Just started a new major gifts job or wanting to switch roles? Wondering where to begin with major gifts? Needing a “circuit breaker”? Are you a board member or CEO - wondering if there’s something simple but important which isn’t happening the right way? Try this professional advancement quiz. Our suggested answers to these four questions might surprise you. What’s the most effective first step where major gifts prospects are lacking? What case material is most useful for staff to engage with donors to encourage major gifts? What is useful for staff to prepare before a cultivation meeting with prospective donors? What’s the one irreplaceable staff role in major gifts planning and execution?

1. BOOSTING YOUR MAJOR GIFTS
FUNDRAISING
Professional
Advancement
Quiz

2. Just started
a new major gifts job or wanting to switch roles?
Needing a circuit breaker?
Wondering where to begin with major gifts?

3. Are you a board member or CEO?
Wondering if there’s something
Are you a board member or CEO?
simple but important
which isn’t happening the right way?

4. Try This 4 Question Quiz
There are no trick
questions or trick
answers.
If the answers seem
obvious, that’s
because they are.

5. QUESTION 1
WHAT’S THE MOST EFFECTIVE FIRST STEP WHERE MAJOR GIFTS
PROSPECTS ARE LACKING?

6. Find out which of your board members knows
people on a published “Rich List”A.
Check your organisation’s contact and dealings
with major donors from the past seven years
Pay to get a “data matched profile” of your
donors compared to known major donors and high
income people.
B.
C.

7. OUR ANSWER:
CHECK YOUR ORGANISATION’S CONTACT AND DEALINGS WITH MAJOR DONORS FROM THE PAST
SEVEN YEARS
The most cost effective results come from
re-activating lapsed donor relationships
first (and upgrading the gifts of current
donors).
Option B

8. There are some excellent prospects
for renewal of large gifts from your past
donors.
Inadequate stewardship can
sometimes be fixed.

9. If that person, foundation or company haven’t
given a donation in past 5 years, do you
know why?
Look back
at the 30 largest gifts your organisation received in the past 5 years.
If there’s no apparent personal
connection, can that be remedied or
an unknown connection re-found?

10. Detective work will be involved:
Talking with your
CEO, past board members,
even past staff.

11. Sometimes the reasons will be embarrassingly simple:
database coding meant that they didn’t even receive your
newsletter.
Sometimes the reasons will be plain embarrassing:
your organisation in the past performed poorly.

12. Swallow our personal and organisational pride;
we just need a small number to be positive.
You will work out when it’s a waste of effort to keep
trying or searching.
You will find some happy people as well.

13. The data matched list is an excellent step once you have
started a thorough program to look for prospective major
supporters from the direct knowledge of your
organisation’s leadership.
List matching is never a substitute for information from
people who know a donor as a friend or business associate.
PAY TO GET A “DATA MATCHED PROFILE” OF YOUR DONORS COMPARED TO KNOWN MAJOR DONORS AND
HIGH INCOME PEOPLE.
Option C?

14. FIND OUT WHICH OF YOUR BOARD MEMBERS KNOWS PEOPLE ON A PUBLISHED “RICH LIST”
The “Rich List” is the third priority step. To begin with it is the
wrong priority –
the prospective donor’s financial capacity.
Much more important is finding people with linkage to your
organisation’s people, and interest in your organisation’s mission.
Option A?

15. WHAT CASE MATERIAL IS MOST USEFUL FOR STAFF TO
ENGAGE WITH DONORS TO ENCOURAGE MAJOR GIFTS?
QUESTION 2

16. A high quality video with personal
testimonials from people who have benefited
An impact report about the
organisation’s work
Stories about recent projects including
donor contributions and what they achieved
A.
B.
C.

17. Stories of organisational achievements
which also show that donors’ contributions were
important are the most effective.
We don’t usually have to artificially choose one
only of options like A, B and C.
OUR ANSWER:
STORIES ABOUT RECENT PROJECTS INCLUDING DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS AND WHAT THEY ACHIEVED
Option C

18. The same collection which contains emotional stories from
beneficiaries can also contain both the results of evaluation and
illustrations of donors’ contribution.
“Story telling” reminds us how important emotional
engagement is in fundraising.
Long after they have forgotten the details of organisational
strategy or statistics, donors will remember a story about a
person.

