Jeff Schreifels

These days, one of the top questions we are asked at Veritus is: “How should I talk to my major donors during this pandemic?”

One of the pushbacks we get from MGOs about “The Veritus Way” is the need to create at least one touchpoint per month per donor.

People love a good deal. This is also true for donors.

You will be able to find articles, blog posts, conference presentations and retreats centered on creating a culture of philanthropy.

We get asked all the time whether or not a major donor should get fund appeal letters, email solicitations, etc. 

Most nonprofits do not value major gifts and the work it takes to develop one-on-one relationships with donors. If they did, you would see everyone focusing on it.

At Veritus, we believe that creating strategic plans for every donor in your portfolio is critical. All 240 major gift officers who we directly work with all have a plan that will guide them toward achieving their revenue goals.

A gala is not major gift fundraising, nor does it really have anything to do with philanthropy. A gala is a way that nonprofits bring in cash—and in rare cases, enough net revenue to justify having one.

Several months ago, I was sitting around a conference table with a prospective client talking about the process we needed to take to create our donor impact portfolio. When complete, the donor impact portfolio is a list of all the nonprofit organization’s programs and projects...

When we talk to leaders, managers and major gift officers on why they believe they are not seeing growth, it’s apparent by their answers, which leads us to one major conclusion: There is no real relationship with the donor...

First, don’t put an unqualified donor into your portfolio. Put them in another category called a “To Be Qualified” list. This way, you and your manager will not put revenue goals or expectations on you or the donor...

How are you acquiring major donors? If you are concerned about your major gift pipeline, start reviewing how you are currently bringing in new donors and spend the time and energy it takes to start filling that pipeline. Years from now, you will reap that investment...

A couple of years ago, I was helping to manage a major gift officer at a mid-sized nonprofit. Mary (not her real name) was a veteran fundraiser who was struggling with making her revenue goals when I met her. Her manager was concerned...

When Richard and I are out talking to prospective clients, one of the questions they often ask us is, “For the clients you have worked with who were not successful, what was one of the contributing factors?” We love this question...

I think I’m changing my language on how a major gift officer’s approach with a donor who is difficult to engage should be. For years, both Richard and I have said you should be patient, yet persistent with a donor… eventually you will come together...