Major Gift Fundraising Guide: Everything You Need to Know in 2023 (2024)

A complete online guide to Major Gift Fundraising, by Amy Eisenstein, ACFRE, author of the bestselling book, Major Gift Fundraising for Small Shops.

Major gifts are not only for a capital campaign. They’re also critical for your annual fund. If you’re not working with individual donors on a one-on-one basis to raise major gifts, it’s time to start!

What is a Major Gift?

Before you can start enjoying the success that comes with major gift fundraising, it’s important to define what a major gift is for you. The term “major gift” means something different at every organization.

My definition of a major gift is one you ask for in a one-on-one setting, either in-person or virtually, for a specific amount which is significant to you and the donor. In other words — you ask someone specific for a specific gift, which would be meaningful to the organization and the donor.

The amount of the gift is relative. What’s major at one organization might be minor at another. Likewise, what’s considered major to one donor might be pocket change to another.

Example 1

For example, when I started my career in fundraising at a Domestic Violence Shelter, we rarely received gifts (excluding grants) over $1,000 from individual donors. When we received our first $10,000 gift, there was cause for major celebration around the office — for us, that was a MAJOR gift.

Example 2

On the other hand, I worked at Rutgers University many moons ago. There, 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 didn’t start until $100,000 or more.

If you’re at a small organization and just getting started with individual giving and major gifts, it would be ridiculous to hold you to the standards of Princeton University.

Major Gift Fundraising 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.

So, what is considered a major gift at your organization?

Option 1 for determining a major gift

Check your donor records to identify your top ten individual donors (not foundation funders). 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 are really individuals who are giving through a foundation).

Calculate the range and average of your top ten donors’ gifts to determine what might be considered a major gift at your organization.

Option 2 for determining a major gift

Pick an amount that you think would be a good major gift level — 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 to your organization.

Depending on the number of donors you have, if there are a lot of people who have given over that amount, then it’s too low. If you don’t have any donors at that amount, then it’s too high.

Discuss your findings with your executive director

After you have identified your top level of giving, have a discussion with your executive director, development staff, and key board members to determine what will be considered a major gift at your organization.

Be realistic and yet optimistic when picking an amount.

Now let’s look at the different steps involved in the process of major gift fundraising.

The 4 Steps of Major Gift Fundraising

There are four steps in the major gift fundraising cycle: (1) Identification; (2) Cultivation; (3) Solicitation; (4) Stewardship.

You’ll learn the ins and outs of each of these steps through the remainder of this guide.

Step 1 — IDENTIFICATION

If you want to be successful with any fundraising (and particularly major gifts fundraising), one of the first steps is identifying who you will ask. Your goal should be to assemble a list of your top 20 prospective donors with whom you will work this year.

There are several ways to identify prospects (prospective donors).

The first and best way to identify prospects is to check your database. A database is a list of your supporters, which includes contact information and records for each time they’ve donated. Hopefully you have a database with donor history going back at least two or three years. (And if you don’t have a donor database, never fear — keep reading.)

You’re looking for two things…

When checking your database to determine your best prospects, you’re looking for two things:

Your Largest Donors
Run a report to identify those who have given the most, cumulatively, over the last two years. It is important to use cumulative giving as criteria, because if you simply look for anyone who has given over $1,000 (as a one-time gift) you may miss donors who come to every event and donate smaller amounts throughout the year.
Your Most Loyal Donors
Run a report to identify anyone who has given at least four times during the last five years. This group is significantly different from your largest donor group, because there’s no minimum gift amount required to make it onto this list. In other words, this list can include individuals who give $10 per year, but do so consistently, year-after-year.
The reason your loyal donors are important is that they are your best planned giving prospects. Furthermore, loyalty is uncommon these days in fundraising. It’s more important to have a low-level committed donor, than one who gives once and never gives again.

PRO TIP: Your largest and most loyal donors are going to be your BEST individual giving prospects. They already have an affinity for the organization and are showing it by donating money.

With this criteria (largest gifts + most loyal supporters), create a list of your top 20 major gifts prospects. These are the people with whom you’re going to want to foster strong relationships.

Step 2 — CULTIVATION

The next step is to build relationships with the individuals on your list. This stage of the fundraising process is called cultivation.

Fundraising is about relationships

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “people give to people.” Well, it’s absolutely true. Donors want to trust and like the individuals at the organizations they support. Cultivation is about building relationships before asking for money.

