Major-Gifts Fundraising: It's a Numbers Game

We are in a numbers game.

To meet a fundraising goal, you need to have the right numbers — gifts that add up to and, you hope, even exceed your goal.

While the numbers are a bit different for a capital, comprehensive or other larger campaign (even more top-heavy) and for an annual-giving program, you can determine the typical range of gifts needed to reach your goal.

Major gifts anchor any campaign. These are relationship-based and typically built over time. While direct-response fundraising can play a vital role — rounding out a campaign and especially with bringing tomorrow's major and planned-giving donors into the fold — the gifts that anchor a campaign are still built face to face.

To be successful, you need enough qualified prospects to be likely candidates for their larger giving levels. You also need volunteers and staff (and we still believe in the power of volunteers making gift requests) to make these visits.

To achieve your goal you need the right numbers — the right number of qualified prospects likely to respond, and the right number of staff and volunteers to deepen relationships and make those requests in a personal way.

As you are benchmarking your campaign or planning for next year's program, how are your numbers looking?