If you can afford only one development professional, that person should probably have skills and experience in building an annual fund, focusing mostly on mass individual giving – building your donor base in terms of numbers and trying to move donors up in their giving.
Read MoreProspective donors thinking about leaving a portion of their estate to your group want to know how you will handle their gift – possibly the largest gift they will ever make. Having an endowment in place can make all the difference in their confidence.
Read MoreA gift to your organization may make one of your supporters a major donor to you, while the same gift to their alma mater puts them in the lowest level gift club. There’s not one dollar amount that defines a major gift, even for one organization. But there are rules of thumb.
Read MoreOrganization leaders often realize they need to build a major gifts program. Specifically, they need donors to give occasional special gifts to invest in the organization in ways that no one else can or will invest. They also need donors who believe in the organization’s mission fundamentally, and will give significant gifts to sustain annual operations. But what does it take?
Read MoreIRS data show that charitable bequests of recent years average more than $32,000 in value, which qualifies as a major gift in the view of most nonprofits. The amount of a bequest may be 50 or more times the value of the donor’s annual gift. What a return on investment for the efforts to establish a planned giving program!
Read MoreIf your Board members are giving as much as they can personally, they can feel confident in helping others to give at the level they are able, which may be much higher. It takes work to help your Board members understand the power of their own example and their own story.
Read MoreOne meaning of “building your donor base” is to increase support from your existing donors, or as I like to call it, “loving those who already love you.” How can it be done?
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