Author: JoyOlson

Successful Fundraiser of 22 years; Pet owner and lover; triathlete and sportswoman; Gardner; Love to dance; Music a must; Workaholic

Cultivating Major Donors for Year-End Fundrasing Success

Major Gift Donor Cultivation is an area always of extreme importance and never more so than at year-end. What can we do to build an even better relationship with our major donors right now?

Roy Jones and Andruw Olsen have written a book entitled “Rainmaking: the Fundraisers Guide to Landing Big Gifts” that all development peeps will learn from!

How you build and cultivate trust with major donors is strategic because there are always so many organizations after the same monied donors so you need to realize that they ned special care.

Major donors need to know that you honestly and truly value your relationship with them because of who they are not because of the number of zeros in their account.

How do you show this in tangible ways

Step 1, and you’ve heard it before practice active listening.Go back and refer to everything that you’ve learned about active listening and hone in those skills.

Step 2, pour yourself into the relationship serving your major donor at every opportunity and be honest and transparent in all your interactions. That is imperative as you’re building this wonderful relationship. You need not only to seek to hear them but you want to understand and empathize with the things that they share with you, the stories that they tell you. It’s very important to the relationship that you do hear them and even more important that you remember what they tell you.

As you’re building this relationship remember that it is not about you. They look forward to hearing from you but this relationship is about your donor and helping your donor to accomplish great things with their wealth. You’re simply there to help make this possible for your major donor.

Step 3, last but certainly not least if something goes wrong you have to notify your major donor immediately and provide solution options.This is so important! It’s like being a stockbroker when things are good, call, when things are bad, call immediately!

Olsen and Jones point out you’re not just a fundraiser with major donors you’re really a matchmaker! youtake compassionate caring people and you match them up with a worthy successful program to create a philanthropic partnership that really helps improve the community.

Watch the video for more details.

Major Gift Success
Roy Jones and Andrew Olsen write great guide to Major Gift Success

5 Steps to Major Gift Success

Major Gift Success, does your organization have it?

Is there anyone more important to a Development Department than a great Major Gifts Officer? And what if you have a small shop and you don’t have the luxury of an MGO and have to do it all by your lonesome? Yikes, these 5 steps are for you!

And do you have time now by year-end for these 5 Major-Gift steps to make a real difference? Amy Eisenstein, who authored the book “Major Gift fundraising for the Small Shop” says yes and outlined these 5 steps in a bloghttp://www.amyeisenstein.com/5-steps-raise-major-gifts-for-year-end fundraising/

Main thing is don’t overlook major gift fundraising now, you do have time! Here’s what to do:

1. Run your database reports and know who your largest and most loyal major gift donors are. Develop a list of 10 to 20 (more if you have a larger shop) that you can reach out to over the next few months (by year-end).

2. Pick up the phone and call these selected major donors. Before you call, review all your notes about these donors and check with board members or staff that might know them also.

3. Make yourself available to meet with them. These major donors come first and you must sit down with each, face to face, with a personal presentation geared exactly to their interests in yor programs and tailor your ask to that interest.

4. Say “thank you” often and relate it back to previous gifts and the impact those gifts had for your cause.

5. Ask for a specific git. Determine the specific project and the specific ask before your face to face meeting.

Watch the above video for more information on ajor gift Fundraising in time for year-end!

Year-End Major Gift Fundraising
Major Gift Donors deserve attention!

Major Gifts, Steps to Commitment

Landing Major Gifts is a non-profit struggle .

How do you get those Major Gifts? Let’s look at advice from the book, “Rainmaking: The Fundraisers Guide to Landing Big Gifts.” It’s written by major gift experts Roy C Jones and Andrew Olsen.

Today we  focus  on 13 ways you can engage your major donors to deepen that relationship.

  • 1. Olsen and Jones’s say there’s no better way to create engagement been giving your major donors the opportunity to experience working with you so get them in on your next project, let them help, let them really understand what your mission is all about and accomplishing. They will become even more committed and loyal to your organization.
  • 2. Spend a lot of time with your major donors because one-on-one is the only way that you can really build a meaningful relationship.

    How to build lasting relationships with major donors
    How to build lasting relationships with major donors
  • 3.  Host some small group events. Your big events are great but engaging your major donors through small intimate events is really the way to build commitment. At my last development position we to had wonderful small luncheon’s that our board members hosted for major donors and it was absolutely a perfect way to get to know them and get feedback about what they were thinking about your organization. I recommend this!
  • 4, do surveys. You will gather so much insight and everyone loves it when their opinion is sought after and this is especially true if your major donors who are providing a lot of funding for your mission. And you are going to benefit from knowing how they actually think!
  • 5.  Create a special pre-and post-event gathering for your big special event. This gives the smaller group the opportunity to engage with your executive director, your Board of Directors and other high-powered supporters. This works!
  • 6, invite your major donors to meet with your board members and senior executives at a board meeting. Your major donors expect a certain level of access and making certain that they have a clear line of communication with your leaders is an extremely important step in building a relationship.
  • 7,  start a major donor club with different levels of recognition. This gives major donors an additional incentive to give even more.
    8. Include a major donor feature in your newsletter to honor your most committed donors by asking him to tell you and of course everyone else a little bit about themselves and then why did they give to your organization. This can be a very interesting to everyone and a great way to showcase caring donors.
  • More ideas 9-11:  place an article of appreciation in a trade publication that is relevant to a major donors business. Or create a special secure portion on your website just for major donors. This is a great LIVEway to share behind-the-scene video updates and reports and surveys, provide your major donors with 24/7 access to all the information that they need to know that their gifts are being used effectively and efficiently.
  • 12 and I especially love this right now, is create a personalized video message.
    Facebook Live Vide
    Facebook Live Vide

    This is so timely with Facebook LIVE  and video streaming and zillion of phone videos so have fun! I think your donors will love this and the key here is personalization! Don’t record a generic message that can be sent to all donors, record a message to specific donors calling them out by name. Perfect, don’t you think?

OK, 13th & last tip (and certainly not least) from experts Olson and Jones is to now ask! ASK!! Ask for another gift!

It’s human nature to want to be needed and major donors are no different, in fact they love to know that you need them and need their support You’re not begging, you are asking and they appreciate it. They appreciate it even if they can’t say yes every time because they like to know that you feel that they’re there for you.
Remember to check out this book, “Rainmaking: The Fundraisers Guide to Landing Big Gifts.” Roy Jones and Andrew Olsen have crammed so many good ideas into this dynamite 119 page paperback

Olsen & Jones have great tips for getting those major gifts
Rainmaking: The Fundraisers Guide to Landing Big Gifts