Major Donor Fundraiser

Howard Lake | 4 May 2012

Major Donor Fundraiser | How large is a large donation?

This will depend on the organisation, the quality and number of its donors. As a result, each charity will have its own definition of a major gift in terms of monetary value. Some charities distinguish between a major gift and a high value donation. Others talk in terms of a transformational gift – one that helps transform the charity or a particular project.

So, the minimum for a major gift could range from £1,000 to perhaps £50,000. Add Gift Aid to these sums and you will see that a major gift can become an even more substantial gift to charities.

Skills required

Major donor fundraisers require a range of skills and experience if they are to maximise income.

They must engage in prospect research, or at least manage a prospect research function, in order to identify major gift prospects from the charity’s existing donors, and from other contacts, such as business contacts of the charity’s trustees. This will often involve matching the charity’s donor database with external data that indicates wealth, such as share ownership and company directorships. A number of agencies offer this kind of wealth screening to highlight high net worth individuals (HNWI) on a charity’s database.

They must be able to build relationships with prospective and actual donors over the phone, in writing and in person. They will also need to be able to ‘seal the deal’ with major donors: not all fundraisers are able to close a £1 million or more donation.

They will need to develop or follow policy and ethical guidelines as part of the major donor fundraising function. The level of research that goes into identifying a high net worth individual can be substantial so how this data is recorded, used and protected is paramount.

They will also need to manage and develop an effective stewardship programme to sustain support from major donors. Some major donors will give one big gift in their lifetime, but others will give more than once.

By staying abreast of trends in major donor philanthropy they will need to forecast major donor income, and determine trends in terms of acquisition and retention of major donors.

At larger charities they will have to manage a team carrying out some or all of these activities.

Capital appeals

Major donor fundraisers will sometimes work on a capital appeal. This is a one-off major appeal by a charity, usually for a major project such as a new building. This will usually involve a private phase of fundraising in which a small number of ‘lead donors’ will each commit to giving a major gift. The public phase of the campaign then encourages others to support this initial activity.

Training

Various organisations provide training to major donor fundraisers. These cover the areas ranging from prospect research and solicitation through to making the ask and then ongoing stewardship of major donors.

About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale. He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.