A DOZEN MAJOR GIFT TIPS FOR YEAR-END SUCCESS

Just in time for year-end success, 12 tips to review for Major Gift love!

Are You Comfortable With The Legacy Conversation?

Year-End means ‘meaningful’ gratitude conversations with your very best donors! This could be a perfect opportunity to get a good sense of your donors level of commitment and future support! Do you have the right question to segue into Legacy Giving? Watch now!

12 Year-End Fundraising Checklists

12 fundraising checklists that will take your year-end fundraising to huge heights so you’ll definitely want to review and check off each detail!

Blockbuster is all about bringing all the very best fundraising tips to one place where you can spend minutes a day, reviewing, refreshing and learning from the most excellent fundraising leaders globally available. Today’s Facebook LIVE presents 12 fundraising checklists that to be best you want to review and check off each detail! Save and watch in October so your plans are complete and completely super ready for fab 2017 success!

Landing the Big Major Gift Now

Major Gift Success Tips In Time For Year-End Success

Major Gifts Success

With only 90 days left in the year, do we still have time for major gifts? Of course! But you need to start now.

Your annual giving program is the primary source of major gift prospects. Five to twenty percent of all donors who give by direct mail really have more than $1 million in liquidity and gift capacity. This means there is a treasure trove of prospects right there on your mailing list. You just need to find them and start cultivating them.

A great source of major gifts information is the book Rainmaking, the Fundraiser’s Guide to Landing Big Gifts by Roy C. Jones and Andrew Olsen.
Here are the steps you need to take now to have major gift success this year:

Step 1: Review
First, review last year’s numbers. Who were your biggest donors? Are there donors on your list who could be giving more?
Step 2: Prioritize
Now you can decide who your best suspects for becoming major donors are. Move these individuals to prospects. This is called moves management.
Step 3: Get on the phone
The next step is to make phone calls! These calls must be important, scripted, and purposeful. Make a calling plan and stick to it. Your goal for these phone calls is to secure a meeting. Likely, it will take a lot of time and phone calls to reach this goal. To simply talk to 10 people, you have to dial the phone over 50 times and leave over 20 voicemails. Talking to those 10 people will yield you about three meetings. Yes, it’ll take you 50 phone calls to get just three meetings. So start calling!!!
Step 4: Meeting preparation
Now that you’ve got some meetings set up, the next step is to attend the meetings, right? Not so fast! You need to seriously prep and plan for the meeting first. Put a customized cultivation plan together for every donor you are going to meet with. Make sure you know what you are going to talk to them about, which of your programs interest them most, and what you are going to ask them for. The more prepared you are, the more likely you are to have a successful meeting.

SUCCESSFUL 7 STEP MAJOR GIFT PROCESS

Borrow these seven steps for Major Gift Success

Major gift fundraising isn’t rocket science! That is what major gift fundraising experts Jeff Schreifels and Richard Perry from the Veritus Group tell us in their blog. They do acknowledge that it is very hard work and it does require a process. Fortunately for us, Jeff and Richard developed a brilliant major gift process.

Here is their process broken down into seven steps:

Step 1: Cultivate the right donors.
You should have a qualified list of donors right now. These are donors that you plan to present to before year end. Now is not the time to chase unqualified major gift donors. Keep your list updated and organized.
Step 2: Have a revenue goal for each donor.
Setting goals is necessary to success. It gives you your destination. Look at each donor individually and determine a realistic goal for each.
Step 3: Have a strategic plan for each donor.
It is important to carefully plan how you’re going to achieve each goal. If you don’t have a roadmap you aren’t going to be able to stay focused and accountable. Your plans should be donor focused, so take time to identify and ensure you are serving the interest and passion of the donor.
Step 4: Meet face-to-face.
Half of your time now should be spent face to face with your prospects. You’ve already done the research and know all about them so now you need to meet in person.
Step 5: Be donor-centric.
Match your program ask with the hopes, dreams, and desires of the donor. Know exactly what about your mission that they are passionate about and be sure you are focusing on that anytime you talk to them.
Step 6: Thank your donors.
When they give, thank them immediately. Make sure it is heartfelt and personalized. Have leadership in your organization call them in addition to the standard letter.
Step 7: Report back.
Make sure they know they made a difference and understand their impact.

