Let\u2019s start by reviewing the basics of these key donations.<\/p>\n
Major gifts are the largest donations your nonprofit receives.<\/strong> Major gifts are defined by your organization’s major gift size, which is determined by analyzing your nonprofit’s donations, identifying outliers, and setting a threshold based on your organization’s size and typical high-end contributions. These donations are key drivers of major fundraising efforts and give your nonprofit the foundation to successfully pursue major projects and expand its mission.<\/p>\n For example, major gifts make up the bulk of funding for significant campaigns like capital<\/a> or comprehensive campaigns<\/a>, enabling your nonprofit to access the funds it needs to build new facilities, launch new programs, or purchase necessary equipment.<\/p>\n Successful nonprofits understand the significance of major gifts and know that one major gift can be the difference between meeting goals and falling short.<\/p>\n The exact donation amount you consider a major gift will depend on the highest donation amounts your organization typically receives. For example, if your largest donations are between $25,000 and $50,000, you might designate that as your major gift range.<\/p>\n Some larger organizations may consider major donations to be $100,000 or more, while smaller nonprofits might consider $1,000 donations to be major gifts.<\/p>\n Major gifts make up the bulk of a nonprofit\u2019s annual fund. They allow your nonprofit to remain in operation and tackle major undertakings, such as implementing renovations or establishing new programs.<\/p>\n Creating a major gift program or fundraising strategy is essential because major gifts do not just appear out of thin air. They require careful planning, cultivation, and stewardship to acquire them and turn major donors into recurring supporters.<\/p>\n According to Giving USA 2024<\/a>, very large \u201cmega-gifts\u201d totaled $8.07 billion in 2023. A major gift fundraising strategy helps ensure that more of these massive donations are coming your nonprofit\u2019s way.<\/p>\n Major donors<\/a> are the individuals who contribute major gifts to your nonprofit. These supporters can come from all walks of life, but most share specific characteristics that make it easier to identify them. Understanding who major donors are can help you find more of these individuals within your nonprofit\u2019s CRM<\/a> and start building relationships with them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prospect research plays a key role in identifying potential donors\u2014individuals who have the capacity, interest, and propensity to give to your organization. Identified prospects are those recognized through prospect research as having fundraising potential before moving on to qualification or cultivation efforts. High potential prospects are individuals identified through data analysis and predictive modeling as being most likely to make significant donations.<\/p>\n The following characteristics typically define major donors:<\/p>\n In addition to these traits, major donors are often older. An EverTrue study<\/a> found that \u201cThe average age for first-time major donors has risen from 55 to 66 over the last two decades.\u201d Older adults have greater purchasing power<\/a>, so it\u2019s often worth directing more of your attention to older prospective donors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n What do major gifts actually look like? These donations come in multiple forms, and your organization should offer more than one type of major giving to appeal to a wider range of donor preferences.<\/p>\n Planned giving is an important type of major gift that supports long-term financial sustainability for your organization. Transformational gifts can create a lasting impact and help drive your mission forward. By offering multiple types of major gifts, you can support donors at different stages of their donor journey and build stronger, more meaningful relationships.<\/p>\n Here are some other common types of major gifts:<\/p>\n These gifts are direct donations of cash or checks to your organization. While it\u2019s uncommon for a donor to sit down in your office and make a massive lump sum payment, it can happen occasionally. However, convincing a donor to drop a major gift in one payment is more challenging, and it typically only occurs among your highest net worth, most passionate major donors.<\/p>\n These gift types aren\u2019t major drivers of nonprofit growth, either\u2014a Texas Tech study<\/a> found that over a five-year period (2010-2015), organizations that received only cash gifts achieved 11% growth, barely keeping pace with inflation.<\/p>\n In contrast to check or cash donations, stock gifts offer greater growth potential for your organization. The Texas study found that organizations that received securities and other non-cash gifts achieved 66% growth in the same five-year period.<\/p>\n Often, donors see stock gifts as less costly for their personal finances because they\u2019re separate from their personal checking or savings accounts. Stock gifts allow them to pull from a different bucket that has less of an impact on their daily lives.