8 Steps to Better Major Gifts Fundraising

Martha Schumacher, CFRE of Hazen, Inc. is one of the most authentic fundraisers I have ever met. I have had the opportunity to learn in two of her sessions through the Association of Fundraising Professionals and I always take away a new idea I can implement in my one-person development shop immediately. Here are 8 awesome tips I learned about major gifts at a recent session with Martha, straight from the mouth of the AFP/DC 2006 Outstanding Professional Fundraiser of the Year:

Diversification of revenue sources is a myth – instead you should be building on the fundraising areas in which you’ve been most successful. Play to your strengths by building on the successes you’ve already had. For example, if you currently raise 80% of your annual revenues from foundations, make sure to continue focusing your core energies there. Don’t get so focused on diversifying that you forget to put enough resources (human and $) into what is already working well.
Put major gifts activities (making calls, writing personal notes, etc.) on your and your CEO’s schedule every week.
Develop a major gifts calendar – even if it’s for one year or less – so that you can fundraise more proactively.
Ask your donors for multi-year pledges for general support to build capacity and ensure/insure your organization’s future.
Spend the bulk of your time on stewarding/upgrading your current top donors.
Schedule as many face-to-face visits as possible, and each of those visits should ideally be with two organizational reps (i.e. a board member and CEO, development director and CEO, etc.). Which two people will go should be decided on a case-by-case basis depending upon individual connections with the donor.
Focus on donors who are truly committed to your mission. They will be your long-term major donors and ultimately planned giving donors.
Every fundraiser should read The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley and William Danko.

Thinking maybe you need to hire Martha to help you with your fundraising strategy? Contact her at hazeninc@earthlink.net.

Anonymous

As a grant writer/fundraiser what I find lacking from this advice is doing the work and having the impact. Focus on fundraising should come after using the $ to achieve the goals and objectives and stay true to the mission. This may not be a problem in institutions such as hospitals, museums etc. but it is for small, communtiy-based organizations. Any thoguhts?
Rosetta Thurman

Good point, anonymous! Fundraising is certainly no good just for fundraising sake. I have been asked many times by funders to show my nonprofit’s impact before they would even let us apply for a new grant, so that piece is really important. I agree that none of Martha’s advice will work if your organization’s goals and objectives are not being achieved, especially with major gifts. My view is that small, community-based organizations should not seek to grow,through major gifts or otherwise, unless they have some measurable success to point to that they can build upon with the new grant money. And for the most part, nonprofits that grow without this consideration are not being true to their mission.
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