Magic ‘Moves Management” Steps for Major Gift Success

Moves Management Skills

Perfecting moves management is essential to securing major gifts. David Dunlap is a moves management pioneer. He says the moves concept focuses major gift fundraising on changing people’s attitudes so they want to give.

What are moves?
A cultivation opportunity. Any great way to get to know your prospect better and let them get to know your organization, mission, and programs better. A move must be important enough and passionate enough that the prospect regards this as wonderful giving opportunity to your organization. You must know something about the prospect before this visit. Cultivation must be according to a plan and mission directed. You must know exactly what you want to accomplish.
Examples of cultivation opportunities:
• Behind the scenes tour or your facility
• An invitation to a small special event
• An insider’s newsletter
• An invitation to lunch or dinner with Director of Development, Executive Director, or a member of your Board of Directors
• An invitation to give feedback on latest event or case statement

Cultivation Visits
In order to have a successful cultivation visit, you must have a plan and a clear goal. The visit should be focused and goal oriented.
Here are five things to consider while preparing for your visit:
1. What is the best possible outcome and the minimum acceptable outcome?
2. Review the key points you are going to cover.
3. List a small number of benefits that you believe will appeal to the prospect.
4. Determine what you will ask your donor to do, agree to, or react to.
5. List anticipated questions and your responses. Remember questions are good, you just want to make sure you have a great response.

Here are eight steps to get started:
1. Select 10 – 25 of your best prospects.
2. Gather research on each and every one of them.
3. Identify volunteer board members and staff for each prospect.
4. Consult board members and staff that you think know each donor the best to find out as much as you can about the donor and their motivation.
5. Develop a strategy for each donor with definite gift amounts and opportunities.
6. Plan your next moves based on your strategy.
7. Implement those moves!
8. Review your moves

It is very important to be able to track your moves and your progress. Your database should include a pre-programed moves management system with reporting. If you don’t have access to this, use a calendar software. Just enter the moves you want to make and set a reminder for each.

STEPS AND STAIRWAY TO MAJOR GIFT SUCCESS

You still have time in 2017 to make your major gifts super successful with these 13 steps from the book, Rainmaking: The Fundraisers Guide to Landing Big Gifts. Roy Jones and Andrew Olsen give us great ways to engage and connect with our major gift donors right now.

13 Tips for Major Gift Commitment

It is always great to find new ways to engage and connect with your major gift donors. Roy Jones and Andrew Olsen offer 13 ideas for on how to do just this in their book, Rainmaking: A Fundraisers Guide to Landing Big Gifts.

Tip #1: Meaningful experience

There is no better way to create engagement than giving your donors the opportunity to experience working with you. It will help them understand what you are doing and become more committed.

Tip #2: One-on-One

Spend time with your major donor prospects one-on-one. This will help build a deep meaningful relationship.

Tip #3: Host small group events

Engaging your major donors with small intimate events is a wonderful way to build commitment. Small lunches at the home of a board member is a great way to do this. You will be able to gather great insight into your donors at these events.

Tip #4: Ask for feedback

It is a great idea to ask your major donors for feedback on a program they support or your future plans. Everyone likes it when their opinion is sought after and it will make your prospects feel respected and valuable.

Tip #5: Special event special gathering

For your upcoming events, create special pre- and post-event gatherings that are by invite only. This will give your prospects an opportunity to engage with leadership and with other major donors.

Tip #6: Leadership access

Invite your major donors to meet your board and senior executives. Your major donors expect a certain level of access. Ensuring they have a clear line of communication with your leaders is an important step in building trust

Tip #7: Special communication

Create a special monthly communication from your executive director just for your major donors. This could be email or snail mail. Be clear that this is an exclusive message just for your closest supporters.

Tip #8: Donor club

Establish a major donor club with multiple levels of recognition. This will give your donors an additional incentive to give even more and make them feel special.

Tip #9: Donor feature

Include a “donor feature” in your newsletter where you focus on one of your major donors. This is a great way to honor your most committed donors by asking them to share about themselves and why they give.

Tip #10: Special article

Place an article of appreciation in a trade publication relevant to their business. This will reach your donor’s colleagues outside your organization and share the news of their commitment to your cause.

Tip #11: Exclusive web access

Create a special secure access portion of your website just for your donors. Here you can share behind the scenes videos, updates, and reports. Give them information they need to be sure their gifts are being used effectively.