<\/p>\n Plus, according to our blog post on this topic<\/a>, gifts of stock can have greater tax benefits than direct cash donations. Stock gifts offer both income tax deductions and <\/em>avoidance of capital gains taxes on the appreciation. In other words, the donor can deduct the full value of the stock from their taxable income and <\/em>avoid paying taxes on any increase in the stock value if it goes up.<\/p>\n To accept stock gifts, your nonprofit must set up a brokerage account, spotlight stock gifts on its website\u2019s \u201cways to give\u201d page, and promote this giving option across marketing channels like email and social media.<\/p>\n Similar to gifts of stock, donations of real estate<\/a> allow major donors to contribute an asset rather than a direct cash gift to your organization. Additional examples include a rental condo, farmland, or a vacant lot. Donors receive the same tax benefits of avoiding capital gains taxes, while your nonprofit can receive the property’s full value as a tax-exempt organization.<\/p>\n We recommend developing a gift acceptance policy to avoid accepting subpar real estate gifts. In addition, consult with your organization\u2019s legal team to manage the complexities of accepting these donations.<\/p>\n Planned giving or legacy gifts are donations that donors pledge as part of their will or estate planning. Your organization will collect these gifts when the donor passes away.<\/p>\n When asking for a planned or legacy gift<\/a>, emphasize the donor\u2019s ability to leave a lasting positive impact on your cause. Provide detailed information about how donors can set up your organization as a beneficiary of a charitable trust or bequest. For example, they may need to speak with a trust attorney or financial advisor to determine the best path forward for their will planning.<\/p>\n Donor-advised funds<\/a> are personal charitable investment accounts that donors can use to send funding to various charitable organizations. Donors can contribute cash, securities, and other assets to the account and use it as a holding ground until they determine which charities they\u2019d like to support. Their checks may arrive under a different name\u2014like Fidelity Charitable or Schwab Charitable\u2014rather than the individual\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how DAFs work: the donor contributes to the DAF sponsor and then recommends grants to nonprofits over time. This matters for tracking because you need to connect the DAF record to the individual donor for accurate stewardship.<\/p>\n Example: A donor recommends a $15,000 grant from their DAF each December as part of a multi-year commitment to your youth program. Make it easy for DAF donors to give by including DAF-specific instructions on your donation pages.<\/p>\n Let donors know that your nonprofit accepts DAF donations, and include information about contributing these funds on your website. You can also include details about enabling DAF transfers and even testimonials from DAF donors explaining why this giving option benefited them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A major gifts program is a central component of nonprofit fundraising strategy, providing a structured approach to cultivating and securing significant contributions.<\/p>\n A donor will rarely make a major donation out of the blue. Therefore, one of the best ways to encourage donors to make major gifts is by building relationships with supporters and focusing on donor retention and stewardship<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s review the key steps of finding major donor prospects, building relationships, and retaining their support for the long term:<\/p>\n To kick off your major gift fundraising strategy, you should first identify your nonprofit\u2019s unique major gift range. This allows you to understand who your major donors are, what leads them to give at a high level, and how you can build relationships with them and potential major donors to foster a sustainable giving stream.<\/p>\n Follow these steps to outline your organization\u2019s definition of major gifts:<\/p>\n As you set goals for your major giving efforts, be realistic, but optimistic. Understand your nonprofit\u2019s limitations and challenges, but show your team that you believe that they can take your major giving program to new heights.<\/p>\n Who will be responsible for acquiring and building relationships with major donors? Assigning responsibilities ensures that everyone is clear on their role in the major giving process.<\/p>\n Your major giving efforts may be supported by these team members:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These core team members may also interact with other staff members to push certain initiatives forward. For example, they may collaborate with your donor recognition team, event planner, volunteer coordinator, and marketing manager.<\/p>\n One of the most common major giving challenges nonprofits face is trying to engage with lukewarm or cold prospects. