Setting your major donor fundraising targets
Are you finalising your budgets at the moment? Did your charity miss their major donor target last year? Here are 5 top tips to having more confidence in your major donor budget.
Major Donor Fundraising – your simple checklist
Major donor fundraising isn’t about that one big gift. It’s about all the small steps along the way that build great relationships. Those small steps…
Major Donor Fundraising Books
I’m often asked by fundraisers and charity leaders which major donor fundraising books they should read. I haven’t (yet!) written one myself but am constantly reading and learning. And I’ve learnt just as much about major donor fundraising and philanthropy from “non-fundraising” books – major donor fundraising links hugely to psychology, wellbeing, human decision making and relationships.
Major donor fundraising with Oxfam’s team
Louise at Summit worked with Oxfam’s Major gifts team; Annie Turnbull talks below about what their challenges were, and how we overcame them together. So…
Fundraising and the “always on” culture
In Spring 2024 I took a month off work, off screens and away from “normal” life to take the trip of a life-time to Australia…
4 Tips for a Successful Major Donor Event.
Working to plan a major donor event can take LOT’s of time, effort, resource and energy. So read on to get 4 approaches to help…
Phoning Major Donors
Have you ever felt nervous about phoning donors? You psych yourself up, pick up your mobile, and you call that major donor or potential major…
Back to Major Donor Fundraising Basics this Summer
July and August are often viewed as a “quiet” time in major donor fundraising in the UK & Europe. Many high-net-worth individuals are away at…
The importance of thanking in major donor fundraising
One thank you to that major donor is great. But surely we shouldn’t be too over the top about thanking should we? Read on for…
Who are major donors for your charity?
Have you got your eye on those individuals on the Sunday Times Rich List? If your charity is serious about its major donor fundraising please ignore it
The Challenges of Management in Major Donor Fundraising!
I’ve had some difficult situations both line managing and reporting upwards in major donor fundraising. Many fundraisers I work with don’t feel supported by their…
6 Tips to reclaim time for your major donor fundraising
We’re often told to look after ourselves, to make sure we don’t work too late, to get the “right” balance. But it’s easy to finish…
Major donor fundraising and working with your trustees
Trustees can be critical to major donor fundraising success. But it can be easy to feel frustrated that your trustees “don’t get” major donor fundraising…
5 ways to kick start your major donor fundraising this year.
Want to improve and develop your major donor fundraising this year? Bad news – I don’t have a magic wand or a quick fix for…
Recruiting to major donor fundraising roles
Struggling to recruit a major donor fundraiser or philanthropy lead? You’re not alone. It’s one of the most common challenges for charities large and small….
Who are your major donors?
Who are your major donors and should you “follow the bling”? I was in a major donor training session about 15 years ago when I…
What is major donor fundraising?
There are numerous technical definitions of major donor fundraising but at it’s essence, major donor fundraising is an income stream that is based on excellent,…
Major donor fundraising and the “Big Ask”
Over 15 years, I’ve found two mindsets particularly helpful for fundraisers and charity leaders to ask for large gifts and raise more. “The really difficult…
Meeting a major donor – transform your approach
Here’s one simple approach that can transform your meetings with a current or potential major donor, and increase your chances of a large gift. So…
5 Tips to make the most of virtual major donor meetings
Whether there are pandemic restrictions or not, virtual meetings open up a great opportunity for your charity to connect with potential donors wherever they are…
Major donor fundraising meetings – when things don’t go to plan
I spend a lot of time giving people confidence in their major donor fundraising: confidence to have that conversation, to meet with an existing or…
Diversity and anti-racism in major donor fundraising
This is an uncomfortable blog for me to write. And it should be. Since #Blacklivesmatter I’ve become more consciously aware of my white privilege and…
Let’s prioritise ‘the how’ over ‘the what’ with major donor fundraising
My appraisal as a 22-year-old & raising large gifts – what I’ve learnt If you work in major donor fundraising, or you manage someone who…
What major donor fundraisers can learn from corporate partnership managers
To cross the divide between disciplines, Andy King has shared his top three lessons that major donor fundraisers can learn from people working in corporate partnerships
LaLa Land and Major Donors!
This is a guest blog from Rory Traynor, Capital Campaign Manager at Ayrshire Hospice. Thank you Rory! Recently, I found myself arriving for a meeting…
Are your major donors ‘Zoomed out’?
Events can play a huge role in major donor fundraising: thanking, attracting new donors, building relationships. They can inspire and connect high-net-worth individuals to those…
4 ways you could raise more large gifts & meet your target
I had the best Monday morning when I found out that a CEO I’ve been working with secured £200k of pledges! In 5 days! The…
Prioritise! How to use the L-I-A model
Some of the most common challenges I hear when I work on major donor fundraising with fundraisers and leaders are: “We have a list of…
Much has changed but much has stayed the same
Coronavirus has changed our lives more than we could have imagined. In the conversations I’ve had with major gift fundraisers, Chief Executives, and Directors of…
Don’t make the same mistake as Dominic Cummings with your key donors
All of the coverage of Dominic Cummings got me thinking about the third sector – as charities when things haven’t gone quite to plan with projects, when we’ve made mistakes, we’ve often thought how we can spin the truth with our donors. And no wonder.
Are you in a post covid-19 mindset yet?
If you’re in that place where you’re starting to think of a post-Covid world, make sure high-net -worth individuals and major donor fundraising is part of that. Can you afford not to?
A call to show you care
Surely you shouldn’t call your major donors and potential major donors now of all times. They’ve got other things to think about haven’t they?
Expert, donor, global- different views for your major gift fundraising
The Pride flag flying high, some seriously blustery weather and a beautiful lake view accompanied a great fundraising discussion with my friend, Henry Shelford, Head…
Putting yourself in their shoes
One question that I pondered from the 2020 Institute of Fundraising major donor conference was “How often do we truly put ourselves in our major donor’s shoes?”
“What’s in a name?”
Maybe more than you think when it comes to major gifts! So what should we call our fundraising roles?