With this understanding of structure of a major gift program, we can now discuss various types of campaigns and gifts from the donors perspective. Jerry May, who leads the University of Michigan's fundraising program, has described what is in the donor's mind, three different types of gifts. The first, regular gifts are gifts that a person makes repeatedly to the same cause. This can come in the form of weekly offerings at their church or synagogue, semiannual gifts to public television, sponsorship of an annual activity, or annual gifts to their college or university. These gifts are typically made based upon the calendar, and the donor typically anticipates giving them again in the future. Special gifts, these gifts are typically made to the same charities that donors support on a regular basis, but are frequently much larger. Major gifts to those of us in the business. They are often made in response to a special need in our time by the request of the charity. Ideally, they come in addition to the donor's ongoing regular gifts. An example would be the parishioner who makes weekly offerings to their church and then assists with a pledge to the building fund when the congregation elects to build a new wing to their facility. You will note the offering plate continues to come down the line, even after the building gift is made because the ongoing expenses of the church remain and need to be addressed. Finally, ultimate gifts. For some donors, they arrive at a time in their lives when they contemplate, not only how to disperse the wealth they have accumulated, but also the impact that they have made on the world around them. If major gifts are ten to one hundred times a typical annual gift, these gifts, principal gifts in our business, are often at a factor of 1,000 to 10,000 times larger. They are rarely influenced by current needs of the organization, but rather the personal circumstances of the donors at the time of their gift decision. Each of these kinds of gifts require a different style of fundraising and strategy. Primarily, we are engaged in one of three types of fundraising. The first, speculative campaigns. Here, primary focus is almost entirely on the process of asking for the gift based on the premise that if enough people are asked to give, enough will to make our effort worthwhile. The style does not spend significant energy developing an individual's donor sense of commitment. In fact, the majority of these gifts are sought without any preconception of the prospective donors willingness or readiness to give. Large scale, direct mail appeals, phone calls, emails, and social media requests, and even some personal solicitations are typically the method for this type of fundraising and are typically used to generate regular or annual gifts. Examples of this method would be the activities of the St. Jude Children's Hospital, political campaigns for a muscular dystrophy telethon. It is possible that a nonprofit can address a capital need with a speculative campaign. That type of effort requires a significant volunteer cohort, who are not only well-connected within the community, but are also willing to personally solicit gifts from their friends, colleagues, and associates. In this situation, the organization has not built a long standing relationship with their perspective donors, but rather are relying on the strength of the relationship between a donor and a volunteer or the influence of the solicitor within the community. An example would be a local social services organization that launches a community campaign for an addition to their facility. Volunteers are asked to engage prospective donors, both individuals and corporations and local businesses, in a direct and immediate ask. Capital campaign and project fundraising. As the size of the ask moves closer to a major gift commitment, the amount of time spent by the organization to assess the donor's readiness to make a gift also grows. A significant effort is placed into getting your prospect to not only be aware of your organizational mission, but to be actively engaged in your current work. The ask for the gift is important to your success. However, the work of the staff and volunteers in a campaign effort is to gauge your donors level of commitment and interest, and nurture it if needed. Nurturing fundraising, this is typically the method used in moving donors through a cycle of repeated major gifts, and for some, their ultimate or principal gift. The concept is solely dedicated to building a relationship between the donor and the organization over time. This process of donor cultivation is something we will address in greater detail in module three of this course. In the text reading that is associated with this module, Ronald Schiller in his book, Belief and Confidence, does a very effective job of outlining three dimensions of an effective major gift program. With respect to organizational infrastructure, he outlines the belief and confidence required of organizational leaders for a successful program as belief the organization is worthy of philanthropic investment. This is not a reference to whether or not your nonprofit deserves financial support, but rather a question of the need for site raising among your leadership. If they do not believe that a donor wouldn't consider gifts that are potentially exponentially higher than your current levels, you will have some work to do. Belief and confidence in each other's leadership, vision, strategy, and planning. As hard as we might try, internal disagreements within your organization are impossible to hide from truly engage donors. When everyone is on the same page with respect to your organization's vision for the future and how to accomplish that goal, it is evident to your donors. When the team is in disarray, it will become evident in your fundraising results. Confidence in the chief development officer and the development program. Does your chief development officer have access to the resources needed to build an effective major gift program? Does the leadership of your organization understand the important role they play in fundraising? Do they understand that immediate return on investment with a new major gift effort is unrealistic? Do they trust you and your team to do your jobs? If so, you have a solid foundation for success. If not, you will be fighting an uphill battle. Confidence and the capacity to meet fundraising goals. Past missed goals or underperforming fundraising efforts can cause both leaders and your team members to be skeptical of future opportunities. If your team members don't believe you can help them achieve their goals, they will provide a half-hearted effort to support fundraising. Organizations that have confidence in their ability to stretch themselves and achieve great things will experience significantly more success in major in principle gift development. Finally, belief in a philanthropic partnership. This last bullet item is perhaps the most important. Building a truly effective development program requires you to open your organization up to the thoughts of your various constituents. Annual fund donors provide support for your mission and wait to hear about your results. Major in principle gift donors expect engagement and to be heard. With investment in your vision, comes the partnership of your donors. If you are simply looking for their money and not open to an ongoing dialogue, your program will not be successful. Schiller goes on to outline the three key items he believes are required in our volunteers and members of the organizational staff. The first is a belief in mission. While building a career in fundraising for a nonprofit organization can be financially rewarding, the most successful development professionals fall into a category I refer to as the true believers. Yes, the job comes with metrics and performance expectations, but it is not a sales position. Professional fundraisers and volunteers, who have personalized the mission of their organization, can't help, but show that passion when interacting with prospective donors. Confidence in leaders, plans and goals. A lack of confidence among the staff and leadership is very apparent to donors. If you don't think your organization can meet its objectives, how can you encourage others to have that belief and their confidence to make investments to support your efforts? Additionally, in a highly competitive market for experienced development professionals, quality staff will quickly move on to another opportunity if they lose confidence in their leaders. Belief that individual contributions make a different. Again, the final point is important. Since major gift fundraising is highly personalized and concentrated on a single donor, if the staff or volunteer cannot see the impact that a single gift can make, their enthusiasm and motivation will be impacted.
