Slidedeck from our recent webinar, "How to Close a Major Gift (Even If You've Never Done It Before)" View the recording here: https://vimeo.com/131809819

1. How
…Even If You’ve Never Done It Before
Close
Major Gift
to a

2. Instructors
Ben Lamson - Co-founder of WeDidIt
Andrew Littlefield - Nonprofit Fundraising
Marketer at WeDidIt
Special Guests
Paul D'Alessandro, J.D., CFRE - Founder
and CEO of D'Alessandro Inc.
John J. Corcoran - President and COO
of D'Alessandro Inc.

3. Picture representing anxiety
Flickr user bark

6. 70%70% of fundraisers say solicitation or
identification are the major gift stages
they feel the least comfortable with

7. Pic representing people skills

8. Getting
Systematic

10. http://fundraisergrrl.tumblr.com/
Major gifts is not a quantity game, it’s a
quality game and metrics should center on
what you’re doing to move prospects down
the pipeline.
“
”- Rory Green.

11. Vanity Metrics

12. Identifying
Prospects

13. Donor
Persona

14. Donor
Persona
What is a
?

15. Align donors with mission
Identify most effective communications

16. Emily Entrepreneur
Demographics
Gender: Female
Age: 35 - 50
Family: Husband, one child
Income: $100,000/year

17. Work
Job Role: Small business owner
Experience: 7+ years

18. Strengths
• Extremely self-motivated
• Self-reliant
• Large network, expert connector
Challenges
• Extremely time-crunched
• Cost conscious
• Constantly being asked to support causes, help
others, have “brain picked”

19. Motivations for Support
• Self-made business woman, strong believer in
power of small business to lift self
• Supporter of women’s issues and providing
opportunities for women to “break the glass
ceiling”
• Providing employees with opportunity to give
back to community
• Avenue for social good opportunities
• Tax considerations

20. Communication Considerations
• Text/email before calling
• Keep emails short and to the point
• Be flexible with timing
• Keep voicemails extremely short, if leaving
them at all
• Communicate value

21. Events of Interest
• Networking events
• Mentoring opportunities
• Company-wide days of service

22. Donor
Persona
How to build a

23. Inspect current
donors/supporters, identify trends

24. Hometown industries

25. Demographics

26. Conduct donor interviews
• What was the last appeal they gave to?
• Why do they give? What “pushed them over the
edge?”
• How did they learn about the last nonprofit they
gave to?
• In what ways do they feel comfortable giving to
an organization?
• What factors contribute to their trust of a
nonprofit organization?
• What would stop them from giving?

27. 1 2 3
Create multiple personas

28. Finding
Prospects

29. Flickr user Chris

31. Emily Entrepreneur
Demographics
Gender: Female
Age: 35 - 50
Family: Husband, one child
Income: $100,000/year

32. Work
Job Role: Small business owner
Experience: 7+ years

33. Making the
BIG Ask

34. Fundraising = Sales

35. Set expectations
(Don’t surprise them)

36. Demonstrate confident

37. Understand how their donation can
serve them and what THEY care about

38. Clearly communicate
HOW the donation will
make an impact.

39. Understand their decision
making process

40. 10 Things
Not to Do
on a
Solicitation Call
© D’Alessandro Inc.

41. Going Alone
© D’Alessandro Inc.

42. Not knowing
ANYTHING
about the prospect
© D’Alessandro Inc.

43. Failing to Develop Rapport
© D’Alessandro Inc.

44. Failing to
LISTEN
to the prospect(s)
© D’Alessandro Inc.

45. Talking TOO much
© D’Alessandro Inc.

46. Arguing/Debating
© D’Alessandro Inc.

47. Overwhelming the prospect(s)
© D’Alessandro Inc.

48. Failing to make the ask
© D’Alessandro Inc.

49. Failing to say…
Flicker user woodleywonderworks
© D’Alessandro Inc.

50. Failing to follow-up
© D’Alessandro Inc.

51. Questions?

52. WeDidIt Academy Course

53. • Professional Non-profit fundraising and consulting firm
• 21+ year record of success with funding initiatives from
$500,000 to $3.9 billion
• Clients located throughout the United States
• Focus areas include fundraising, coaching, training, and
consulting
• Paul and John are seasoned professionals who have
conducted over 4,000 personal solicitation calls
www.dalessandroinc.com

54. John – John@dalessandroinc.com
Paul – Paul@dalessandroinc.com
www.dalessandroinc.com

55. Special Private Q&A

56. Fundraising just got smarter, not harder.
Insights
Targeted donor
prospecting helps
you uncover new
major gift donors
and social
influencers
Mobile
Take donations
anywhere, anytime,
no hardware
required. All while
capturing donor
data.
Campaigns
Set-up
crowdfunding
campaigns with
ease, with your
branding and style.
Donations
Accept year-round
donations online
with high
converting,
beautifully designed
donation pages.
Peer-to-Peer
Empower anyone to
fundraise on your
behalf. Supporters
can set-up
fundraising pages
with ease.

58. blog.wedid.it/subscribe

59. Fundraising tools for
data hungry fundraisers.