Major Gifts

Donor Ownership

Aside from having a nice ring to it, “donor ownership” is a critical element of any successful fundraising effort. The thinking behind this concept is simply that if you can get your major donors involved and vested in your organization at a meaningful level, your ability to harvest major gifts from these individuals will increase exponentially.

A very simple way that we have utilized this principle is in strategic planning for our clients. When you are going about the business of identifying your shortand long-term needs in the form of a strategic plan, you should invite these hand-selected donors to be a part of this process. Choose each based on an area that you know they will have interest. By making these individuals a part of the process, they become inextricably involved and will take ownership of the concept to the point of wanting to ensure that this identified need is met. This often results in these donors making major contributions to their area of interest and helping you to attract other gifts from their peers.

Begin now to identify a list of donors who could take your nonprofit to the next level and get them meaningfully involved.

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