Major Gifts

This book has the insightful and cost-effective techniques you can use today that will deliver tremendous returns for years to come.

If you are not feeding new prospective major gift donors into your pipeline on a regular and systematic basis, sooner or later your efforts are going to stall. So, whether you are new to fundraising or have been active in the profession for years, this is a resource that can help you build new relationships and add good prospects to your portfolio. The book provides specific strategies that will increase your odds for success when you are ready to meet your donors. You will learn to "warm" your prospects so they are receptive to your outreach, to make allies of the gatekeepers who control access to the decision makers, and to conduct a qualification call that is both casual and purposeful. All of these methods are designed to initiate a comfortable and meaningful relationship that will one day result in a significant philanthropic investment.

Every major gift is planned, and every planned gift is major, so this book is written intentionally blurring those lines with the premise that if you know how to identify, evaluate, cultivate and finally ask for the gift, it does not matter if it is a major gift or is a will inclusion leaving the details of bequests to the donors, their lawyers and accountants. Clergy and others need help learning how to 'make the ask' before the remaining generous generations of capacity (anyone over 60 especially) die, having given their gifts to the non-profits and schools so willing and prepared to ask for them. LaFond recounts, "I remember sitting with a beloved, dying parishioner who turned to me in her last three hours and quietly said 'I wish I had remembered the church in my will.' I asked why she had not and she said, sweetly, 'They never asked, and everyone else did, and so thoroughly.'" Clergy and lay leaders are terrified of asking for major and planned gifts while parishes need them and donors need to give them. Clergy are not taught in seminary how to do this essential work of ministry. LaFond, in his various roles, is filling that educational gap.

Boost Your Nonprofit's Success! Written by a sterling group of experts for their nonprofit peers, Major Donors: Finding Big Gifts in Your Database and Online supplies all types of nonprofit organizations with the best strategies for navigating the ever-changing world of fundraising on the Internet. Truly international in its examples, research, advice, and knowledge, this book is rich with avenues and ideas about approaching prospective givers--and generous with cross-cultural tips about conducting cultivation and solicitation in various countries. "At last, a practical book that helps us move our thinking in the critical future area of major gift fundraising. As one of the oldest techniques in the fundraiser's armory, we have sat for too long using the same frameworks and techniques; this book offers new thinking, new insights, and new approaches that will help fundraisers harness the potential of the growing band of high-net-worth individuals within their country and internationally. This book is packed with up-to-the-minute, practical information that will enhance existing major gift programs as much as it will help beginners get their head around where to start." --Tony Elischer, Managing Director, THINK Consulting Solutions "Institutional advancement is a deeply personal process that requires in-depth understanding of our supporters, to the degree to which specific aspects of our own priorities reflect our donors' personal aspirations and interests. Prospect research is indispensable to this process and to identifying possible supporters from thousands of possible donors--it would have been impossible for the University of Toronto campaign to have succeeded in the absence of our investment in prospect research." --Dr. Jon S. Dellandrea, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Development and External Affairs, University of Oxford "Major Donors offers some of the best advice from some of the world's leading prospect researchers, and it will help you to become a much better fundraiser. It is a great resource and an important part of any fundraising library. When you follow the advice in this book, you will raise much more money." --Harvey McKinnon, President, Harvey McKinnon Associates author of Hidden Gold and How Today's Rich Give, and coauthor of the international bestseller The Power of Giving

This book explores various strategies for major gift solicitation by colleges, universities, and other nonprofit organizations. Emphasis is on the face-to-face interactive communication process. Section 1 presents 16 chapters that discuss various solicitation strategies, including examining organizational readiness for major gift solicitation; the fund raiser's readiness for face-to-face solicitation of major gifts; the theoretical basis of interpersonal communication in gift solicitation; 10 steps to achieving success in major gift solicitation; donor motivational factors; getting an appointment with the prospect; techniques for opening and closing a major gift meeting; the structure of the gift solicitation meeting; dealing with the prospect's objections; major gift communication and stewardship through group cultivation events; the problem of institutional tension as addressed by 20 college/university presidents; the role of power and status in major gift solicitation; and a final review of major decision points in the strategic approach to major solicitation. Section 2 contains 11 case studies, which offer questions designed to facilitate application of the information. Section 3 offers some possible solutions to the questions posed by the case study situations. (DB)

This book has the insightful and cost-effective techniques you can use today that will deliver tremendous returns for years to come.

A newly revised and updated edition of the ultimate resource for nonprofit managers If you're a nonprofit manager, you probably spend a good deal of your time tracking down hard-to-find answers to complicated questions. The Nonprofit Manager's Resource Directory, Second Edition provides instant answers to all your questions concerning nonprofit-oriented product and service providers, Internet sites, funding sources, publications, support and advocacy groups, and much more. If you need help finding volunteers, understanding new legislation, or writing grant proposals, help has arrived. This new, updated edition features expanded coverage of important issues and even more answers to all your nonprofit questions. Revised to keep vital information up to the minute, The Nonprofit Manager's Resource Directory, Second Edition: * Contains more than 2,000 detailed listings of both nonprofit and for-profit resources, products, and services * Supplies complete details on everything from assistance and support groups to software vendors and Internet servers, management consultants to list marketers * Provides information on all kinds of free and low-cost products available to nonprofits * Features an entirely new section on international issues * Plus: 10 bonus sections available only on CD-ROM The Nonprofit Manager's Resource Directory, Second Edition has the information you need to keep your nonprofit alive and well in these challenging times. Topics include: * Accountability and Ethics * Assessment and Evaluation * Financial Management * General Management * Governance * Human Resource Management * Information Technology * International Third Sector * Leadership * Legal Issues * Marketing and Communications * Nonprofit Sector Overview * Organizational Dynamics and Design * Philanthropy * Professional Development * Resource Development * Social Entrepreneurship * Strategic Planning * Volunteerism

This textbook presents marketing concepts which are then supported with real-world examples. Key features include: treatment of the most important marketing activities, marketing fundamentals, separate chapters on 'social marketing' and cause marketing, and numerous international examples.