With limited resources (time , people, investment), what are 3 things that major gifts officers absolutely must do and cannot sacrifice?

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Question of the Month

With limited resources (time, people, investment), what are 3 things that major gifts officers absolutely must do and cannot sacrifice?

When budgets are tight and time is limited, focusing on the right things can make all the difference. To make the most of their resources, major gifts officers should prioritize the following tasks, taking on other work only after these have been attended to:

Qualify your donors. This means you’re reaching out to donors at the major gift level who have confirmed that they want to have a deeper relationship with your organization. And remember, only one in three people actually want that two-way relationship. Before you spend time on individualized communication plans, confirm that those donors are interested in engaging.
Learn your donor’s passions and interests. This allows you to ask for larger, specific gifts when you know what ignites their passion and can match it to a particular project area.
Report back on the impact of your donor’s gift, every time. When they have the facts on what their gift accomplished, they’ll want to give again because they know exactly how they’re making a difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a couple FAQs we get on this topic

What do you mean by “qualifying” caseload donors?

Qualifying is a process that helps you identify which of your donors actually want to connect with you and engage in a two-way relationship. Keep in mind, our recommended steps for qualifying your caseload from scratch are labor-intensive and can take months to complete. But once you have this in place, your work will be so much more efficient and enjoyable.

For a detailed overview of how to qualify your donors, check out our white paper, Qualifying Donors for Major Gifts Caseloads.

Any advice on how to manage my time as a development team of one?

If you’re the development director for a small non-profit, you need to focus your time where you will be most effective. And major gifts is where you will see the highest ROI over the long term. You will always be pushed to do the urgent, immediate thing. But if you are going to help your organization grow and develop… and eventually have a role dedicated major gifts alone, you have to focus on where you can make the biggest impact. Allocate your time between these three functions above, and you’ll see long-term gains in your major gifts program.

If you’re looking for proven strategies and systems that will support your day-to-day work as a fundraiser, sign up for one of our certification courses. In addition to CFRE credits, joining a course gets you access to the tools and processes that we use with our clients, plus an invitation to join our Community Hub where you can connect with your colleagues in the non-profit space.