Interview With Kenneth Grunke, Director of Individual and Major Giving, Pillars

FS: Can you describe a recent successful fundraising effort?
KG: “We recently redefined our major-giving program, which had not been active for the past several years. Within just four months of developing the new program, we had 49 donors with a total giving summary of over $200,000. We immediately put together a cultivation/acknowledgement event, thanking them for their support and encouraging others to consider strengthening their support. We announced that normally, at these kinds of events, organizations look at giving out tchotchkes as thank-you tokens. However, we decided to give a gift that would be even more meaningful, as well as a return on their investments. We brought in two clients who wanted to share their success stories. Needless to say, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. In addition, we received many interested prospects and new gifts.