Major + Planned Gifts

Did you know that  in the United States, individual gifts make up the majority of contributions to nonprofits?  Many people are surprised to learn that outside of the government, 85% of nonprofit donations come from individual gifts,  with corporations and foundations combined making up only 15%. Of the 85% donated by individuals, 80 and 90% comes from gifts over $1,000 and gifts made through estate planning, respectively. As a result, many organizations want to develop strong, individual major gift programs.

Developing major and planned giving programs is one of our greatest strengths. Many organizations need assistance with identifying, researching, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding high net worth individuals. We take the mystery out of the process by actively engaging with your board and executive director, modeling the behavior that organizations successful with major gift fundraising demonstrate. This includes dealing with the anxiety that many express when faced with asking an individual for money.

Too often, organizations ignore planned giving or put it off from year to year because the demands of the present are so pressing. We can help you develop a turnkey program to get you over the hurdle of not having the protocols, materials or expertise.

Our services include:

• Assessing your current donor base to identify potential major gift and planning giving prospects.
• Researching donors to other organizations who may be interested in your organization’s mission.
• Creating a prospect list of top potential donors by determining the prospects’ connections to people in your organization’s sphere, their likelihood to make a gift and their ability to make a substantial one.
• Strategizing with you about approaches to these top prospects.
• Training your board and senior staff on cultivation and solicitation techniques.
• Developing a stewardship program that allows you to acknowledge, communicate with and motivate donors to stay connected to your organization for the long term.
• Creating the framework and materials for a planned giving program that starts simply – with bequests – and can later become a more sophisticated program with annuities, lead and remainder trusts and other giving instruments.