Three Secrets to Major Gift Success

Major gifts programs can become a money-raising machine for your wonderful cause. Here are three secrets that will dramatically improve your results from your fundraising activities and events.

1. Narrow, narrow, narrow down your focus.

Restrict yourself to fewer relationships rather than more. You can only work with a fewer number of prospective donors if you want to give them quality attention. And quality attention is what will generate gifts.

Working with major donors is like spinning plates on a stick. Each plate is a wonderful prospective donor you are lavishing attention on. You can’t spin but so many plates (or donors) at one time, because each one requires constant attention.

You have to go back and forth applying a little spin to each plate to keep it going. When a donor is ready to give, you take the plate off the stick and gently put it down. Then you start working on another donor.

Some fundraising gurus are even saying that you can raise MORE MONEY if you have fewer donors – because you can give them more attention. What about that!

2. Listen, listen, listen to your prospective donor.

One of my favorite fundraising mottoes is, “When in doubt, shut up.” It’s taken me far with lots of donors! Listening is a gift to the person who’s being listened to.

Nobody seems to listen much any more. You’ll stand out when you keep your mouth shut around your favorite donors. : )

• It’s listening that will open the door to your donor’s heart, her dreams and her vision. You are just connecting her vision with the cause she cares about a lot.
• It’s listening that will give you a road map to her cultivation plan.
• It’s listening that will tell you her hot buttons to emphasize when it comes time to solicit.
• It’s listening that tells you when she’s ready to be solicited.

3. Love, love, love your donors and prospects a lot.

Everybody laughs when I say this in my presentations. But it’s so very true!

What does a relationship look like anyway?

• It’s cordial.
• It’s friendly.
• It’s genuine.
• It’s authentic.

When I am cultivating a donor, I enjoy the friendmaking part of my work. I like to get to know them. I learn about their interests, their families, their hopes and dreams. It’s fascinating.  And it’s fun. Make it an enjoyable, friendly experience for your donors and they will want to spend time with you and your cause.

If you really want to bring in those large, transformational gifts that can take your organization to an entirely new level, be sure to join my next webinar Friday, November 19:

Five Simple Steps to Raise Big Money Through a Major Gifts Program

In this webinar, I’ll give you all the steps and elements of assembling a strong major gifts program so that you can dramatically improve the results from your fundraising activities and events.

I”ll share every available means that I’ve learned over 25 years in the business to strengthen your donor relationships, and your major gifts.

I’m going to share strategies to help you get the most out of your limited staff time, conflicting priorities and donor reluctance.

I”ll discuss my top 7 questions you need to answer before a major gift solicitation.

I’m also going to give you a bonus workbook: “Step-by-Step Guide for Building a Major Gifts Program from the Ground Up” in a neat package for your reference and use.

There will be examples of successful donor cultivation conversations and “asks” called to your attention and analyzed for you so you can adapt it to your own fundraising process.

Let’s turn your fundraising office into a money raising machine. There’s never been a more important time to focus your energy clearly and target it on a few wonderful people who believe in your cause deeply. And raise some big money.

The webinar  is designed to help:

1. Small shops who struggle with conflicting priorities and overloaded staff.

2. Larger shops who know they are leaving money on the table with their donors and want to take action immediately.

3. Any organization facing a significant financial shortfall that needs a plan now.

The webinar will give you lots of tools to skyrocket your fundraising and secure your organization’s financial sustainability.

Please join me next Friday, November 19 at 1pm ET. Let’s raise some money for your cause right now!

Click here to find out more and register.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think!