Why Bill Gates Is Not a Prospect for Your Campaign

Why Bill Gates Is Not a Prospect for Your Campaign

FS Advisor: July 19, 2005

By Robert Hoak

Every year, development directors of nonprofits wait with bated breath for the arrival of the Forbes 400 List of the Richest People in America, the fundraiser’s guide to where the big money is. Right?

You have a great project. Bill Gates gives away a lot of money. You should have Bill at the top of your prospect list. He would be a great prospect, right? Wrong!

Unless your organization is immunizing against Hepatitis B in Andhra Pradesh or administering a library with a cutting-edge technology project in Seattle, you most likely are not a prospect for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Not recognizing the difference between legitimate prospects and dream suspects for a campaign is one of the most common mistakes that volunteers or board members make. Don’t discourage them from dreaming big. Rather, encourage them to concentrate their efforts on the prospects with the greatest potential return. Fish where the fish are!

So who and where are these prospects? More often than not their names are already in your database. They are the donors who support your events year after year or they are the friends and colleagues of your board members.

When evaluating your major-gift suspect list, remember these three major considerations:

1. What is the prospect’s affinity to the organization?

Has she/he given in the past? Where does your organization stand in the prospect’s list of philanthropic priorities? Has he/she or a family member ever been a volunteer? Has the prospect ever given to a similar cause?

2. What is the prospect’s ability to give?

Is your financial assessment of the prospect’s giving ability based on factual information? Has he/she made large gifts to your organization or other nonprofits in the past? Does he/she have any of the common wealth indicators? House? Car? Lifestyle? Career success? Inheritance? Children’s schooling? Vacation property? Clubs?