Mining for Major Donors Or: how you don’t need to go down a scary hole to find the Mother Lode

You volunteer for a small nonprofit on the development committee. You have opened donation envelopes. You have noticed that some people consistently send your organization larger donations- every year. “Who are these people?”- you might ask yourself. Or maybe you just think “Well, aren’t we lucky”– and open the next envelope.

You never get to learn more about these donors because: – Your fundraising report only includes lump sum revenues for every appeal; – You don’t ask for more information; – You don’t want to ask for more information because: You are a volunteer and don’t have a lot of time; You are concerned that if you ask more questions you’ll be drafted to do more work; You don’t think that you’d know what to do with the information anyway.

The Mountain to Mine

The Mother Lode is right under your feet (in your database). You can miss another opportunity to strike it rich- and complain later about another year of dwindling donations; Or you can get down and dirty and MINE for Major Donors. Isn’t that one way your organization grew in first place?

Before You Start Mining: Is your organization, staff and volunteers, ready to put the time and effort into Major Donor mining? Check your gear- is your database up to date and organized for mining? Who is going to be responsible for this project? What is your time frame? What are your goals? Key donor retention; Upgrading the annual gift of a % of donors; ___________________________________

It’s the new/old thing: Moves Management Moves Management, created by David Dunlop, is the process of managing donor relationships. Moves Management involves planning, strategies, leveraging assets to further a relationship with a donor to reach a desired goal. What Are “Moves”? Moves represent cultivation opportunities. A move must penetrate the consciousness of the prospect regarding the organization or giving opportunity. The fund raiser must learn something about the prospect. Cultivation must be according to a plan and be mission directed.

Major Donor Mining In Just 5 Steps

IDENTIFICATION Determine what a “Major Donor” means for your organization: $ annually? $1,000.00? More? Identify Major Donor Prospects: From your database From prospect research Again- what is your organization’s capacity? – Mining from your database? – Doing prospect research? – Both? Document your identification process.

Research Who do you recognize on the list? What do you know about them? Do you know why they donated? __________________________ Document your findings in your database

Cultivation When was the last time you heard from them? When was the last time you reached out to them? Every “touch point” should be an authentic, mission-related experience. Take the cultivation process out of the office and into the world that you serve. Document your cultivation process.

Cultivation Success Story A trail conservation group was experiencing flat donations. The Board knew they had to do something but none of them liked asking for money. “We can’t ask strangers for money”. They set out to make strangers into friends. They made a list of the last year’s major donors ($500+). They made phone calls to thank each donor for their support. They asked what the donors liked most about the organization; for their ideas on projects and programs. They created a special newsletter for these donors that highlighted rare flowers, interesting things to watch for, etc.

Cultivation Success Story, continued The board members called the donors, inviting them on a hike with the board. The Board hosted a reception for the major donors at REI. The major donors were sent special reprints of conservation articles, etc., and legislative updates. At the next conference, the major donors were invited for drinks. At the next trail project, the donors were asked if they’d like to join the board to help them. Guess what– the donors asked if they could do more to help. Guess what- almost all of the donors raised their annual contributions.

Solicitation – the Zen of the Ask Make your “ask” from a position of confidence. Remember: your donor has already welcomed you in to talk about your wonderful organization and its vital programs and projects. If you’ve done your cultivation properly, the solicitation becomes an easy conversation between two friendly people (or three) who share the same interest. Think about what you are asking for: an increase in annual donations; underwriting for a special project, etc. Be specific about needs and impacts– stay away from generalities.

Solicitation – the Zen of the Ask Don’t waste your donor’s time: – Know about your organizations accomplishments and remind the donor of successes; – Be honest about present challenges, future needs and how the donor can make the difference. Document your solicitation.

Stewardship- Remember Your Manners How would you treat a friend? Handwritten thank you notes; a personal phone call; Special invitations. Turn every mission moment into a thank you moment. Every page on the website should have a mention of thanks. Remember: if your donor feels neglected or taken for granted– she/he is going to walk out of your life. How long would it take you to build another relationship? Note: according to Penelope Brooks, noted fundraising author, today’s donor attrition rate can be between 60%-70%! Document your stewardship efforts.

Moment of Truth: Can You Mine for Major Donors? Ask yourself these questions: Do I think my organization is the best at what it does? Do I love volunteering my time, effort, and my own $$ to my organization? Do I love to “talk-up” my organization? If you’ve answered “YES!” to these questions, if you’ve sat through this presentation without falling asleep (gotcha), you can mine for Major Donors and stake your claim to sustain your organization for years to come!