Tip #12: Personalized video messages

Your donors will love to receive a personalized video message on social media. Make sure to personalize it specifically to each donor by calling them by name
Go for it and ask for another gift! It is human nature to want to be needed and major donors love to know they are needed and wanted. They will appreciate being asked even if they can’t say yes every time.

Tip #13: ASK AGAIN

How Many Times A Year Should You ‘Ask’ Your Donors For Gifts?

Hey, how often can you ask in a year without driving off donors? And should you work more on raising awareness than raising money? And do you think Newsletters lose money? So many good questions and even better answers taken from Tom Aherns 20 Questions, The Donor Communications Test! You Need to Take this Test and can get it here but if you want a sneak peak, watch this now!
and here’s the link: http://www.aherncomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/20Questions_ebook_final2016_v3.pdf

RETAIN, RENEW & UPGRADE DONORS TIPS

As you close in on the half-year fundraising mark,

how are you doing with your fundraising goals?

Specifically, How’s Your 2017 Renewal Rate Looking?

Review your Data Now! Make the Extra Effort to be Better Than Ever!

More Information Below:

Giving Levels: https://wiredimpact.com/blog/giving-levels-drive-donations/
Moves Management: http://www.salesforce.org/enabling-moves-management-process-npsp/

RETAIN, RENEW & UPGRADE

Did you know that Individual donors account for 72% of all giving? Just think of how much more you could raise if you could retain and upgrade all of your donors. The sky is the limit! It is essential that you take the necessary steps to not only keep your donors but to encourage them to give more.

How to Retain Your Donors

Your current donors are your low hanging fruit, your easiest targets. You already know they are invested in your cause and they care about your mission. However, if you don’t handle them correctly, they could very easily take their donations elsewhere. Here’s how to keep them:

Appreciate them!

Organize a call unit to make phone calls to thank them for their past donations. Mention how grateful your organization is for their support in each appeal letter. Make sure they feel special and valued.

Tell them how they made a difference.

What did you do with the last gift your donor sent you? Did it pay for 10 children to attend camp? Buy food for 20 families? Sharing the tremendous impact that your donor made on the lives of others will not only make them feel good about their last gift, it will make them eager to give again!

How to Upgrade Your Donors

A sure way to raise more money for your cause without even having to find more donors is to get your current donors to give more. Some donors tend to send the same check year after year, while others may jump around based on their personal situation. Here are a few ideas for getting them to upgrade:

Suggested giving levels

How will your donor ever know that you could really use $150 instead of the $100 they’ve been sending every year? Simply suggesting a higher gift amount is sure to get your donor to at least consider upgrading. As long as it is done respectfully and thoughtfully, you’ll never offend a donor by suggesting a higher gift amount.

Use specific data

Use specific numbers, goals, and costs when suggesting a donor increase their gift. Tell them why you need it and what it will do. Justify your ask.

Moves Management

The most important thing you can do to upgrade your donors is develop a good moves management program. Look through your donor data and chart out who you plan to upgrade and how you plan to get there. Then, of course, make sure you follow your plan!

How to Handle Downgrades

Some donors are going to downgrade. That’s life. Maybe they were hit with unexpected bills, a job change, or felt like they needed to spend more of their donation dollars somewhere else. Regarding these donors with care and respect is vital. Don’t lose these donors!

Recognition

Form a recognition society based on longevity of giving. This will make your donors realize that they are still important to you. They’ll want to keep on giving to stay in the “club.”

Communication

Keep the lines of communication open. Make sure they are still receiving information about your programs and the impact of their donation. You could even explore other methods of giving from in-kind gifts to planned giving.

Cultivating Major Donor Trust

CULTIVATING MAJOR DONOR TRUST

“Building Donor Trust has never been more important to non-profits than it is today!

What are best tips to build and maintain donor trust because we all know the trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.”

How do you build and cultivate trust with major donors?

Trust is imperative in this relationship. Major donors are wealthy individuals and they can spot someone wanting money from them a mile away. You want major gift donors to know you value your relationship with them because of who they are, not because of the number of zeros in their bank account.

In their book, Rainmaking: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Landing Big Gifts, Roy Jones and Andrew Olsen suggest these tips to building trust:

Practice active listening

This means that you really pay attention when your donor is talking, you ensure that you understand what they are saying, and you remember what was said. While your donor is speaking you should maintain eye contact, nod, voice your understanding, and provide feedback that lets your donor know that you heard and appreciated what they were saying.

Category: MAJOR DONOR MAGIC