The Insider’s Guide to Major Gifts

What are Major Gifts?

The definition of what constitutes a major gift differs from organization to organization. A small nonprofit might deem a major gift as anything over $1,000 while a large, established organization might call $50,000 a major gift. Outside of planned giving, major gifts are the largest donations that a nonprofit receives. However, they are not granted frequently.

Why are Major Gifts Important?

Because major gifts are often some of the largest donations that an organization receives, their importance cannot be overstated. Your nonprofit can boost its fundraising efforts when you take the time to cultivate, solicit, and steward your major gift donors properly. Major gifts only appear once in a while. Make sure your organization is prepared for them.

How to Ask For Major Gifts?

Major gifts don’t just fall out of the sky. Asking for major gifts takes more time and patience than donation appeals for smaller contributions. Once you have a relationship with a potential major gift donor, all you have to do is make your case and pitch the appeal. Forming that connection, though, is crucial to major gift success.

Major Gift Statistics for Small and Mid-sized Nonprofit Organizations

95%

of registered charities in the U.S. raise $10 million or less annually.

13.9%

of total donated income comes from major gift fundraising.

$5,000

The median donation amount which nonprofits classify as representing a major gift.

The mean number of donors organizations raising less than 10MM annually are cultivating for a first gift.

Sources: Amy Eisenstein, DonorSearch, Bloomerang

Major Gifts: The Process

The path leading up to receiving a major gift is not a quick and easy route. Because major gifts are substantial donations made by a single person (or family), they require more attention and cultivation than a smaller contribution would. But have no fear! We’ve broken the process down into four subsections to help you reach major gift success.

Research Your Major Gift Donors

Ability to Give

Property Ownership

Donors who own more than $2 million in real estate are 17 times more likely to give philanthropically than those who do not. By doing some research on property ownership, your nonprofit might uncover your next potential major donor.

Political Giving

People who give substantial amounts of money to political campaigns clearly have the funds to donate to a nonprofit. In fact, studies have shown that donors who give over $2,500 in FEC and charitable campaigns are 14 times more likely to give a charitable contribution than those who do not.

Stock Ownership

Over 55% of Americans hold stock in publicly traded companies. Ask contributors to donate stock to charity, also known as a securities donation, because it is up to 37% more tax effective than cash and can yield more in gifts. Also, advise donors to directly contribute stock over using a donor advised funds, or DAF that may delay when the nonprofit will receive the gift.

Willingness to Give

Past Giving

Someone who has donated to your organization in the past is likely to make a donation in the future.

Even if an individual hasn’t previously donated to your nonprofit, they will be more inclined to give in the future if they have a tendency to donate to other institutions.

Size of Past Donations

Someone who donates $10 to your organization every month might not be as strong of a major giving candidate as someone who donated $1,000 a year ago. Examine past donation amounts and look at giving trends as well.

Connection to Your Organization

Donors who have a positive relationship with your nonprofit can be fitting candidates for major giving. When paired with other philanthropic and wealth markers, a donor’s connection to your organization can be a good indicator of major giving.

Learn more about researching major gift donors.

Cultivate Your Major Gift Donors

An In-Person Meeting

Major gift donors deserve special care and attention if they are expected to donate a significant amount of money to your organization. An in-person meeting is a good first step in making connections with your major gift prospects and introducing them to your organization.

Follow-Up Communications

After your initial meeting with a prospect, follow up with additional communications. Include the prospect on your email newsletter list and send them personalized correspondence. Direct mail is a particularly effective, professional way to begin your follow-up. Ensure your messages are attractive, high-quality, and personalized to make the best impression possible.

Event Invitations

Major gift prospects like to know that their money will be spent on worthwhile endeavors. Inviting your major gift prospects will allow them to meet other donors and more of your nonprofit team, helping them form a more complete picture of your organization and your mission.

More Meetings

Meet with your major gift prospects after the initial meeting to further develop your relationship with them.

Learn more about cultivating major gift donors.

Ask Your Major Gift Donors

Formulate a Figure

During the research and cultivation stages, you should have determined a ballpark amount that would suit your major gift prospect. Make sure that this figure is correct — too high and you put your donor in an awkward position; too low and your organization leaves money on the table.

Practice the Ask

Before you walk into your solicitation meeting, you’ll want to practice the conversation. Pair up with a coworker and practice the different ways you might go about asking for a donation. Additionally, you should prepare (but not memorize!) some key notes and phrases to use during your meeting.

Prepare for Questions

You have to be prepared for negative or ambivalent answers. Even if you have the best research, cultivation, and solicitation strategies in the world, a donor might not be ready to give. If you receive a “Maybe,” “Not now,” or a “No,” offer other engagement opportunities like volunteering or event attendance.

Learn more about the major gift solicitation process.

Following Up With Your Major Gift Donors

Say Thank You

Let your major gift donors know (more than once!) that you appreciate their generosity. If they agree, give them public recognition as well.

Invite Them to Events

In addition to the standard fundraising events that you should be inviting major gift donors to, hold a special get-together for your top-tier givers.

Keep Them in the Loop

If a major gift donor supported a specific project, give them regular updates on the status of that project. If they gave to the annual fund, give them specific examples of what their money is going toward.

Note

Become a Matching Gift Expert! Grab our Free Ultimate Guide to Matching Gifts.

Major Gifts: Must-Haves

Warriors don’t go into battle unarmed, and your nonprofit team shouldn’t pursue major gifts without metaphorical armor either! We’e got a list of some must-have essentials to take with you on your journey toward major gifts.

Major Gifts Officer

Qualifications

In general, a major gifts officer should have the following qualifications:

Familiarity with fundraising.
Good communication skills.
Determination to solve problems.
Familiarity with your nonprofit or similar organizations.

