Building Blocks for a

Successful Major Donor

Strategy

Fiona Duncan

4 November 2008

• Major donor fundraising is just as much about the donor as it is the project

• You don’t need bricks and mortar

• People make this more complicated than it needs to be!

• Knowing what to do; deciding what to do; being disciplined = success!

• 7 Steps & Moves management are all you need.

• More professionals and fewer volunteers

• Increasingly volunteers cultivate & professionals ‘close’

• Higher expectations

• Doing more with less

• Involved in higher solicitations

• Involvement

• Impact – making a difference

• Global and home country

• Added value

• Social enterprise

• Head and heart

Considerations

suspects prospects donors

100 15 5

Research requests

– levels

Portfolio management

Data control

Reporting

How many donors do I need??

Gift Size Number Value

Donors

£5m 1 £5m

£3m 2 £6m

£2m 4 £8m

£1m 6 £6m £100k-£1m 20 £5m

Total 33 £33m

How many donors do I need??

Assumptions

Prospect Conversion 8 to 1

External Conversion 25 to 1

Prospect Research

Wealth Band Matches Conversion Gift Level Total

£50m+ 2 0 500,000 125,000

£25-50m 6 1 250,000 187,500

£10-25m 10 1 100,000 125,000

£5-10m 112 14 50,000 700,000

£1-5m 768 96 10,000 960,000

Influential 355 44 10,000 443,750

Total 1253 157 2,541,250

Critical success factors

• Powerful Case for Support – just what do you want the money for?

• Excellent research

• Excellent cultivation

• Making the ask

• Loving your donors

• Asking again

What is leadership?

• Wealthy donors influencing other wealthy people to give

• Wealthy donors who will use their networks

• People will follow leaders – lead gifts are critical

• Big donors will push average gifts up – small donors will push average gifts down

Secrets of a Leadership Forum

• Excellent Chair who has made a big gift

• Clarity of purpose

• Clarity of targets

• Time limited

• High-powered

• Exclusive

Eight Step Cycle

1. Discover 2. Research

Eight Step Cycle

Stewardship

1. Discover 2. Research

Discover

database

competitors press

stakeholder mapping

service users

circulate lists

geography

history

ask

Finding your prospects

Developing a Prospect Hypothesis

• Describe the sorts of people who:

• Have the right levels of wealth

• Have evidence of philanthropy

• Have some connection to the cause

• Are active in fields other than their work

• Have business interests whose brands fit with you

Research database

in-house / commission?

pipeline

maintenance criteria

propensity

&

capacity

volume

management

Researching your prospects

• Start with your database – they already love you!

• Use research companies or employ a researcher

• Use all published information

• As names come up, ask your trustees and existing supporters if they know them

influence

affinity wealth

fit

Quantify

ability

matrix

social

benefit

philanthropy

age

family

Decide the:

• criteria

• importance

• and multiplier

Introduce

why

what

when

who

where

Cultivate

build loyalty

activities

relationships

interest

planned

stages

involve

Cultivation

• How to meet them?

• Go where they go

• Hold an event they would like

• Use celebrities

• Ask for a meeting

• Events

• Staff well

• Brief and debrief fully

Cultivation

• Assign a staff member to each MD

• Provide them with the information they ask for

• Invite them to a project visit

• If they come, you’ve got them!

Ask

how? who?

how much?

for what?

The ask

• Many volunteers hate this

• Best done by a professional

• Know the right level of ask

• If in doubt, ask them

Thank and deliver

recognition

project management

signing ceremony

tax

reports

documentation

gift agreement

who

Follow up

• Thank

• Inform

• Involve

• Report

• Surprise

• Celebrate