By Alan Sharpe, CFRE
Your organization needs to find more major donors for two vital reasons. First, major donor fundraising is the most cost-effective use of your time and money, costing somewhere between two cents and fifteen cents to raise a dollar. Second, many organizations are finding that the top 20 percent of their donors contribute 80 percent of the charities income.
The first step in major donor fundraising is identification. You must identify those individuals you think have the capacity to give a large gift, are connected to your organization in one way or another,
and are concerned about your cause. Here are some ways to identify major gift prospects.
1. Giving Clubs
Create a President’s Circle or Benefactor’s League or other giving circle. Set a “price for entry,” a dollar figure (such as $5,000) that donors must reach if they are to enjoy the benefits of membership. Those donors who join show their concern and indicate their capacity.
2. Private Bank Cheques
Train your receptionist, or the person who handles your mail, to recognize private banking cheques. Private banking is a term for banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks to private individuals investing sizable assets. Anyone who gives you a private banking cheque, regardless of the size of the gift, very likely has the capacity to give you a major gift.
3. Tours
Invite your existing donors to your facility and give them a personal, intimate peek behind the curtain at your organization. If you are a performing arts organization, introduce them to your artistic director and some of your performers back stage. If you are a social services charity that helps the homeless, introduce them to some of your clients over an informal coffee. Donors who take the time to visit your facility and see your work up close are showing an extraordinary interest in your cause. If they can match that high degree of affinity with a high net worth, you have just identified a major donor.
One key to identifying major donors in your house list and elsewhere is to offer them something of value and ask them to take action. Inviting them to join a giving circle or take a tour encourages your major donors to come out of the trees and identify themselves.
Learn more:
Seminar-on-Demand 001
Uncovering Local Millionaires.
Presenter: Alan Sharpe.
Learn how to recognize, find and approach undiscovered millionaires in your city. Over four hours of audio recording, 139 pages of full-color handouts and an 89-page electronic transcript.
And don’t miss…
Breakthrough Fundraising Letters.
How to write direct mail donation request appeals that attract more donors, raise more money, and build stronger relationships. Available in paperback and as an e-book.
