Be The Most Prepared

Getting in the door with a prospective major donor can be the longest step in ultimately securing a major gift. You can buy Wealth Lists and conduct endless research to find target donors, but the real work begins when you walk in the door to that first meeting with a prospective donor.

Cultivating interpersonal relationships as the single most important skill of any development professional. It takes time, dedication, work, and skill.

Before meeting with a donor, I focus on being the most prepared prospect they have met. This includes, but is not limited to, conducting public information searches, researching where they went to school, what they studied, where they are originally from, if they are married, if they have children, what organizations they are affiliated with, or what organizations their company is affiliated with. This step of preparation often feels a bit like stalking, but it pays off in the long run.

Successfully connecting with a donor requires finding genuine through lines between their interests, personal life, or career and the work of your organization. Additionally, I look to capitalize on those through lines by connecting them to my personal interests or professional experiences in a way that does not feel exploitative.

Be A Subject Matter Expert

As a member of a development team, my job is to be the Subject Matter Expert on every aspect of our organization. From mission, to programming, to events, to operations, to impact, to facilitating Major Gifts transactions, it is my job to ensure I can articulate WHY a donor should give us a gift & HOW a donor is directly impactive our organization and mission, before a solicitation is even considered.

Love to Learn

Another key aspect of success in development is loving to learn. I love to learn about your donors, my organization, and every-changing best practices in the field.

In my personal life, I love to read, travel, meet new people & try new things. These experiences are often the ones that help me meaningfully connect with donors the most.

Segmenting is Your Friend

Understanding how to segment your donors is an absolute must for automating communications, tracking donor portfolios, and tailoring outgoing communications. I spend meaningful time thinking about segmenting, tracking segments, and creating new donor segments.

Invest in Stewardship

Stewarding existing donors is arguably the most important aspect of any development professional’s job. Investing in existing donors is the difference between good and great fundraisers.