The Timothy Group

Building Major Relationships

Major donors give to people they know and trust. The more confidence they have in you and your ministry, the more likely it is that your organization will rise to the top of their giving list. Cultivation comes in two phases. Before a donor makes an initial gift, your strategy is to introduce new friends to your ministry. After a donor gives, your goal is to turn these new friends into good friends, and ultimately good friends into best friends as they increase their level of commitment. Here are some before-gift and after-gift cultivation suggestions:

Before a Gift

• Communicate

  • Personally visit them in their home or office.
  • Write brief handwritten notes.
  • Make personal phone calls and send personal emails.

• Educate

  • Mail your newsletter in a special envelope with first class postage.
  • Show your promotional DVD in their home or office.
  • Hand deliver your organization's Annual Report.
• 

  Host

  • Reserve premium seating or parking at a special event.
  • Ask board members to host a small gathering in their home to introduce your ministry to a circle of their friends.
  • Offer hospitality in your home.

• Invite

  • Organize a vision trip to another center to help them see the possibilities.
  • Schedule a hunting, fishing, or golf trip.
  • Ask them to attend special meetings or conferences relevant to your mission.

• Involve

  • Seek advice in their area of expertise.
  • Encourage them to become volunteers.
  • Recruit them as committee members for an important project.

• Love

  • Treat them as respected members of your family.
  • Help them with special needs.
  • Shower them with acts of kindness.

• Network

  • Connect them with other major donors who have similar interests.
  • Introduce them to board members and staff.
  • Conduct a business leaders summit on significant issues.

• Notice

  • Send press clippings when your donor is recognized in the news.
  • Send congratulations when family members are honored for accomplishments.
  • Send birthday and anniversary cards.

• Personalize

  • Share photos of those who benefit from your programming.
  • Give personal gifts related to their special interests.
  • Ask those that benefit from your ministry to write thank you notes.

• Share

  • Invite donors to become prayer partners and receive email updates.
  • Get feedback on conceptual architectural drawings.
  • Share draft strategic plans and ask for their perspective.

• Sympathize

  • Send get well or sympathy cards.
  • Send flowers when donors or family members are in the hospital.
  • If appropriate, make hospital visits.

• Understand

  • Know their family members.
  • Learn about the donor's relationship to the organization.
  • Take note of their personal hobbies and interests (i.e., baseball, fishing, etc.).

After a Gift

Continue all of the previously suggested steps and consider these actions after a donor has responded with a gift.

• Thank

  • Give a special premium gift to acknowledge their donation.
  • Give handicraft or artwork by beneficiaries of your program.
  • Ask board members to hand deliver receipts.

• Honor

  • Thank them publicly.
  • Record their name on a giving plaque or donor book in your lobby.
  • Give them a certificate of appreciation.

• Recruit

  • Enlist them to host a table at your New Friends dinner.
  • Ask them to host a major donor event in their home.
  • Invite them to join your board of directors.

• Ask

  • Seek their opinions when conducting a Pre-Campaign Study.
  • Ask them to help you raise money.
  • Regularly ask them for gifts.
• 

  Upgrade

  • Remove them from your direct mail appeal and communicate with them as insiders.
  • Advance them to the next level in your giving club.
  • Consider what the appropriate range of their next gift could be.

Cultivating genuine relationships with major donors is a wise investment. The more you pour yourself into the lives of major donors, the more credibility you will have when it's time to ask for a major gift.