7 Types of Donors That Could Be Your Next Major Gift Prospect

If you’re always looking externally for your next major gift prospect, you may overlook a loyal supporter already in your database. Yes, there are always new prospects to hook, but there may be future major gift donors who aren’t yet giving at high levels. 

And these are often your best major gift prospects, Liz Rejman, fundraising operations consultant at Liz Rejman & Co., said during the AFP ICON session, “Fill Your Prospect Pipeline: Internal and External Methods to Finding Your Next Major Gift Donors,” earlier this week in Toronto.

“They are actually those folks who … already donate to your organization — maybe at a more modest amount,” she said. “Maybe they're your volunteers. Maybe they are board members. Maybe they are members of your community. They could even be some of your clients. Let's not assume that the folks that you serve don't have the ability to be generous and donate.”

Once you’ve identified your prospects, there are a variety of ways — including recency, frequency monetary value (RFM), prospect prioritization scores and screening tools — to help you identify and prioritize these prospects. Though Rejman cautions organizations must have a data strategy heading into this process.

“Time and again, I've seen organizations that get really enthusiastic, they conduct intensive screenings, they buy all the products, they engage with all of the consultants, they identify this incredible list of people who have the potential to be generous to your organization and then nothing happens,” she said. “Nothing happens because they haven't thought about the strategy of how they're going to engage those people.” 

Rejman, who presented alongside Tracey Church, principal at Tracey Church & Associates, shared some key indicators someone might be a good major gift prospect: 

• Affinity. This is the person’s relationship to your nonprofit. They could be a donor, sustainer, volunteer, event attendee, etc.
• Propensity. This is the person’s history of giving philanthropically. They may not have given to your organization, but other organizations or causes.
• Connections. This is the person’s relationships with staff, board members, volunteers or other donors.
• Capacity. This is the person’s ability to give generously.

Here are seven types of donors your nonprofit can locate internally within your organization’s database. 

1. Donors Who Have Doubled Their Donation Year Over Year

Donors speak through their giving, Rejman said. As an example, she shared an instance from when she worked for a university and a donor elevated their giving year over year from $100 to $250 to $500. When she noticed the progression, she wondered what was happening and called the donor. 

“They just made partner with their accounting firm,” she said. “So they now have increased capacity because they have a higher salary [and have] a greater ability to give more generously. And then second, they had a greater affinity. They were like, ‘Hey, we liked the work that you're doing. I feel connected to my alma mater. I feel like now's a good time to start giving back.’”

2. Loyal Donors

Seek out which donors have given at least three of the past five years to determine loyalty and affinity. Rejman suggested only three of the past five years to avoid overlooking any loyal supporters that believe they’re donating annually but might not be giving based on your fiscal year, or had forgotten instead of actually lapsing. This pattern also shows affinity.

“They're indicating to you that they probably consider your organization one of their top three or top five that they give on a consistent basis,” she said.

3. Volunteers 

Volunteers might be offering their time and talent, which shows great affinity to your cause, but are they willing to add their treasure to the mix?

4. Disqualified Prospects

If you’ve previously solicited, asked or cultivated a donor who’s declined to give, or a previous donor fell through the cracks after a donor manager moved on from the organization, it may be time to revisit that person. 

“Lots of the time those folks are not hard nos,” Rejman said. “They may be ‘just not now.’ So always going back maybe on an annual basis or every other year to those disqualified prospects and taking a look at them again and saying, are they now ready to engage and be inspired? … Just because you don't meet their criteria today, doesn't mean you might not fit their criteria tomorrow.” 

5. Donors From Employee Giving Campaigns 

When supporters donate through an employee giving campaign, they likely have a higher ability to give that isn’t visible through this type of campaign, Rejman said. 

“And so through some inspiration, some engagement and cultivation, they may actually be capable of donating that much more to your organization,” she said.

6. Above-Average First-Time Donors

First-time donors may be testing the waters to see how your organization reacts. This is why it’s so important to thank your donors. 

“Those are really great prospects at the very least to have a nice thank-you call and learn more about what their motivation is — maybe trying to understand why they chose your organization to make that gift,” Rejman said.

7. Donors Who Give Smaller Gifts

Rejman gave an arbitrary amount of $100, but her point was to avoid relegating donors to lower labels, such as mid-level or annual donors, when they could have major-gift potential. 

“So that dollar amount that you artificially create in your organization in terms of what is a big gift versus what is not a big gift, I would challenge you, invite you to reconsider where that bar might be.”