Getting Started With Major Gifts

Major gifts are becoming an increasingly important part of successful fundraising programs. But if you’re not already raising major gifts, how do you get started?  This session will introduce you to key steps in major gift fundraising, including major donor identification and qualification; developing a solicitation plan for your major donor prospects; cultivating and soliciting major donors; thanking and stewarding major donors; and achieving renewal of major gifts. Throughout the session, the emphasis will be on practical steps that you can take to start and build a successful major gifts effort even as you continue to attend to other aspects of your organization’s fundraising program.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of the session, participants will be able to:

• Name the steps of the major gifts cycle,
• Articulate why the steps of the major gifts cycle are sequential and how they build on each other,
• Apply the steps of the major gifts cycle to developing major gift donors for their own organizations,
• Apply the steps of the major gifts cycle to securing major gifts for their own organizations.

This workshop is mainly designed for:

• Beginners (those who have not engaged in major gift work).