Major Gift Program
I continue to see articles and blogs about major gifts and making the ask. Maybe it’s because I am attuned to it because I’ve spent 30 years making major gift asks or maybe it’s because the major gift program is in need of refinement.
A major gift program is structurally easy to put together. The real challenge is in the implementation. You can spend a lot of money educating yourself on this and making the ask, but there is no better path to success than going out and just doing it. It’s hard to do it alone without someone to critique you or guide you. It’s even harder if you’ve never made a significant ask of any donor.
Recently I gave a talk to a group of 100+ fundraisers, and I asked the question: “How many of you have ever asked anyone for $1,000,000?” No hands went up and there were some large nonprofits in the room. I don’t know why that is. Perhaps the vision isn’t big enough, the lack of capital or needs aren’t great enough, the donors don’t exist or have you told yourself that no one would give us that kind of gift. . . until the first person does?
If you want to be great at making an ask of a major gift donor then get the coaching you need. It can come from many places but there is no greater teacher than walking with someone who has done it. There are a lot of “coaches” out there but how many of them have ever made a significant ask and have they done it for a variety of charities? For example, asking for a major gift from an alumnus of a school is much different than asking a grateful patient from a hospital. Understanding, however, how to do it and handling objections are key.
So find someone who can help you make some asks. If you go alone then how can someone give you advice on how to do it better or differently? If you go to a seminar you get the process but the practical learning happens after going on hundreds of solicitation calls. Failing only creates opportunities for future success.
I tell our clients that in a major gift call there should be two people going: one to listen and one to speak. It creates accountability and allows one person to listen more intently as the other is presenting. There is a bit of a “secret sauce” in making an ask. It can be learned but takes practice.
How’s your major gift program? How many major gift calls have you made this year? Some of our clients have metrics which require 20 visits a month (that is not phone calls but face-to-face meetings). Are you close to that and if not, why not? We are happy to help you get there if you think you need the help.
“”I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has achieved in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.”
Written by: Paul D’Alessandro
Founder and Chairman
