Winning the Lottery
With Major Gifts, the Harder You Work,
The Luckier You Get

By Tim McCormick, Vice President
Great Lakes Region

We have all heard the stories of organizations that have received large, unsolicited gifts from individuals who appear to have had little or no contact with that organization over the years. There are regular reports in the Chronicle of Philanthropy of multi-million-dollar gifts to many different types of organizations.

As we read and hear the stories, we can’t help but think, “Wow, it’s like they won the lottery. How lucky that development director must be!”  The truth is, as much as we would like to believe that we could all be that “lucky,” the majority of major gifts come to organizations after much work and close attention paid to the details of major gifts solicitation.

Major gifts are secured by following through on the three Cs of Major Gift procurement.

The first C is Capacity. Ensure that your prospect has the financial capability or assets to make the kind of gift you envision him or her making. This seems like common sense, but if you do not take time to go through the process of ensuring your prospect has the capacity to support your organization in a significant way, you spend a lot of time with no results and could possibly be put in a potentially embarrassing situation for you, your volunteers and the donor.

In a recent $3 million campaign, a prospective donor was thought to have the ability to make a six-figure gift. Based on his past contributions to the organization, his donations to other campaigns in the community, plus additional donor research, he appeared to have capacity to make this type of gift. When the volunteer who was going to make the approach became involved in the planning visit, it was discovered that, although it was not public knowledge, the prospective donor had just purchased a new business using a large percentage of his personal assets. He would not be in a position to make the type of gift that had been suggested. The good news is that he was approached; he made a gift to the campaign and is considering an estate gift to the organization. Make sure that you use all the resources at your disposal to determine the true capacity of your prospective major gift donors.

The second C is Cultivation. Major gifts are generally not obtained in a single half-hour visit by the development director and a board volunteer. It takes a series of strategically planned meetings and contacts in order to properly cultivate an individual’s interest to the point where he or she is willing to make a significant investment of personal wealth in an organization. There are many approaches that can be used, but there are two key elements that need to be part of the plan. First, the mission of the organization must be portrayed in the most compelling way possible. The prospect must be able to see and feel the impact of that mission. The second key element is that of active listening by those involved in the cultivation process. If you listen to what the prospect is saying during the cultivation process, they will tell you “how“ and “how much” to ask for in securing their support.

The third C is Connection. Without a strong connection to your mission, and a belief that you are very effective at what you do, all the prospect research and cultivation in the world will have little impact on what a prospect gives to your organization. The connection may already be in place, based on the prospect’s personal experience with the organization (e.g., they or their family have directly benefited from your programs or services; they served as a volunteer or board member, or they are a long-time supporter).

If that type of connection does not exist, then one must be built by showing the donor, in a meaningful way, that the organization’s values are directly tied to the core values of the donor. If donors perceive that the organization has a significant impact in the areas that are most important to them, then they will support the organization. Once a true connection is established with donors, they will become a source of ongoing support.

Remember that securing major gifts is a process, not like buying a lottery ticket and hoping you win. Keep in mind what so many sports figures have said over the years: “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”  Here’s hoping that you work hard and get a little lucky at the same time.

[There are several additional resource articles on how to prepare for Major Gift visits available at www.jbafundraing.com under the News and Resources tab.]