Bradley Hayes unravels the myths behind securing major gifts for arts organisations.
It’s easier to fill a room with elephants than it is with mice. Whether you work for a small arts organization, a large multinational NGO, or a mid-sized community organization, major gifts — however you define them — ought to be an important component of your fundraising strategy. As important as it is to have a broad base of support, major giving has more immediate value to your organization than does grassroots fundraising.
It may be heretical, but if your resources are limited (and, really, when are resources not limited?), and you have only one dollar to invest in your fundraising operation, I’d invest that dollar in harvesting gifts from your major gifts pipeline. The return on investment is unmistakable. Whereas resources spent on donor acquisition through annual giving or event-based giving are often loss leaders, the ROI from money invested in major gift prospects can be 10 to 1 or more.
Large gifts can be intimidating for fundraisers. Because the stakes seem so high, gifts of five-, six-, seven figures, or more lead to all sorts of aberrant behavior on the part of gift officers. The reality is that the size of the gift is irrelevant; what matters is adherence to a rational process based on transparency and collaboration between the donor and the fundraiser in order to generate the best result... Keep reading on Patron Technology
It’s easier to fill a room with elephants than it is with mice. Whether you work for a small arts organization, a large multinational NGO, or a mid-sized community organization, major gifts — however you define them — ought to be an important component of your fundraising strategy. As important as it is to have a broad base of support, major giving has more immediate value to your organization than does grassroots fundraising.
It may be heretical, but if your resources are limited (and, really, when are resources not limited?), and you have only one dollar to invest in your fundraising operation, I’d invest that dollar in harvesting gifts from your major gifts pipeline. The return on investment is unmistakable. Whereas resources spent on donor acquisition through annual giving or event-based giving are often loss leaders, the ROI from money invested in major gift prospects can be 10 to 1 or more.
Large gifts can be intimidating for fundraisers. Because the stakes seem so high, gifts of five-, six-, seven figures, or more lead to all sorts of aberrant behavior on the part of gift officers. The reality is that the size of the gift is irrelevant; what matters is adherence to a rational process based on transparency and collaboration between the donor and the fundraiser in order to generate the best result... Keep reading on Patron Technology