7 Simple Steps to Develop a Major Gifts Portfolio

Robin Cabral wrote about developing a major gifts portfolio over on the Bloomerang blog a while back in her post, “Top 7 Steps To Developing A Major Gift Portfolio In Any Sized Fundraising Shop.” Here’s a quick summary of her 7 steps plus a bit of my commentary added:

Step 1. Create a list of the people most likely to make a major gift.

Start by looking inside your OWN database before you start looking for outside sources in your community.

In almost all cases, tomorrow’s major gifts will come from people who are already giving to you today.

Step 2. Evaluate everyone on your list.?

Some people are fans of wealth screening services. I am not. I would much rather have you look at observable data in your own system.

How many gifts has someone made? How long have they been a supporter? How else are they involved other than giving? Are they currently giving at, below, or above your threshold for a major gift? Do they seem interested in a deeper relationship with your organization or cause?

Weight and assign a point value for each question (based on what's most important to you), add them all up, and focus on the people with the highest score.

Step 3. Assign everyone to one of the following 3 groups:

• Group A = High affinity for the cause, high engagement with your organization, and a demonstrated capacity to make a major gift.
• Group B = Some giving history with your organization, a demonstrated capacity to make a major gift, but may not be interested in more engagement.
• Group C = Likely have the capacity to make a major gift, only minimally engaged with your cause and organization, and their affinity for the cause is unknown.

Step 4. Have discovery conversations.

Discovery conversations are NOT the place to ask for a gift.

Discovery conversations are all about asking questions like, “What inspired you to give?” “Why is this cause important to you?” “What impact are you hoping for when you give?” “What have you learned so far?” “Are there other ways you've considered getting involved?”

The goal of discovery conversations is to attempt to discern what might be a good next step for them to take to develop, nurture, or deepen their connection to this cause.

Listen more than you speak and take good notes.

Step 5. Reevaluate your groups and decide how much you’re going to invite each person to give.

In the process of discovery, you’ll move some people around. Some of the people you originally assigned to Group A will move to Group C and vice versa. This is more art than science.

Once you’ve spoken to someone and have them assigned to a group, decide how much you plan to invite them to give. Write down the amount.

Think of this as more of a hypothesis than a goal.

Step 6. Make a 12-month plan for everyone on your list.

Don’t overcomplicate your planning.

Start with next month and ask, “What next step can I invite this person to take to develop, nurture, or deepen their connection with the cause?”

Then, look ahead to the following month and ask, “What can I communicate to help develop, nurture or deepen their connection to the cause?”

You don’t need something for every person on your list every month, but plan your steps in advance.

Make sure “Invite them to give.” is somewhere on your plan.

Step 7. Work your plan.?

As you start working your plan and inviting people to take steps to develop, nurture, and deepen their connection with your cause, some will make a major gift.

Some will give you signals that they’re not ready. Some will say no. Some will move off your list, and others will move onto it.

It’s okay to bless and release people!

You probably can’t steward more than 150 relationships well anyway!

It really is that simple. Prioritize these 7 steps consistently over time, and you will build a thriving and sustainable tradition of major gift support.

What else would you add to this list?

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