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Seven Steps to Reach Your Year-End Major Gifts Goal
By Bob Hoak, Managing Director
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September is almost here! The fall fundraising season is upon us.  Every fundraiser should be considering how to maximize end-of-year fundraising, specifically major gifts. Integrating major gifts into year-end giving requires careful planning and execution. We assume your major gifts team has been properly cultivating donor prospects throughout the year. However, there is still time to use tactics to add to your bottom line.
Here are 7 steps to help ensure you reach your major gifts goal:
1) Identify top prospects
- Focus on your most viable, promising prospects. These are past donors who have a pattern of consistent giving. They must have a current relationship or have been contacted throughout the year.
2) Construct a meaningful gift presentation around a unique story
- Before preparing your solicitation, ask yourself: "What will inspire your most generous benefactors to make a special year-end commitment?" Do this by sharing a story that demonstrates the impact of funding, or relate a set gift amount to a direct programmatic benefit. For instance, a national non-profit organization that provides college access services to low-income students relates gift size to the amount of schools funded with the gift amount.
- Whenever possible, focus your request on your donor's interests. If a donor has only supported children's programs in the past, focus your request on a children's program, not another organizational priority.
3) Get in front of potential major gifts donors using your network
- Securing a meeting on your own before end-of-year may be challenging.
- To reduce difficulties, tap into your organization's network:
- Board member relationships.
- Leadership relationships.
- Key stakeholders and other affiliations.
4) Make a personal outreach
- Fundraising is about relationships: the relationship that the donor has with the organization, a member of the board, the CEO, and/or the development team. Serious consideration of a major gift commitment requires a personal touch by you, your Chair, CEO, or CDO. It should not be done by mail, email, or phone.
- Major gifts work takes time and finessing. Come to your prospective donor meeting with a well-thought out strategy tailored to his or her interests.
- Listen to your donor. Re-state their interests. Recognize what drives their contributions - what is their passion?
- Demonstrate your organization's donor-centric culture. You are in this to advance your organization's crucial mission and to express the donor's critical role in advancing programs.
5) Make the ask
- The most fundamental part of fundraising is making the ask. Be mindful of what the donor has given in the past. Asking for a major increase in giving has to be justified. Show how a major commitment by the donor today will have an immediate and long-term impact.
- Follow up your request in a timely manner. Always ask the donor prospect after the request has been made when you can follow up.
6) Say thank you!
- It's essential to say thank you. "Thank you for meeting with us, thank you for being such a good friend of the organization, thank you for considering a special commitment at year end, thank you, thank you, thank you."
- Follow up your visit/request with a personal note, a link to a video, or a simple thank you card from one of your beneficiaries.
7) End-of-year fundraising starts January 1st
- Develop your pool of major giving prospects early in the year. Those who didn't give in the prior year should be added to the list if they are still viable. Those who did give should be prioritized with a goal of increasing giving.
- Rule of thumb - plan on at least seven touches to your top donors throughout the year.
- Give these donors and prospects an up-close and in-person view of your organization's work. Introduce them to your program staff and/or beneficiaries or ask them to participate in a unique volunteer opportunity.
At the end of the year, communications and appeals from organizations escalate considerably. Avoid becoming muffled by the chatter and instead connect with your donors on a personal level. Always strive to keep your communications and outreach thoughtful, meaningful, and timely.
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New Client Announcements
Mental Health Association of New York City
 For more than 50 years, the Mental Health Association of New York City (
MHA-NYC)
has been a leading provider of innovative mental health services, advocacy, and education in New York City and nationwide. MHA-NYC receives most of its funding from public sources; however, in order to expand its services, MHA-NYC is seeking to increase revenue received from private philanthropic resources. MHA-NYC brought OAI on board to work directly with its Development Committee to create and implement a plan to increase philanthropic dollars and elevate the fundraising for the 2017 gala.
 United Cerebral Palsy of New York City
United Cerebral Palsy of New York City (UCP of NYC)
is the leading nonprofit agency in New York City providing direct services, technology, and advocacy to children and adults with cerebral palsy and other disabilities. Coming up on its 70th Anniversary, UCP of NYC is currently exploring a rebranding effort to help its community understand that its mission reaches beyond just those with cerebral palsy. UCP of NYC has engaged OAI in this defining moment to provide an assessment of its resources and fundraising strengths and design a practical business plan that will serve as a roadmap to strengthen and build the development program over the next year. Based on these recommendations, OAI will work with the UCP of NYC team to expand the organization's individual giving and corporate and foundation efforts.
 Pratt Institute
Founded in 1887 and located in Brooklyn, New York, Pratt Institute provides students with a professional education and a traditional residential college experience within the exciting creative environment of one of the top art schools in the United States. Pratt relies on its two main fundraising events each year, the Legends Awards Dinner and the Fashion Show + Cocktail Benefit to generate critical scholarship revenue for Pratt students based on need and merit. With nearly 80 percent of Pratt's students requiring financial assistance to pursue their educations, the financial success of both of these events is essential. Pratt retained OAI to evaluate the school's current fundraising efforts and to provide guidance on how to best maximize revenue from its two major events.
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OAI
in the News
Craig Shelley Published in NonProfit PRO
Craig Shelley, Vice President, shares his insights as to how to invest in the next generation of fundraisers on NonProfit PRO. To read how to grow your talent pool by empowering junior staff, click here.
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| About Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI) Responding to the increasingly complex burdens on nonprofit leaders, OAI has developed a transformational approach to fundraising and strategy consulting. Our teams of experienced professionals seamlessly embed themselves with nonprofits to fundraise, to recruit and improve board leadership, to build consensus and direction through new strategies, and to provide executive, fundraising, and financial leadership. With offices in Washington, DC and New York City, OAI has partnered in our clients' success for 25 years, helping more than 600 nonprofits raise hundreds of millions of dollars for their causes.
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