19. WHAT IS USEFUL FOR STAFF TO PREPARE BEFORE A
CULTIVATION MEETING WITH PROSPECTIVE DONORS?
QUESTION 3

20. An “elevator pitch” which summarises the
organisation’s mission and key strengths.
Key statistics about the outcomes and
impact of the organisation’s work.
Questions to ask the donor.
A.
B.
C.

21. OUR ANSWER:
QUESTIONS TO ASK THE DONOR.
The most important process within a meeting is to enable the
donor to:
occupy the social space, talk about his or her motivations,
feelings about the cause and the organisation, and
ask questions.
Option C

22. Even in meetings which are intended to solicit a gift, the same
process applies, with the proviso that there must also be a
point where someone asks for the gift.
Preparing questions partly directs our attention to thinking about the particular
donor as an individual.
It helps us avoid the trap of feeling nervous and
talking too much about the organisation.
It courteously reminds others in the meeting about the same need.

23. Many donors want to ask questions too. That’s a good sign.
Regularly pause the flow of information, and check with the donor (verbally or
non-verbally) if she has something to say or ask.
Thanks to Gail Perry, Xponential’s international associate, for this elegantly
simple and open-ended formula:
just pause, and ask the question:
“What are your impressions?”

24. An “elevator pitch” and key statistics about outcomes?
These are both valuable, and warrant careful development and
rehearsal.
Options A & B

25. THE “ELEVATOR PITCH” ?
 Certainly, many donors are busy people, and it helps
to prepare words which are brief and attention-
grabbing.
Focus on what donors might be likely to engage with.
 Think of an “elevator opening” rather than the
“elevator pitch”.
Donors don’t want to be greeted with or “subjected to”
a pitch, particularly if it feels formulaic.
Option A

26. MISSION AND VALUES
“is that something I’d like to be part of?” we hope the donor will think
IMPACT
“that sounds like something where a donation would actually achieve
something” we hope the donor will think

27. KEY STATISTICS?
Some donors do want to hear facts and figures
which show outcomes.
Option B
Don’t lose the emotive energy of what the outcome is
and why it’s important.

28. QUESTION 4
WHAT’S THE ONE IRREPLACEABLE STAFF ROLE IN MAJOR GIFTS
PLANNING AND EXECUTION?

29. A.The major gifts executive
A.The chief executive officer
A.The donor relations team member
B.
C.
A.

30. OUR ANSWER
THE MAJOR GIFTS EXECUTIVE
Option B
The major gifts executive is essential to actually
planning, monitoring and executing the identification,
cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of major
donors.

31. The CEO is critical to the organisation’s
credibility.
A good CEO who understands
relationship building and does it with
donors is gold – provided she isn’t locked
into the idea that “it’s all about us”.
Even great CEO’s sometimes need a tactful
reminder about doing plenty of listening.
Option C?

32. The CEO is usually the most influential in the major gifts
process, but in a different sense, the role is “replaceable”.
Another leader can give credibility to the
organisation and bring her own reputational weight.
Ideally - a board member.
Or a leading professional, a scientist, or the creative genius who drives a cultural organisation.

33. The donor relations team member who answers the phone and emails, and
processes donations is also important.
He is a vital front line in communicating the organisation’s
authenticity and valuing of donors.
Secondly, he is an important source of clues about donors whose
support could be upgraded with the right cultivation.
Option A?

34. But, the major gifts
executive should be the
staff member with
primary responsibility to
plan the steps of
cultivating, soliciting and
stewarding the donor.

35. This doesn’t mean
actually doing all
those steps
It may simply mean making
a plan and ensuring that
others do what’s required.

36. The role is a combination of gatekeeper and planner, to work
out how to show the organisation at its best.
This improves internal co-ordination and gives a better
chance that the donor will feel your organisation is seamless.
The CEO needs to tactfully ensure that actions of volunteer
leadership (board, and campaign volunteers) are planned with
staff.

37. ROEWEN WISHART IS DIRECTOR OF XPONENTIAL STRATEGY
Your organisation helps meet the world’s greatest
needs. Xponential Strategy helps you plan your
fundraising to reach where you need to be.
Part of Xponential Group, the fundraising specialists
raising millions of dollars for not-for-profit
organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Follow us on LinkedIn and on SlideShare for high
quality ideas about fundraising for Big Gifts.