Find out your donor’s interests.

4. Cultivate around her interests.

5. Ask for permission to ask.

Get today’s Powerpoints plus my

Free 60-Page Workbook

Skyrocket Your Fundraising with a Major Gifts Program

text

firedup to

66866

More Resources at

FiredupFundraising.com

Top 10 Things to Understand About How Fundraising Really Works Today

3 Important Goals for Every Major Donor Visit

The Fundraiser’s Kiss of Death: Talking too Much!

Top 10 Trends: How Major Donors are Changing & What to Do About It

5 Insanely Successful Ideas for Getting the Appointment With Your Major

Gift Prospect

My #1 Secret to Raising Major Gifts

Mastering the Soft Skills of Fundraising: 5 Important Tips

The Advice Visit: Easy Way to Open The Door To Your Major Gift Prospect

Show Me the Money: How To Move From Friendraising to Fundraising

How Major Donors are Changing and What To Do About It

Board Members’ #1 Job: How to Be a Personal Advocate for the Cause

How I Can Help You? Gail Perry MBA CFRE

• Tons of free resources on my website

• Firedupfundraising.com

• Major Gifts coaching

• Consulting

• Facebook Video tip of the Week

• Fundraising Training Community- the INSIDERS

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Join me at

FiredUpFundraising.com!