What Major Gift Success Looks Like

To create a successful major gifts program, it is essential for MGOs and their managers to establish clear plans and goals, and maintain strong communication. This approach forms the foundation for powerful results.

However, measuring success in major gift work is often mishandled. Many organizations track basic metrics like "total dollars raised," but this approach doesn’t capture the nuances or reasons behind the variances in donations.

By combining the proper performance reporting with thoughtful analysis of the factors that influence giving, you’ll experience greater accountability and the potential for rewarding superior work.

What Should You Measure?

The most common metrics used for evaluating MGOs are the total dollars raised and the number of face-to-face meetings, but these are insufficient on their own. Instead, I recommend focusing on metrics that better reflect genuine donor engagement.

1. Total Dollars Raised: This metric tracks whether an MGO meets their financial goals. However, goals should be based on real donor history, not arbitrary figures needed to meet the budget. If an MGO isn’t meeting goals, it’s crucial to identify why.
2. Meaningful Connections: The number of face-to-face meetings is often emphasized, but this can be gamed or misused. A “meaningful connection” occurs when an MGO helps a donor move closer to their passion by engaging them meaningfully, either in person, by phone, or even in casual settings. It’s about moving the donor toward a decision to give, not simply logging meetings. The goal is to understand and act on the donor's interests.
3. Stewardship Calls: These are personal touches made by the MGO to thank donors and show the impact of their gift. A minimum of one stewardship touch per donor per month is essential. Stewardship can also involve identifying transformational donors who might contribute more significantly.
4. Asks Made: Every donor should have an individualized plan with specific ask points, usually at least one per year. Tracking whether these asks happen as planned is important for measuring MGO activity. Deviations from the plan should be explained.
5. Caseload Planning: Each donor should have a clear, individualized plan based on their passions, interests, and communication preferences. The MGO must actively work through this plan, ensuring consistent engagement. This is why MGO management is labor-intensive—it requires constant, detailed oversight and evaluation.
6. Donor Performance Year-Over-Year: Measuring individual donor performance helps assess how well the MGO is fulfilling their caseload plan. If a donor's giving decreases without a reasonable explanation, such as a change in circumstances, the MGO should be able to explain why.

Putting Metrics Together

At the start of the year, each MGO should have a performance plan based on these metrics. These quantifiable, time-sensitive measures provide clarity and accountability. The ultimate focus should be on whether the MGO is meeting the donor’s needs and fulfilling their interests and passions.

It is also critical that monthly reports are submitted, and that feedback is provided to ensure alignment between MGO efforts and organizational goals. Miscommunication between departments (like finance and development) can lead to frustration. To avoid this, everyone must agree on the metrics before the evaluation period begins.

Credit Attribution

A common concern in major gift programs is determining who gets credit for a donation. Some finance staff are wary of MGOs claiming credit for gifts they didn’t directly influence, especially when the MGO has a large caseload. The guidelines for attributing credit to an MGO are simple:

• The donor making the gift must be assigned to the MGO’s caseload.
• The gift must occur after the donor has been assigned to the MGO
• The MGO must have documented meaningful engagement with the donor before the gift.

In cases where the MGO has actively worked with a donor to secure a planned gift, they should receive full credit for that gift as well.

Staying Focused on What Matters

It’s easy to get bogged down by the focus on numbers, performance comparisons, or attribution worries. Still, the ultimate goal is not just measuring dollars raised, but fulfilling the donor’s passions and contributing to the good that the organization does.

Major gifts programs change lives—whether it’s through healthcare, environmental conservation, or social justice. MGOs help connect donors with causes that are meaningful to them, and that work has lasting, tangible effects on both the donors and beneficiaries. In the hustle of managing performance metrics, it’s important to periodically step back and recognize the good being done.

After all, this whole thing we call major gifts is not just about the money or measuring the money or measuring the securing of money, as important as they are. This journey is about doing what really matters. And you, as a leader and manager, are right in the thick of it.

So, take a pause right now. Be quiet as you read this. Bring to mind the conversations you have had with donors and program people and the interactions you’ve had with the beneficiaries of your organization, whether they are people, places, or animals. Think about what has happened there and take it in. Focus on what matters. It will lift your spirit and get your eyes back on the right things.

And then, at least once a week, return to this place where you lift yourself up from the fray and remember what your work is really all about.

Jeff