Fundraising with
Individuals
Annual Giving
Special Events
Capital Campaigns
Major Gifts
Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D. Professor
UGA Institute for Nonprofit Organizations
Annual Giving
• Organized effort to secure gifts on an annual basis,
either by mail, telephone, personal solicitation,
events, or all four.
• The primary fundraising method used to broaden
support, upgrade giving levels, and provide
operating support for ongoing programs.
• The backbone of most fundraising programs.
• Complements other forms of giving: planned,
capital, endowment.
• A cyclical, multi-stage process that may involve
several solicitation strategies.
Purpose of annual giving
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Acquire new donors
Renew donor support annually
Cultivate donors to increase giving levels
Build donor loyalty
Identify and involve leaders
Identify major, capital gift prospects
The Gift Pyramid
• Rule of thirds: 1/3 of goal will come from top few
gifts; the second 1/3 from larger number of midrange gifts; bottom third from larger number of
smaller gifts
• Must cultivate smaller donors to make giving a
practice and to enlarge gifts in subsequent years
• Must know donor capacity and approaches that
will produce larger gifts (donor research)
• Begin campaign with top prospects (quiet phase)
Annual Giving in the Pyramid of Giving
• New donors are unlikely to make significant gifts
to an organization that is unfamiliar to them.
• Annual giving programs build on initial gifts or
expressions of donor interest to develop a
consistent giving pattern. They represent an
essential stage in the giving cycle before a major
donor commitment is possible.
• Time (3-5 years), energy, work and budget are
required to build a broad base of predictable
annual donors.
Ladder of effectiveness
Henry Rosso, Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, Jossey-Bass
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Person to person solicitation
Personal letter with phone follow up
Personal phone call with follow-up letter
Personal letter with no follow up
Personal phone call with no follow up
Fundraising benefit (event)
Impersonal letter, direct mail
Door-to-door
Product sales
Impersonal phone call (telemarketing)
Media advertising
Most
Least
Rules of thumb in annual giving
1. Understand what will motivate your donors or
prospective donors before you plan your solicitation
strategies.
2. Carefully match prospects to projects and to
solicitation strategies.
3. Renew the same way you solicited the original gift.
4. Provide varied giving opportunities during the annual
fund cycle.
5. Provide varied and multiple forms of appreciation
during the annual fund cycle.
6. Track your results carefully to understand your
donors’ giving patterns.
Telephone solicitation, Phonathons
• Works best for renewals or prospects who do not
respond to mail
• Most effective when combined with a before and
after mail campaign
• Good way to acquire information on donor base
• Good way to involve natural volunteer groups
(e.g., parents, alumni, students, former clients)
• Good way to involve new volunteers in
fundraising
• Requires careful planning, training of callers
Telephone solicitation set-up
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Write a calling script, test it
Obtain donor names, addresses, phone numbers
Be prepared for mail follow-up to pledges
Find a calling site and enough phones
Organize volunteers, board and staff
Train them
Provide a fun and supportive atmosphere for
callers
• Hold post-mortem to evaluate results
Mail Solicitation
• Reaches the largest number, but least personal
• Effective for renewing current donors, but be
prepared to mail more than once
• For new prospects, this is the least efficient both in
terms of initial gift (1-2% return) and likelihood of
renewal.
• Requires significant investment of time to start a
mail campaign: acquire prospects, develop
package, buy postage, plan donor follow-up
• Lots of good technical expertise available.
• Test your letters, get evaluative feedback, revise.
Special events
• Pros: will raise visibility for your cause, and
involve a certain kind of donor motivated by
events. Good way to cultivate new prospects.
Good way to socialize your board, volunteers,
staff. Can be memorable event and lots of fun!
• Cons: Requires huge amounts of time, people,
energy. Rate of return may disappoint. Not the
best option if you’re only in it for the $$.
Special events set-up
• Carefully plan budget; analyze goals, profitability.
• Find a “niche” – an unusual or unique event –
know your “competition”.
• Understand your donor base – will they come?
• Watch for conflicting events.
• Involve experienced volunteers, event planners.
• Have contingency plans for everything.
• Understand the difficulties in renewing special
event gifts.
• Understand the tax consequences for donors.
Personal Solicitation
• Most effective and efficient form of
fundraising
• Requires training, planning and follow-up
• Best way to involve board, other committed
volunteers and donors
• Requires understanding of volunteer
recruitment, management and support
needs, including prospect research
Personal Solicitation
• Preparation:
– obtain accurate information about donor/prospect
interests, past giving history, capacity.
– Determine best person to contact the prospective donor
(let volunteers pick their donor prospects)
– Offer adequate support, training to solicitor
• Presentation:
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Match solicitor to prospect
Arrange to visit a prospect in person when possible
Ask for a specific amount
Follow through on any follow-up prospect requests
Personal Solicitation (cont.)
• The Close
– Be positive, not apologetic if prospect declines
– Be prepared to negotiate terms of gift
– Make careful notes about next steps and follow
through with donor
– Thank them
Example:
Small college annual giving plan
Targeted group Solicitation strategy
Goal
Board
$250,000
Alumni
In person
Mail -- prospects < $500
Phonathon -- non mail donors
In person -- prospects > $500
Area businesses In person
Fall art auction
Parents
Same as alumni
Students
$250,000
$100,000
$500,000
$150,000
$100,000
$200,000
Spring special event
$50,000
TOTAL $1,600,000
The Basics of Major Gifts
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Build on annual gifts but seek larger amounts
Small number of givers will provide most funds
The most cost-effective approach to fundraising
May be used for
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New or expanded programs
Capital for buildings or equipment
Endowments
Sponsorship of special need or activity
Usually come from person’s assets (savings)
rather than their current income
• Go to organization’s assets rather than its
current operations
• Require extensive personal cultivation
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Steps
• 1. Specify major opportunities for
sponsors, drawing from strategic plan
and linking with prospect’s interest
• 2. Plan the gift pyramid
• 3. Identify likely givers
– Records of prior giving
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Prior engagement with organization
Interests and motivations
Capacity to give
Network of associates
More steps
• 4. Start with board members and others already
engaged with organization
• 5. Each person must make own gift first,
before asking anyone else
• 6. Timing: Consider special events in
prospects’ lives (birth, marriage, change in
business)
• 7. Prepare personalized presentation, drawing on
case statement and linking opportunity with
prospect’s interests
Steps (continued)
• 8. Presentation plan
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Personalized case statement
Financial records of organization
Opportunity for which gift is sought
Benefit to giver
Specific request and options
• 9. Peer makes appointment to present
in person, in private
Asking for the gift
• 1. Build rapport, show interest in prospect’s
issues and concerns
• 2. State the case for support of opportunity
• 3. Encourage further involvement
• 4. Identify benefits of action
• 5. Ask for the gift
• 6. Be quiet
• 7. Respond appropriately
• 8. Follow up with thank you, regardless of
outcome
• 9. Update records
• 10. Report to donor about use of gift