You have likely been in the situation where a current or new major gift donor reaches the $500+ cume level of giving. Either the major gift officer drops everything to handle him or her, or the donor is handed off to someone who should not be dealing with donors or the donor...
Richard Perry
It’s a funny thing about obstacles in life. When they come up, our first impulse is to give up or to question the destination or even the path or strategy. That’s why I found this Zig Ziglar quote interesting and applicable to all of us dealing with major gift obstacles...
It was a pretty sad conversation. I had just hung up from a phone call with a really good major gift officer. And I had to admit I did not know what else I could have done. Here’s what happened...
OK, let’s be honest. It’s just you and me talking. No one else can hear our conversation. This is about planning for donors on your nonprofit caseload. Tell me the truth. Are you really planning what you will be doing with each donor on your caseload this next week, this next month, over the next few months?...
Jeff and I have been in many meetings where managers are haggling over how much to pay a major gift officer. Sometimes, there is an enlightened manager at the table who realizes that this one major gift officer could generate a substantial amount of revenue and, therefore, he or she says: “We’d better pay them well...
People often ask me, “Richard, what three main things do I need to make my major gift program successful?” I’m sure many people want to know because they feel real frustration about how their major gift program is currently performing. My answer: the major gift value triad...
It was budget time, and the manager was asked by finance to provide a forecast for major gifts for the coming year. The manager and the chief financial officer discussed how they should arrive at the right number and the CFO said: “Look, just take what major gift officers did last year and add 10 percent. It’s what we do every year.” And that, in a nutshell, is what major gift success looked like for that CFO...
Our donors are such a wonderful gift to us. And they, collectively, are doing so much good work in our world. Let’s agree to take a look at ourselves, as major gifts officers, to make sure we are doing everything we can to honor them and lift them up...
Over the years I have trained myself to focus on the need. Why? Because the right fix on the need drives everything you do in major gifts fundraising...
It happened several years ago. And I haven’t forgotten it. And when I heard about it I thought, really? Can anyone be so stupid? Now, I know stupid is a strong word and usually I don’t use it. But really, this was one of the worst twists of logic I have ever seen...
1
Comment
Jeff and I very strongly feel that authenticity is one of the key attributes of a successful major gift officer. And one key to authenticity is that the words coming out of a MGO’s mouth are believable and true...
We are often asked if a degree or CFRE certification is necessary to be successful in major gifts. And this goes to a much larger question of the role education plays in preparing a person to do the job...
You would think that it would be difficult to “lose” a donor who gave a significant gift. But in the last two weeks, I have received stories of a $73,000 donor disappearing, a $100,000 donor gone missing and a lost check from a $25,000 donor...
Who would ever think of running a nonprofit major gifts program as if it were a business? Not many people. And that’s too bad, because it would cause each of us to pay more attention to the things that are important. I have often said that the only difference between a nonprofit and a for-profit is that the for-profit pays taxes. Other than that, there should be no difference...
As a result of this writing, you could propose to reduce the gadget influence in your own personal life and experience life as it should be again. And then, in your major gift life, maybe you could propose to view your donors differently as well...
