5 steps to big money through major gifts steps to big money through major gifts ... •are we a fit...

5 Steps to Big Money Through

Major Gifts

Gail Perry MBA CFRE

firedupfundraising.com

@gailperrync gp@gailperry.com

© Gail Perry 2016

Our Agenda

1. Attitude!

2. Organization-wide commitment.

3. The professional skills for

successful major gifts –

prospecting, approaching the

donor for an appointment, ask

warm-up, the ask itself.

Big Money Thru Major Gifts

What You’ll Get Today

• How to turn your development

office into a money-raising

machine.

• How to get the most out of your

limited time and staff.

• My personal secrets and short

cuts that have helped me raise

hundreds of millions.

GET ALL MY POWERPOINTS HERE

Plus a Free Workbook:

Skyrocket Your Fundraising with a

Major Gifts Program

http://www.gailperry.com/resources-afp-jacksonville/

A Question for You:

How much money do you think

is out there for your organization

BUT

You don’t have the time, resources or

organization to go out and get it?

Mingle Exercise:

What's your

biggest challenge

raising major gifts?

Groups of 3:

What are the

attitudes you need for major gift success?

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5 Major Gift Fundamentals

Major Gift Attitude

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1. You invest in the long

run.

Major Gift

Attitude

2. You are not

ever “selling.”

Major Gift Attitude

3. You are more focused on the overall

relationship with your donor.

10

Major Gift Attitude

4. You have to

invest the TIME.

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Want a Million Dollar Fundraising Mindset?

Clean Up YOUR attitude about MONEY

Attitude and Mindset:

Abundance . . . Not Scarcity

Stand in the

Place of Vision

and Possibility. . .

That’s Where the

Power is.

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Best Major Gift Fundraising Mindset:

Cheerfully Aggressive!

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Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

It Takes an Organization-Wide

Commitment

What is a Culture of Philanthropy?

Everyone in the organization agrees that

fundraising is valuable and important.

What is a Culture of Philanthropy? Everyone in the organization:

Values your

DONORS!

1. Agrees that Fundraising is an important area.

2. Agrees that donors are important and should

be honored.

3. Willing to be supportive.

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5 Major Gift Fundamentals

Rate Your Organization’s Culture of Philanthropy Scale of 1-10

Steps in Major Gift Fundraising

THANK THANK THANK AGAIN

CULTIVATE AND INVOLVE

ASK FOR SUPPORT

IDENTIFY

PROSPECTS

Major Gift Fundraising TIME AND ENERGY INVOLVED

in each step of the cycle

The “profit” in fundraising is in the

major gifts area.

Fundraising EVENT

50%

ANNUAL FUND 25-30%

MAJOR GIFT OR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

5-10%

Cost per dollar raised of various fundraising strategies

Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

Step 1:

Identify and Rate Your Prospects

Major Gift Fundraising

Focuses on the lovely FEW donors

at the TOP

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You Can’t

Chase

Everybody!

Forces you to narrow

down your focus.

Identifying Prospects Where Do Barry and Barb Bucks Fit?

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High $$ Low Likelihood

High $$ High Likelihood

Low $$ Low Likelihood

Low $$ High Likelihood

DOLLARS

LIKELIHOOD

Sample Prospect Rating Chart

Ability: A: $1 million D: $25k –99K Likelihood: 1 = high

B: $500k–1 mil E: 10K –25K 2 = medium

C: $100-500k F: $1k -10k 3 = low

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Where to Look for Prospects?

• Current donors

• Past donors

• Grateful patients or

recipients

• Former board

members

• Volunteers

5 Types of

Prospect Research: What are YOUR

favorite ways to find new prospects?

Major Gift Prospect Research

1. Internal Sources First

Your own donor database

Who’s been in touch with the donor

recently?

Have they made a recent gift?

Attended anything lately?

Birthdays? Kids? Business?

Major Gift Prospect Research:

2. What Can You Find Out Online?

Major Gift Prospect Research:

3. Local Networking

Be Out and About In Your

Community!

Major Gift Prospect Research:

4. Read the Paper

Be Well Read on Current

Events

Prospect Research:

5. Hearsay = Local Word of Mouth

Comments from friends and associates are useful, relevant and timely.

Who’s Giving? The Ladies!

A study of affluent older adults

found that

for every $100 men gave,

the women in the same

economic circumstances

gave $258. ”Women Give 2012”

Women’s Philanthropy Institute

Lilly School of Philanthropy

Indiana University

“Boomer and older women are

more likely to give to

charity and give more

than their male

counterparts when other factors affecting giving are

taken into consideration.” ”Women Give 2012”

Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the

Center on Philanthropy at

Indiana University

Don’t forget:

Older Ladies

You have a former donor who has lost

contact with your organization.

Create a strategy to:

Blue: Get in the door.

Yellow: Cultivate your donor.

Red: Warm them up for the ask.

Orange: Make the ask.