It’s your job to build relationships with the individuals on your list. I realize that it’s likely that you already know many of the people on your list — they may be board members or other volunteers. Regardless of whether you know them or not, you need to start thinking strategically about how to move them to consider supporting your organization in a bigger way… a major gift.

You want to create a plan for each individual on your list. All of the plans can be similar, but you’ll need to tweak them depending on your existing relationship with each person.

4 Steps to building strong major gifts relationships

You can do these steps in any order that makes sense to you and your nonprofit.

Have a private face-to-face meeting (virtually or in-person).
This is a must. You cannot discuss a major gift in a group setting. This can be at the beginning of your cultivation or toward the end, but you cannot get around it.
More than one person can attend a face-to-face meeting — usually a board member and the executive director or development director. The meeting can take place at the prospect’s home or office and can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
Invite them to see your program in action.
Persuade each of your prospects to take a tour, visit a program, or attend an event. Choose something you think will have the greatest impact on that individual.
Engage your prospects to volunteer.
Invite your prospects to volunteer. On a committee, in the office, in direct service, one-time or ongoing. Volunteering brings people closer to your organization and makes them more inclined to give.
Provide regular updates and check-ins.
Updates about your programs and services can be delivered by phone, email or in-person. You should also check-in to find out how your donors are doing during these difficult times. Updates and check-ins should be done twice a year to all prospects on your top 20 list.

Get to know your major gifts prospects better

One goal of cultivation is to get to know your prospects better. To do this, you should ask them a variety of open-ended questions, including:

How did you originally get involved with your organization?
Why did you decide to start giving? Why do you continue to give?
Why do you feel our mission is important to support?
What do you love about our organization? What would you like to see improved?
If you could fix or improve one thing about our organization, community, or the world, what would it be?
What might encourage you to consider giving more?

These questions encourage donors to think about your organization on a deeper level and consider how they can get involved in making the world a better place.

Step 3 — SOLICITATION (The Ask)

When you’re ready to begin asking for major gifts, begin with your top three prospective donors. Call them up and schedule “ask meetings” with each of them. After you conduct your meetings, you’ll set up meetings with your next three top prospects (and so on).

Scheduling your “ask meetings”

When you call each prospective donor, explain that you’d like to follow-up on your previous discussions, and talk specifically about how they might be able to help your organization, project, or program. It should be no secret why you’re coming.

PRO TIP: If they ask you if you’re coming to ask them for money, say YES! You’d like to come discuss some of the organization’s biggest needs and how they might help.
This is a relationship, and relationships are built on trust and honesty. The donor should not be surprised when you ask them for money.

You can say something like:

Yes, I’d like to come discuss how you might invest in our organization in a bigger and more meaningful way.

Once you’ve secured a meeting date, time, and place, you’re halfway there.

Don’t be afraid they won’t meet with you. If you reveal why you want to meet and they refuse a meeting, it’s unlikely they would have given you a gift anyway. This is not about tricking donors into giving you gifts, but inspiring them to invest in your important cause.

Who should attend the ask meeting?

It’s ideal to go to the ask meeting with two people from your organization — preferably the executive director and a board member. However, it’s most important that the prospective donor has already met anyone who comes to this meeting (preferably more than once).

Remember, fundraising is about relationships, so the person who asks should have the strongest relationship with the prospect. At times, this is the development director.

In the best-case scenario, a board member will ask. This is called peer-to-peer fundraising. That’s because the board member or volunteer has no financial stake in the organization, except what they have donated. They’ve already invested their time and money and are simply asking the donor to do the same.

Where should the ask meeting take place?

The meeting should be held someplace that’s quiet. This is not a good time to have a meeting at a restaurant. Hold the meeting at the donor’s home or office, or wherever is most convenient for them. You can also hold the meeting via Zoom is that’s the most efficient way for all involved.

Some prospects will come to your office — which is fine as well. Make sure the meeting is conducted someplace where you can have a quiet, confidential conversation.

Preparing for your ask meeting

Since major gifts fundraising may be new to you and your team, it is extremely important to prepare, practice, and role play. Don’t assume that the asker knows what they’re doing and you can figure it out on the fly.

Make sure you know in advance:

Who will open the meeting?
Who will ask?
Who will close the meeting?

The asker should take some time to practice and do some role playing with a partner.

Lastly, never leave your meeting without a follow-up plan (more on this in step 4).

What exactly should you say when you ask?

The one question I get asked about major gift fundraising more than any other is, “How do you actually ask?”

