Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Small nonprofits in rural areas face unique challenges obtaining major gifts, says Brittany Kirk, president and grant practice director, Cloudbreak Collective (Bainbridge Island, WA).A small town where everybody knows everybody else can create deeper connections but can make it tough to ask for money.And volunteers and staff members can be intimidated just by their conception of major gifts, she adds."Often small shops are scared of the words 'major gifts' because they think, 'Well, I'm not going to ask Bill Gates for a million dollars,'" Kirk notes.The solution, she says, is to scale down the approach to major gifts while still using some of the tactics employed by bigger nonprofits.First, define a threshold for major gifts that fits your organization, Kirk suggests.That means coming up with a figure that will generate a manageable list of top prospects for a few volunteers or a staff member to cultivate.Generally, Kirk advises small nonprofits to set the minimum level of a major gift at 10 times the size of the average gift received.This should result in a list of five to 20 top prospects whom volunteers or a staff member can spend time building relationships with."Major gift fundraising for a small organization is creating structure and keeping those top prospects close," Kirk explains."It's about getting through the intimidation factor around major gifts and really simplifying it for small shops."Unlike at larger nonprofits, it often won't be necessary to look too far beyond existing supporters to find good prospects.That's a good thing, Kirk notes, because it will save the time and money it takes to find new donors.Looking at the last three to five years of your donors' giving history and at giving capacity, you should be able to find many of the best prospects for major gifts.These might include board members, existing donors and lapsed ones.When you've come up with your best prospects, list them on a simple spreadsheet.Then, use "a simplified version of MOVES management" to cultivate these people, Kirk advises.Create a "menu of moves" you will use to build relationships with them.These might include emailing them links to photos or articles about your programs, inviting them for coffee or to events or even asking for their advice.Five to 20 relationship-building moves might take a year or so, and will lead up to an ask."The last big thing I tell small organizations is that at some point you do have to ask," says Kirk, who adds that many of her clients assume donors will make major gifts without being asked."It sounds really obvious, but if you don't ask, people often aren't going to give.It doesn't have to be a complicated ask, but make sure you're making that ask."
Source: The major gifts report
DOI: 10.1002/mgr.32611
Author: Kerry Nenn
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4410159834