40 Years from the Front Lines
Personal encounters, insights and laughs from the “trenches” by Larry G. Raff, President, Copley Raff
Personal encounters, insights and laughs from the “trenches” by Larry G. Raff, President, Copley Raff
Knowing the donor’s source of wealth will help you construct a stronger ask and recommendations for gift type and structure.
Your attitude and emotions about money can often interfere with the amount you ask of someone for a major gift and how comfortable you are asking. (Mishigoss is Yiddish for silly craziness.)
Be sure to have an open dialog with your board chairs about their responsibilities and your hopes for their involvement and giving.
The best research about the philanthropic capability of a donor candidate is finding a stakeholder who knows them well and then add that to the electronic wealth and other research. Then bring together colleagues to discuss the ask amount.
When building your donor pipeline, be sure to ask your more senior staff to review a screening list of prospects and to suggest potential donors.
Just because a nonprofit’s fundraising history is not strong does not mean it cannot be strengthened and begin attracting major donor gifts.
Think outside the box to build a major donor pipeline.
Your nonprofit needs to believe it is important enough to attract leadership and transformational gifts. Only then will that happen.
Being in an economic downturn does not mean your best donors are being affected. Keep a positive attitude until you know more about the donor’s situation.
Gaining access to high potential prospects is difficult. Finding and using the relationships of others is the key to success.
Bonding calls to thank donors for their giving is a chance to get to know them and to express your appreciation. The call greatly enhances the likelihood of continued giving.