Responsibilities

A major gifts officer spearheads all of the major giving initiatives at an organization and works closely with fundraisers and the prospect research team to determine major giving candidates.

A major gifts officer will be responsible for soliciting some of the largest donations that your organization receives. It is imperative, therefore, that your major gifts officer is comfortable and able to make those appeals and follow up with donors.

Check out the Major Gifts Officer Survival Guide.

Major Gift Metrics

Why You Should Track

Your nonprofit is already likely measuring a whole host of metrics ranging from return on investment (ROI) to matching gift metrics.

Continue that trend and start measuring major gifts metrics!

Measuring major gifts metrics will help you adjust course when something isn’t working like it should be.

What to Track

Some general metrics you should take a look at include:

The number of asks made.
The number of face-to-face visits over the course of time.
How much money you’ve raised with the help of major gifts.
The percentage of donors or prospects in each stage of the donor pipeline.

Check out more info on major gift metrics.

Major Gift Calculator

Importance of a Major Gift Calculator

Major gift calculators are essential to successful and strategic fundraising.

They are most useful when your nonprofit has a specific goal in mind and needs to reach that goal in a specified timeframe.

Whether you’re part of a small nonprofit or you play a larger role in an established organization, you can use a major gift calculator to determine how many donations you need at each giving level.

Not every donor is able to give the same amount, and a major gift calculator can help you determine how many donations you need to secure and how you can go about asking for those contributions.

No fundraising methodology is perfect. But a major gift calculator can help you more accurately pinpoint where you need to focus your fundraising efforts.

Example Calculator

Begin with your fundraising goal as your starting point. For simplicity’s sake, let’s assume you need to raise $500,000.

Next, you’ll need to estimate the largest gift you’ll be able to secure. Depending on your organization, this will likely be between 15% and 30% of your fundraising goal. Let’s call it 20%, or $100,000 in this example.

Then, calculate the next highest gift amounts. The easiest way to do this is by halving each consecutive gift level.

So, in our example, the giving levels would be:

$50,000
$25,000
$12,500
$6,250

Then, assign the number of donations you’ll need for each giving level to reach your goal. In this example, we’ll need:

1 donation of $100,000
2 donations of $50,000
4 donations of $25,000
8 donations of $12,500
16 donations of $6,250

The idea is to bring in a few large donations and many smaller ones.

Learn more about major gift calculators.

Major Gifts and Prospect Research

What Prospect Research Tells You

You can use prospect research to help you learn more about your donors, major or otherwise. The information from a prospect screening will tell you a donor’s:

Past giving to your organization, other nonprofits, and political campaigns.
Business affiliations.
Real estate and public stock ownership.
Basic information like name, address, and marital status.

Why You Need Prospect Research for Major Gifts

Looking for your major gift donors without prospect research is like looking for buried treasure without a map. You might stumble upon some hidden treasure chest, but the odds are definitely stacked against you.

Having the information that prospect research can give you can help you determine who your major gift prospects are and how much money you can reasonably ask them for.

Learn more about prospect research and major gifts.

Major Gift Fundraising Supplements

Now that you know all about major gifts and know about the various resources that you’ll need, it’s time to go after those major donations! Before you rush out the door and start making donation appeals, ensure that you’re properly prepared with the following major gift fundraising supplements. From fundraising event ideas geared toward major gift donors to online donation tools, we’ve got everything you could need!

Major Gifts and Matching Gifts

How to Pair Matching Gifts and Major Gifts

Combine major gifts and matching gifts by:

Encouraging your major gift donors to look into corporate matching gifts. Even though most companies place limitations on their matching gift programs, those caps are often generous amounts ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. Your nonprofit can stand to potentially receive two major gifts when you let your major gift donors know about major gifts.
Asking your major gift donors to start a matching gift program at their company. Many major gift donors either own their own businesses or serve in a leadership position at a corporation. If that company doesn’t already have a matching gift program, you can encourage your major gift donors to put one in place.

Why Pair Matching Gifts and Major Gifts

What’s better than a major donation?

Two major donations!

Major gifts and matching gifts are like the celebrity power couple of the nonprofit fundraising world. They can also be tricky to pin down.

When your major gift donors are aware of matching gift programs, your nonprofit receives two substantial donations. Make sure that you’re promoting matching gifts to all of your donors in general, but especially to your major gift donors.

Discover why matching gifts are the holy grail of major gifts!

Major Gifts and Fundraisers

How to Pair Major Gifts and Fundraisers

If you want to show your major gift donors how you are using their funds and give them a chance to directly interact with each other and your organization, try hosting a fundraising event!

While the underlying purpose of fundraising events is to raise additional money for your nonprofit, they can also be excellent opportunities to connect with your major gift donors.

Fundraising Ideas

Double the Donation has a whole selection of over 200 fundraising ideas that you can host for your donors. These ideas include:

Try hosting a fundraiser to generate more revenue for your nonprofit and get to know your major gift donors a little bit better!

Check out our guide to nonprofit fundraising.

Major Gifts and Challenge Grants

What are Challenge Grants?

Challenge grants are issued by companies and foundations.

They require nonprofits to complete a “challenge” before funds are released.

The challenge in question is usually fiscally-based, meaning that a nonprofit must raise a certain amount of money before being eligible to receive the grant.

Challenge grants also require the nonprofit to give regular updates to the grant-making party.

Pairing Major Gifts and Challenge Grants

Since challenge grants have a timeline attached to them, your fundraising goals must be strategic and purposeful.

What better opportunity to solicit major gift donors?

Because you have a defined goal and a specific deadline, you can research, cultivate, solicit, and steward your major gift donors with your end game in mind.

Check out more info about challenge grants.