53.37% of nonprofits agree that it’s vital to acquire multiple major gifts. Yet, 58.87% of organizations lack a major gift strategy, and 75.32% attribute this to a lack of investment on their part. 

This staggering contradiction underscores the need to emphasize major gift fundraising. While technology-driven engagement tactics and personalized outreach can grab prospects’ attention, achieving success with major donors is about more than simply asking for funds. It’s about strategically positioning your organization as a trustworthy and effective partner by clearly demonstrating the measurable return on investment (ROI) their gifts generate. 

Impact data turns your major gift fundraising appeals from transactional requests into proposals for strategic, long-term partnerships. With an effective impact reporting process in place, your nonprofit can establish deeper trust with donors and cultivate stronger relationships that lead to major gifts. 

Let’s unpack the role of impact reporting in cultivating major gifts. 

It’s no secret that planned gifts are essential for your nonprofit’s long-term financial health. However, the challenge comes when it’s time to create a clear communication strategy that encourages donors to make a long-term commitment. So, where do you begin? 

A successful planned giving program is built on trust, education, and open communication. From creating a central resource for donors to celebrating their gifts in a meaningful way, this guide will provide everything you need to inspire planned (also called legacy) gifts. 

Experts generally estimate that 80% of donations come from about 20% of donors. Bloomerang’s research shows an even greater divide, with 88% of donations coming from 12% of donors. 

That’s why cultivating major donor relationships is so important. They can truly make a massive impact on your cause and help you serve more beneficiaries. This guide will walk you through how to follow up with major donors to retain their support and keep them as part of your community. 

Major donors often provide the largest gifts to your organization, making them a vital part of your long-term fundraising strategy (especially if you're working toward building or growing an endowment).

While economic conditions may shift, your mission and your community’s support remain steady. According to Fortune, some giving may slow during a recession, but people still give to the causes they care about. Susan Hirschman, Director of Wealth Management for Schwab Wealth Advisory, puts it best: “No matter what the market is, people will always give to charities.”

It’s easy to focus on maintaining relationships with your current major donors—and you should! But if you're thinking about long-term financial sustainability through an endowment, it’s equally important to expand your network of support. There are donors out there who are aligned with your mission and ready to invest in your future—you just need to invite them in.

We’ll help you get started with three of our favorite best practices for identifying, cultivating, and stewarding major donors.

Once your nonprofit receives a major gift, you should immediately enter the stewardship phase to strengthen and retain that relationship. Start by showing sincere appreciation, recognizing the donor’s impact in a meaningful way, and planning thoughtful, ongoing ways to keep them engaged with your organization’s mission.  

Managing all of these activities can quickly get overwhelming, especially if you have a small team. The good news? Your nonprofit’s fundraising tools can help. With the right approach, you can use your technology to engage major donors, improve relationships, and ultimately increase giving. Here are a few tips to help make the most of your tech stack.

Legacy gifts are among the most impactful contributions your nonprofit can receive. Most donor pyramid models put planned gifts at or near the top, even above major contributions from repeat donors. Plus, bequests (the most common type of legacy gift) make up nearly 10% of the entire charitable giving landscape and are growing in their combined value, according to Giving USA 2024.  

If your organization doesn’t have a solid strategy for soliciting and managing planned gifts, now is the time to create one! One of the keys to a successful legacy giving program is building strong donor relationships. Stewardship is especially important with planned gift donors, since their pledge and actual gift can be years apart. 

In this guide, we’ll walk through four strategies for showing gratitude to legacy donors and retaining their lifelong support. Let’s dive in!

Every major gift officer understands the pressure to close big gifts. When it comes to securing these contributions, the key to long-term success isn’t moving faster; it’s slowing down and building genuine, lasting relationships. 

Major donors often seek a deep connection with the causes they support. Cultivating these relationships requires a thoughtful, individualized approach. It takes time, patience, and consistency, but the payoff is well worth it! 

Strong relationships with major donors lead to greater lifetime giving, increased donor retention, and more meaningful impact. Let’s explore proven strategies to help you develop lasting partnerships with these supporters, from the first gift to long-term stewardship.

Once your nonprofit receives a major gift, it’s your job to maintain that relationship by showing appreciation and communicating the donor’s impact. You might steward major donors by sending program updates, inviting them to VIP events, and publicly recognizing their support. All of these efforts are effective, but you can make them even more impactful by incorporating storytelling. 

Telling stories is vital to successful nonprofit communications, even in the stewardship phase. Use these strategies to fine-tune your approach and improve major donor relationships through the power of storytelling.

Securing a major gift for your organization is no small feat, and your achievement should be celebrated! But don’t let the celebration distract you from the fact that your work isn’t done yet. Major donor relationships are delicate and highly valuable to your nonprofit, meaning you need to approach them with care every step of the way—even after you receive a donation.

Once you receive a major gift, move to the next integral part of the major donor fundraising cycle: donor stewardship. In this guide, we’ll cover four steps you should take post-solicitation to steward and sustain your major donor relationships long-term.

When hosting a capital campaign, year-end campaign, or other significant fundraising initiative, it’s crucial to be strategic about the fundraising process. While smaller campaigns and fundraising efforts should still entail thoughtful planning, larger endeavors with lofty fundraising goals require more attention to the giving process and the specific donations you’re expecting.

That’s where gift range charts come in. These resources help set major campaigns up for success. The tips in this guide will help your team build an effective gift range chart that steers your campaign in the right direction.