Leaders, Are You Standing in the Way of Bigger Gifts?

Leaders, Are You Standing in the Way of Bigger Gifts?

Leaders, I know that it can feel like a tricky balancing act. How do you push for your fundraisers to make bigger asks without pressuring them into a transactional approach with donors? Let’s say you just heard that a donor gave half a million dollars to the...
Question of the Month: How do you plan for a transformational gift?

Question of the Month: How do you plan for a transformational gift?

First, it’s important to start with the basics. Before you can ask for a transformational gift, you  need to have a major gifts caseload of no more than 150 qualified donors, tiered A to C, with an individual communication plan for each donor. Then, of your Tier...
Stop Using Donor Wealth Ratings to Build a Portfolio

Stop Using Donor Wealth Ratings to Build a Portfolio

I can’t believe I’m still writing about this, but in talking to many MGOs recently, we’re still returning to this issue: using donor capacity rankings (or wealth ratings) as the first criteria when building a major gifts portfolio. Just recently I heard of a large...