Customer Rating: Summary: Major gift fundraising - something that happens at established not-for-profits! Comment: Are you an executive director at a nonprofit? Are you a development director at a university or hospital? If so, then you should be aware of major gift fundraising and what is involved in doing it. If you don't know what it is about, then read this book and you will be up on it. The author has years of experience in a large university setting where major gift fundraising is the norm. She knows what she is talking about. And she does a very nice job presenting her knowledge in the form of this book.
The book is delivered in an easy-to-read format, and includes case studies to show the challenges typically faced by fundraisers when seeking major gifts. What do I mean by "major gifts?" Gifts sought in the $10,000 and above range. Most of the time they are $20,000 or $50,000 or $100,000. And the successful major gift fundraisers like to brag about snaring large 6 figure gifts.
What the book tells us about is how to build a major gift program. How to find the major gift donors and how to engage them so they will cough up the dough. It also describes how to cultivate those prospective donors and how to ask them for that big gift.
Chapter 3 does a nice job covering the importance of a "strong" nonprofit board. What do I mean by "strong?" One whose members have big bucks, are willing to give some of those big bucks to the nonprofit, AND who have wealthy friends and acquaintances who also are willing to give some of their big bucks to the nonprofit.
The author takes the reader from forming a major gift program to growing it as follows:
1. ID and rate prospective donors
2. Prepare the Case for Support (a document explaining to donors why to give)
3. How to train volunteer fundraisers (including the board members)
4. How to cultivate donors (from cheapies to generous major gift givers)
5. How to solicit (how to make the ask)
6. Recognition (always say thank you!)
7. How to provide stewardship for the major gift
The book is wonderful. I highly recommend it for those wanting to take their nonprofit to a new level. 5 stars!
"Major gifts are at the heart of any coordinated, successful fundraising effort. Julie Walker shows you how to do it all-- find the prospects, staff the program, and ask for the money. The sidebar stories and real-world examples sprinkled throughout the book are entertaining, yet still make a point. I would buy it for the advice and keep it for the anecdotes." --Duris Holmes, Chairman of the Board Benjamin Franklin High School New Orleans, Louisiana
Part of the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series, Nonprofit Essentials: Major Gifts is a professional guide to major gift fundraising, concisely presented in a format that is accessible, lively, and easy-to-read. With in-depth advice from experienced fundraiser Julia Walker, this book takes the reader from the early stages of establishing a program through the core elements of all major gift programs: identifying and rating prospects; preparing the case; training volunteers; cultivating donors; making the ask; and providing recognition and stewardship for the gift. Its nuts-and-bolts presentation focuses on how to create a prospect-centered program that develops the capacity to engage and solicit donors, effectively based on their unique interests and needs.
