Hundreds of thousands of small community organizations and animal groups do a lot with few resources. While every donation is vital for success, one great strategy to use is to reach major donors. Major gifts, for some organizations, represent a significant percentage of their revenue. Typically, the expense of obtaining a major gift is a lot less than other fundraising revenue. Meaning, it costs more to acquire new donors and other fundraising activities, such as events.
Suppose you work at a one or two-person small community group or animal welfare organization. In that case, you may wonder how to attract major gift dollars that can go as high as $5,000, $10,000, or more for a single gift. It can especially happen when major gift donors are emotionally touched by the work you do because it means something personal.
So if you lead a small group with limited resources, how can you reach major donor prospects?
A few simple ideas that are tricks of the fundraising trade.
Institutional funders
One of the primary revenue streams for small nonprofits is corporations and foundations. But, did you realize that they can also be an excellent source for information for a major gift program? Perhaps want to develop a new initiative and would like to support major donors. A few well-placed discussions with institutional funders who happen to be your greatest champions is an excellent place to begin.
All you have to do is create a framework that will help the people to think. Th idea is to determine how they can help you connect with community and business leaders. Maybe you’d like to start a new program or develop an existing plan exponentially. This type of strategic thinking takes money. If you prepare a concise presentation with a goal, your impact, and objectives, take the information to an institutional funder and brainstorm with them how to reach major donors. When you ask their thoughts, they will do what they can to help you.
Other nonprofit donors
Another trick of the fundraising trade is to see the supporters of other charities in your community. The fact of the matter is that when someone is passionate about a particular cause, they can support not just one but two or more organizations.
Alternately, you can also look at donors to other organizations that may align with the work you do. For instance, if your organization does youth development, you can see which community leaders support your local schools. Or, if you live in a major city with a zoo, you can research the names of its supporters and then figure out how to develop a relationship with a few of those prospects. Many organizations also publish the names of their supporters or partners on their websites, annual reports, or community publications when events occur.
Political donors
We understand that politics is a touchy subject, but were you aware that contributors to political parties and candidates are much more likely to be donors to nonprofit causes? Although currently nonprofits shouldn’t get involved in politics, it doesn’t mean that you can’t do a little research using available information about political donors who, it turns out, are more inclined to support philanthropy.
According to Donor Search, political giving is an excellent predictor of charitable giving. Individuals who donate $2,500 in their lifetime to a political campaign are 14 times more likely to give to charity than others who are not political contributors. And, those who provided $500 in their lifetime to politics are at least 5 times more likely to contribute to charity.
Major donors are an excellent fundraising idea for your community organization or animal group with a little planning.
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