Secrets of Great Rainmakers: Finding, keeping and growing transformational major donors

Andrew Olsen, CFREVice President, Client Services

October 2016

About me…

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Over $150 million raised

16 years fundraising experience

MCH Board Member

Advisor to 125 domestic hunger & homelessness-related nonprofits in the U.S. & Canada

Co-author of Rainmaking: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Landing Big Gifts

Formerly homeless

Agenda Overview

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• The six essential secrets that great major gift fundraisers use

• Kick starting your major gift program with limited resources

• Making the ask

• Understanding why major gift programs fail

Six essential secrets for major gift success

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1. Begin with the number of meetings you can do in a year

2. File research / Prioritizing a workable list

3. Donor research / Analysis paralysis

4. Reformat your case for support

(with updated needs list – rungs on the ladder)

5. Cultivating and asking – Three Tiers

6. Assess your program and build on what’s working

1. How many meetings can you do in a year

• Number of meetings determines workflow

• Major gift work happens primarily through face to face contact

• Only research the number you can handle in a year

• Build a team to help you with meetings

2. Prioritize a workable list

• How many prospects do you research/target?

• 3 Segments: Active donors, LYBUNTs, SYBUNTs

• Rank every prospect: from #1 to ???

3. Research

• Donor Research is fun and addicting

• Use Wealth Point, Wealth Engine, Target Analytics or other automated tools

• Use Google; set up auto notification for your top prospects

• Create a file for each donor – confidential

BEWARE OF ANALYSIS PARALYSIS

4. Reformat your case for support (with updated needs list – rungs on the ladder)

• Fund your budget first!!!

• Your budget must be repackaged into programs with overhead built into each ask.

• Your Needs List should be grouped by dollar level $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 , $10,000, $25,000, etc.

5. Cultivating and asking – three tiers

• 3-Tier Approach to Cultivating Relationship:

• Identifying philanthropic passion

• Cultivating trust-based partnership

• Providing opportunities for meaningful experiences

6. Assess your program and build on what’s working

• Annual process is replicated each year:

• Early Spring: Update Wealth Scores, Re-rank, New Qualifiers

• Late Spring / Summer: Meetings, meetings, meetings

• Early Fall: 2nd visits, asks and major gift proposals

• Late Fall: call backs, closes and MIAs

• December: gifts and acknowledgement

Key areas to focus on

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• Maximize existing staff

• Utilize donor database and existing relationships to full potential

• Identify scope of resources/effort needed

• Mirror others who’ve seen success

• Rally your team

• Prospect Review Meetings

What types of settings?I rarely call to schedule a meeting… “I just happen to be meeting with another supporter in the area.”

• Lunch at a restaurant

• Coffee, coffee, coffee

• At the donor’s home

• From the podium

• The 1 – 2 Punch: The Executive Director (or board member, program director, etc.) and the Director of Development – one communicates the heart and the other communicates the hard facts

Who should make the ask?Executive Director

Director of Development

Board Member

Someone who…

• Knows the donor best

• Is not afraid to ask

• Can clearly communicate the case and the request

• Is passionate about the donor’s potential impact

Be specific

• STOP THE HINTING…

• Don’t be vague

• The donor’s philanthropic passions and your needs have aligned

• Articulate an amount or a range:

• “We’d like you to consider a gift of…”

The Art of Asking Donors for a Large Gift

It’s an ‘art’ … not a ‘science’

3 important elements:

1. Be Donor Minded (It’s not about you)

2. Be Prepared

3. Be Specific

Why MOST major gift programs fail…

Bloom where you are planted…

• Most organizations delay starting “until they are ready”… Begin right where you are. Make a decision to meet with “X” number of donors a week and then do it. BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE…

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Biting off more than you can chew…

• Target only as many prospects as you can personally visit with on annual basis. Leave everyone else in the regular cultivation program.

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Burnout…to the fade away

• You make 50 calls your first week. 25 the second week. 10 the third week. And by the 4th week you call it quits.

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Burst YOUR bubble…

• You send a letter inviting your top 100 friends and supporters to lunch and nobody shows up. What…don’t they know how important I am?

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Show me the money…

• You watch the financial reports. You assign your biggest donors to senior staff and watch the giving every month… and REVENUE TANKS?

• Stop counting the money, start counting the activity

• What gets measured is what gets done

• Lead by example

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ARE YOU READY?

• Look at your file

• Get some help from your board & staff

• Use wealth research & prospect identification tools

• Planning & coaching

• Integrate your outreach – phone, handwritten notes & email

• Start with one meeting… then ramp up

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Get your copy of Rainmaking today!

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Buy it at www.andrewolsen.net

50% of net proceeds goes to MCH

Price: $18.95

Thank You!Andrew Olsen, CFRE

Connect with me:

Blog: www.andrewolsen.netFacebook: www.facebook.com/andrewolsencfre

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andrewolsenTwitter: @AndrewOlsenCFRE

Email: andrew@andrewolsen.netPhone: 612.201.1967