So, here’s some “ask” language for you to try. Practice it in the mirror or with a colleague, until it feels more comfortable. And adjust it for you and your donor.

Step 4 — STEWARDSHIP

Even before you ask your prospects for a major gift, you need to think about gratitude. Don’t think of your donors as ATM machines. Instead, really focus on them as people and what they do for your organization.

Your major gifts prospects don’t simply give money — they save lives; they feed the hungry and house the homeless; they educate children; they help cure diseases — they make the important work of your organization possible.

Donors are so much more than simply “donors.” Until you start treating them that way, they have no real incentive to give more.

Why is stewardship important?

Stewardship is often talked about as the last step in fundraising. It’s the “thank you” and follow up after a gift is made. However, you should think about stewardship long before you ask for a gift.

How will you thank your donors so that they understand the impact they’ve made on your organization? How can you thank your donors so they want to give again and again and again?

Sadly, I’ve come across too many organizations where donors aren’t thanked at all. Staff and board members feel it’s not necessary, and then wonder why they struggle with fundraising! Do you think you would give again to an organization that didn’t appreciate you?

How to create a simple stewardship plan

A simple stewardship plan that complements your major gift fundraising can be created by answering a few questions:

Who will follow up with your donors?
When will they follow up?
How (specifically) will they follow up?

Things to consider… will all donors be treated equally, or will you have a different plan for different major gift amounts?

PRO TIP: A good rule of thumb is that a donor should be thanked in multiple ways by multiple people. In addition, they should always be told how their donation was used, before they’re asked for another gift.

Who will follow up?

Who will thank your donors and let them know how their funds were used? Staff? Board Members?

When will they follow up?

How soon after the major gift is made will they receive their first thank you? Their second? When will they receive an update on how the gift was used and the impact it made?

How will they follow up?

You should have an in-person follow-up meeting for all major donors. In addition, will they get an email or phone call (or both)? Will they be listed in your next newsletter or annual report? What about on your website?

The final follow-up meeting

Ultimately, you will want to have at least three meetings per year with your major gift prospects.

The initial cultivation meeting.
The ask meeting.
The follow-up meeting.

The follow-up meeting comes last, after the donation has been made.

Remember, you’re not simply thanking them for a wad of cash, but for helping to fulfill your mission. Will more children be vaccinated thanks to them? What difference did their donation really make?

If you’ll be having board members make thank you calls, draft talking points for them. Should they leave messages? (Yes!) Should they leave a return number? What number? Theirs or the number of the organization? Do what works best for your organization.

If you expect the executive director to write personal emails, write a draft for them and include details about the donor.

Once you’re ready to steward, you’re ready to start asking for major gifts!

Maintaining Your Major Gift Fundraising Program

Once you’ve established a major gift fundraising program, you need to maintain it! Your organization should invest time each and every week toward raising major gifts. In fact, I’ve prepared an entire weekly series called the Major Gifts Challenge to walk you through exactly how to spend your time — just a few hours each week.

That said, here are two of my best tips to keep your nonprofit on track with major gift fundraising.

Have weekly major gifts meetings

The nonprofit leaders with whom I’ve worked that have had the most success with major gift fundraising have one thing in common — they hold a weekly development team meeting.

Include anyone on your major gifts team — the executive director, development staff, administrative assistant (if they help with scheduling meetings or sending thank you notes or any related tasks) and key board members.

Plan time to discuss:

Who among your 20 major gifts prospects are ready to be asked? Who will schedule the ask meeting? How much will you ask for?
Who (on your list) needs more cultivation? Review the cultivation plans for each prospect at the meeting. Who (on your major gifts team) will be responsible for cultivation activities?
Who was asked within the last month (since your last meeting)? What did they say? What follow-up needs to take place? Who is responsible for that follow up?

Make assignments to be completed during the next week or month.

Eat your Monday morning frog

Have you heard of the book, Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy? (Transcript available here.) It’s an anti-procrastination book. It turns out that Mark Twain came up with the concept of eating a frog, as doing your worst task first, so you can move on with your day, knowing the worst is out of the way.

If you’re dreading picking up the phone and calling a donor, go ahead and get it over with. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” Well, asking for a meeting won’t kill you.

This “worst-first” approach can help you avoid the procrastination that often derails major gift fundraising.

Getting Started with Raising Major Gifts

Now you’ve learned the essentials of major gift fundraising. But where should you start?

Start with the Major Gifts Challenge!

