One of the Biggest Barriers to Major Gifts (And How Leaders Can Remove It)

“I don’t have anything to present to donors.”

A major gift officer said that to me a while ago. And before I could even respond, their manager jumped in, clearly frustrated.

“Just look around you. Look at everything we’re doing. Go learn it and then go out and raise the money.”

If you’ve been in fundraising for any length of time, you’ve probably heard some version of that exchange. On the surface, it sounds reasonable. The organization is doing meaningful work and the programs are real. So why can’t the fundraiser just go talk about them?

Here’s the problem. Knowing what your organization does is not the same thing as providing a donor with a compelling offer.

And when that gap exists, it becomes one of the biggest barriers to major gifts.

When “We Do a Lot of Good Work” Isn’t Enough

Think about what your major gift officer is actually trying to do.

They sit down with a donor, listen, and learn what that donor cares about. Maybe it’s helping kids in a specific community or addressing a particular issue in a deeper way. Maybe it’s creating something lasting.

Then comes the moment where they need to connect that passion to your organization.

If all they have is, “We do a lot of great work, and we’d love your support,” the conversation stalls. Of course it does! There’s nothing concrete for them to step into.

In a recent podcast conversation, Veritus senior client experience leader Diana Frazier reiterated this point: Major Gift fundraisers need clearly identified opportunities to bring to a donor.

This is where a lot of organizations get stuck. Internally, everything feels clear. You have programs, budgets, and impact. But none of it has been translated into something a donor can easily understand, evaluate, and say yes to.

So the fundraiser ends up defaulting to generalities. Or they ask for unrestricted gifts without context. Or they wait, hoping something clearer will come along.

This isn’t on the fundraiser.

What Leaders Need to Own

Yes, creating donor offers is a leadership responsibility. This is not something you can push down to your fundraisers and expect them to figure out on their own.

It starts with understanding your programs at a deeper level. Not just what they are, but what they cost, who they serve, and what outcomes they produce. It means being able to say, “Here’s this initiative, here’s what it takes to fully fund it, here’s what’s already been committed, and here’s the gap.”

Your fundraisers need to know, in real time or as close to it as possible, where the funding gaps are. Not six months later or after the budget cycle closes. Right now!

That will allow them to sit with a donor and say, “Here’s an opportunity that aligns with what you care about, and here’s exactly what your gift would do.”

Without that clarity, they’re guessing, which leads to donors hesitating.

Turning Programs Into Offers

So how do you actually fix this?

It doesn’t require reinventing your organization, but it does require intentional work.

Start by getting the right people in the room. Leadership, program staff, finance, and fundraising. Then step back and ask a basic question: what do we actually do, and how do we describe it in a way a donor would understand?

From there, you begin to organize your work into clear program categories with real, human-centered descriptions of the work. Then you connect them to the full cost of delivering that work, including the pieces that often get buried in overhead.

As you do this, pay attention to three things donors consistently care about: what the program is, who it serves, and where it happens. When you combine those elements with a clear price point, you’re now offering something tactile and specific—a menu, in a sense, that allows a donor to see where they can step in and make a difference.

Removing the Barrier

When leaders do this work well, you can feel the difference across the team.

Your fundraisers stop saying, “I don’t know what to ask for,” and start having confident, specific conversations. Suddenly, donors start responding because they see the impact of their gift and larger opportunities crystallize.

And internally, there’s less frustration and more alignment.

This is what it looks like to remove a barrier.

If your major gift program isn’t producing the level of giving you know is possible, you can change that. It starts with how you package your programs and how clearly you present them.

If you want help taking that next step, we’ve put together a practical guide on how to turn your programs into compelling donor offers.

Download our white paper and start equipping your team with what they need to succeed.