How To Raise: It’s a Long Way to Tipperary: What’s the distance between first and major gifts?

The title of this song from World War II implies traveling a distance and relates to major gift fundraising. Just how far is it between a donor‘s first annual and first major gift? Once you’ve determined the likely distance, what cultivation experiences might you employ to engage a donor who might make a major gift?

This session will address one way to determine the distance between a major donor’s smaller and significant gifts. You will learn how to identify donors who might make a major gift or a subsequent major gift. Finally, we will discuss the oft used, but sometimes misunderstood term, cultivation.

1. Learn a process to determine the distance between your existing major donors’ smaller and significant (as in major or transformational) gifts.
2. Apply the process to existing lower-level, potential higher capacity donors to determine the possible timing of their readiness to make a major gift.
3. Identify a minimum of three possible cultivation activities your organization could implement to prepare donors for a major gift request.

Bring for your reference, a list of your top donors by years of giving, including lowest and highest gift amounts and the dates of those low and high gifts. If you have it, include the wealth screening rating for these donors. Also bring a list of your events and significant communications.