• Meet donor at an event.

• Board member introduces you.

• Call to ask for a visit.

• Call to say thank you.

• Call to invite them to an even.

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2. Strategy to Get in the Door

My Favorite Ways to Get In the Door

• Ask for help.

• Are we a fit for your interests?

• Can I run an idea by you?

• Ask about another donor or fundraising strategy.

• Touch base about a project.

• I’ll be in your area can I drop by?

• Ask your advice on something.

Get To Know You As A Donor

Power Questions to Get The

Appointment!

• “I’d love to hear why you chose to

give.

• “What inspired your gift?

• “Would you be willing to have coffee

with me, I’d love to understand your

story.

• “Mr. Jones, you’ve been a donor all

these years. My job is to know our

patrons . .

~Eli Jordfald, Senior Major Gifts Director, Lineberger

Cancer Center, UNC Chapel Hill

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Almost every visit with a prospect is a

“discovery” visit.

3. Strategies To Cultivate Your Donor

3 Objectives for Every Major Gift Visit

#1. A long term

FRIENDLY relationship.

3 Objectives for Every Major Gift Visit

#2. Find out where your donor stands.

Hot buttons?

Likes or dislikes your project?

How far is he away from making a gift?

Timing? Interests?

Competition?

Family or financial pressures?

Level of interest in YOUR project?

3 Objectives for Every Major Gift Visit

3. Get a next step with your prospect.

Can you call her again?

Do you have a reason to follow-up?

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• You are probing

• Find out where the

prospect stands

• “Tell me more about . . .”

What are your impressions?

The True Purpose of This Visit

is

To Get a Second Visit!

Major Gift Power Questions:

1. Asking for Advice

• Tell me what you think about. . .

• Please give me your guidance on . . .

• Can we brainstorm this idea?

• What should I do?

• How could I pull this off?

Major Gift Power Questions:

2. Probing Their Interest

• I’d love to hear about your philanthropy. . .

• What drives your philanthropy?

• What causes are you most passionate about?

• I’d love to know why you are interested in our cause?

• What are your top three philanthropic priorities?

• What would it take for our organization to become one of your priorities?

Major Gift Power Questions:

3. About Our Organization and Our

Project • What is your opinion of our organization?

• What do you think about this big project we are considering?

• Do you support our initiative? Why or why not?

• Tell me what you think about our strategy . . .

• How do you think we can accomplish this goal?

• Do you think we can raise the money?

• Who might be interested in supporting this?

• Who else should be involved?

Step 4: Ask Warm-Up

Ask-Warm-Up Questions

• If you were to make a major gift,

where would you want to focus?

• What would it take for us to be

among your top 3 philanthropic

priorities?

• We are trying to raise $100k this

summer for a specific project. What

do you think we should do?

Listen Your Way to the Gift

Gail’s #1 major gift fundraising

motto:

“When in doubt, shut up!”

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Asking for Permission to Ask:

• “You’ve been so involved, are you ready to talk

about your campaign gift?”

• “May we come chat with you about your possible

involvement and support?

• May we come and discuss your interest in this

project?

• We have an amazing opportunity we’d love to

discuss with you.

I Believe in Advice Visits

• If you want money,

ask for advice.

• If you want advice,

ask for money.

Step 5: The Ask

#1 Solicitation Rule:

When in doubt, shut up!

We were hoping you

would consider

a gift of $xxxx

to help accomplish

yyyy

and make zzzz impact

Use the MPI Formula

Present an Opportunity

“We have the opportunity to . . .”

Thundering Silence!

• Whoever speaks

next loses.

• The donor is having

a committee

meeting in her

head!

An ask is not

an ask

without

followup!

Follow Up!

Gail, we scheduled a visit with our top major

donor.

Thanks to you, we changed our plan with him.

We threw out our presentation and

instead asked for his advice on our

business plan.

He committed to match $1.5 million over five

years, starting with 200k now!!

GET ALL MY POWERPOINTS HERE

Plus a Free Workbook:

Skyrocket Your Fundraising with a

Major Gifts Program

http://www.gailperry.com/resources-afp-jacksonville/

More Resources at

FiredupFundraising.com

• Top 10 Things to Understand About How Fundraising Really Works Today

• 3 Important Goals for Every Major Donor Visit

• The Fundraiser’s Kiss of Death: Talking too Much!

• Top 10 Trends: How Major Donors are Changing & What to Do About It

• 5 Insanely Successful Ideas for Getting the Appointment With Your Major

Gift Prospect

• My #1 Secret to Raising Major Gifts

• Mastering the Soft Skills of Fundraising: 5 Important Tips

• The Advice Visit: Easy Way to Open The Door To Your Major Gift Prospect

• Show Me the Money: How To Move From Friendraising to Fundraising

• How Major Donors are Changing and What To Do About It

• Board Members’ #1 Job: How to Be a Personal Advocate for the Cause