NTC Roundup: Major Gift Fundraising and Social Media

A well-planned and –coordinated social-media e-campaign can set the stage for major gifts by identifying prospects with the affinity and ability to give larger gifts, and allows you to cultivate and educate them via the medium that brought them to your organization in the first place.

Then, Appleton said, “reel them in.”

“Once you have their attention,” she explained, “approach prospective donors in traditional ways — private meetings, case statements, grant proposals, etc. — and secure major gifts."

Finally, Appleton advised, “think smart.”

Fundraising is evolving and becoming increasingly multichannel, she said, and social media must be a part of every fundraiser’s toolbox. But as with every “next big thing” that comes down the pike, fundraisers have to incorporate it into their overall strategy, not pin all their hopes on it to the point of ignoring the basics of what makes fundraising work.

“Don’t forget,” she concluded, “that effective major-gift fundraising involves in-depth discussion and in-person relationship building.”

Click here for more information about Appleton’s session and to view her slideshow, and here for more on NTC.