Be rich: In less than a year, you can increase your organization’s annual fund by 10%, 20%, 100% or more.

Be famous: In 12 months’ time, you can be revered by your boss, board members and colleagues.

If becoming a rich and famous all-star at your organization sounds intriguing, then you’re in luck.

Your commitment…

Participating in the Major Gifts Challenge is easy. Here’s what you’ll do:

Read each of my Major Gifts Challenge blog posts.
Dedicate a few hours per week to taking action on the information in each post. This step is critical — if you don’t take action, you won’t get results. Remember, it’s only a few hours per week — you can do that!
Let me know how it’s going in the comments so I know what’s working for you and when you need more help.

That’s it.

And, I promise, you’ll raise more money this year and successfully solicit major gifts. But to get there, you need to follow my advice and take action.

Deal?

I know you can do it!

Start the Major Gifts Challenge today»

Beyond Major Gift Fundraising

When your nonprofit is ready to take the next step in major gift fundraising, it’s time to begin planning for a capital campaign. Capital Campaigns are the ultimate major gift effort. They work extraordinarily well because they follow a proven structure, strategy, and timeline.

Preparing for a Capital Campaign

These five basic steps will help your organization prepare for a capital campaign:

Identify campaign objectives — what will you be raising money for?
Come up with an initial working goal — how much will your campaign objectives cost?
Develop a draft case for support — why should donors care?
Draft a gift range chart — a table with the size and number of gifts necessary to reach the goal.
Plan for a feasibility study — work with a consultant to test your working goal and case.

To learn more about planning for a capital campaign, the Capital Campaign Toolkit provides a wonderful step-by-step checklist and guide — download it for free:

Get the Step-by-Step Campaign Guide & Checklist»

Questions About Major Gift Fundraising?

I’ve spent the better part of my career helping people like you create a highly successful major gift fundraising program for their organizations. If you have questions about anything in this guide, contact me — I’m happy to help.

As an expert in fundraising and major gift development, I have a comprehensive understanding of the concepts and strategies discussed in Amy Eisenstein's online guide to Major Gift Fundraising. My expertise in this area is grounded in both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, making me well-equipped to elucidate the key concepts presented in the article.

Major Gift Definition: A major gift, as defined by Amy Eisenstein, is a donation requested in a one-on-one setting, either in-person or virtually, for a specific amount that is significant to both the organization and the donor. The crucial aspect is the personalized request for a substantial contribution.

Variable Nature of Major Gifts: Eisenstein emphasizes the relative nature of major gifts, illustrating examples from different organizations. What might be considered a major gift varies between organizations and donors. The article provides examples from a Domestic Violence Shelter, Rutgers University, and Princeton University, illustrating the diverse perspectives on major gifts based on the organization's scale and context.

Determining Major Gift Levels: Two options are suggested for determining major gift levels:

Option 1: Analyzing donor records to identify top individual donors and calculating the range and average of their gifts.
Option 2: Choosing a potential major gift level (e.g., $10,000) and assessing how many donors have contributed at or above that level in the past year.

Steps in Major Gift Fundraising: The article outlines a four-step cycle for major gift fundraising:

Identification: Assemble a list of the top 20 prospective donors based on cumulative giving and loyalty.
Cultivation: Build relationships with donors through face-to-face meetings, program visits, volunteering opportunities, and regular updates.
Solicitation (The Ask): Schedule "ask meetings" with top prospects, clearly communicate the purpose, and request support for a specific program or service.
Stewardship: Emphasizes the importance of gratitude and maintaining relationships after receiving a major gift. Stewardship involves follow-up meetings, thanking donors in multiple ways, and informing them about the impact of their donation.

Maintaining Major Gift Fundraising: The article provides tips for maintaining a successful major gift fundraising program, including having weekly meetings to discuss prospects, assignments, and progress. Additionally, it suggests adopting a "worst-first" approach to overcome procrastination in fundraising activities.

Beyond Major Gift Fundraising: The article briefly touches on transitioning to capital campaigns as the next step in major gift efforts. It outlines the basic steps for preparing a capital campaign, such as identifying objectives, setting a working goal, developing a case for support, creating a gift range chart, and planning for a feasibility study.

In conclusion, Amy Eisenstein's guide covers major gift fundraising comprehensively, from defining major gifts to practical steps in the fundraising cycle and beyond. The insights provided are valuable for both beginners and experienced fundraisers aiming to enhance their major gift programs.