Engaging major donors for your organization can feel like a daunting task, leaving you with questions about where to start and how to communicate with them. However, it all begins with a simple concept: treating donors as investors.
Developing relationships with potential major donors requires a thoughtful and strategic approach. Once you have identified your top prospective major donors and established their priority, the next step is to create a customized cultivation plan for each individual. Gone are the days of guesswork and assumptions. Instead, we encourage you to engage directly with your donors and ask them what inspires their philanthropy.
Among the various major gift strategies, the discovery meeting emerges as a valuable tool in your arsenal. This meeting becomes a place for meaningful conversations, with open-ended questions to understand why donors are passionate about your organization or institution. By attentively listening and taking notes, you gain precious insights that will shape your cultivation approach.
In this insightful webinar, Winkler Group Principals Jim Bush and Jessica Browning guide you on how to approach your donors as investors. Join them as they share strategies that can unlock the full potential of mid-level donors within your database and transform them into major donors for your next campaign. This session also explores how personalized cultivation plans can lead to a wealth of new major donors supporting your cause.
To start the process of turning your mid-level donors into major donors, we have included some sample discovery questions. By leveraging these questions, you can delve deeper into the passions and motivations of your donors, allowing you to build stronger connections and tailor your approach.
- What are your top two philanthropic passions, and why?
- What are some of the best lessons your parents taught you?
- What are your biggest accomplishments?
- When did you first get involved with (xyz organization), and what connected you to us?
- Why do you choose to support us? What about our work makes you proud?
- What do you believe we excel at? In what areas do you think we could improve?
About the Author
Anna Lipscomb is Marketing Events Coordinator for the Winkler Group, a national capital campaign and strategic planning firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina. A graduate of Clemson University, Anna is passionate about community development, sustainability, and the arts. Connect with Anna on LinkedIn.