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to approach the right donors at the right time.<\/p>\n Managing a donor pipeline is essential for tracking prospects through different stages of relationship building and ensuring that each potential major donor receives the appropriate level of attention. Here\u2019s how to identify the best major gift prospects for your organization.<\/p>\n To prioritize prospects based on their potential to give, assess each individual’s capacity, affinity, and propensity, then rank or categorize them to focus your efforts on the most promising candidates.<\/p>\n Identifying qualified prospects involves analyzing data points such as giving history, engagement patterns, and wealth indicators. Data analytics and predictive modeling can further enhance prospect research by highlighting high-potential donors. Automating the prospect qualification process can save time and allow your team to focus on cultivating top leads. Additionally, it\u2019s important to regularly update your prospect research findings to keep donor information current and relevant.<\/p>\n Generally, donors with a history of giving, high engagement with your organization<\/a>, and a high generosity score (capacity for donating) will be the best major gift candidates.<\/p>\n When you start searching your preferred donor database<\/a> for potential major donors, you\u2019ll want to look at the three C\u2019s of major prospects: the depth of their connection <\/strong>to your nonprofit, the concern <\/strong>they have demonstrated for your mission, and their capacity <\/strong>to give.<\/p>\n Your best major gift prospects are usually already in your orbit. Start with:<\/p>\n Prioritize existing donors by looking for frequent givers or those who have increased their gift size over the last 2\u20133 years. Look for frequent gifts, increasing average gift size, and strong event attendance.\u00a0 Then layer in wealth screening tools that flag indicators like real estate holdings, business affiliations, and philanthropic history.<\/p>\n Combine data with human insight from staff, team members, and volunteers. Aim for a working list of 25\u201375 priority prospects, depending on your organizational size.<\/p>\n Bloomerang\u2019s wealth insights let small teams quickly see which prospective donors may be capable of a $5,000+ or $25,000+ gift\u2014so you focus engagement efforts where they\u2019ll have the most significant impact.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve identified these prospects in your donor database, move them through your major gifts pipeline. If you find yourself with too many prospects and limited staff members to build relationships with them all, you could organize prospects into tiers based on each prospect\u2019s overall likelihood to become a major donor to make prioritizing donors easier.<\/p>\n On the other hand, if you don\u2019t have a lot of prospects, strategize how to find more options both within and outside your existing records. As you expand your major prospect list, ask your current major donors if they have any referrals. This not only helps grow your list of prospective donors but also shows the strength of your relationship with the referring donor.<\/p>\n While you care about every donor, you probably don\u2019t have the resources to reach out to all of them individually in the hopes of earning a major gift. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to follow advice like the Pareto principle, which advises putting 80% of your resources into cultivating the top 20% of prospective donors who are likely to give you 80% of your funding.<\/p>\n When you first reach out to supporters and donors, ask them if they want to build a deeper relationship with your organization. Donors who say they do want a deeper relationship will be possible prospects. Then, consider other qualifications such as if they\u2019ve made past donations that are larger than your average gift amount, if a major donor or board member referred them to your organization, or if they\u2019ve otherwise demonstrated a passion for your mission.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking inside your donor database for major donor prospects<\/a>, take the following steps to understand which supporters to prioritize in your outreach efforts:<\/p>\n While you\u2019re most likely to find your major prospects within your database, don\u2019t discount new supporters\u2019 potential to become major donors. If you need to acquire new supporters and prospects, sit down with board members and stakeholders to see if they have any new donor referrals.<\/p>\n The qualification process is all about getting to know your prospects and building a deeper relationship with them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Qualified prospects are those who meet specific criteria based on giving history, engagement patterns, and other relevant data points, ensuring your outreach is targeted and effective. It’s also important to understand each prospect’s interests so you can tailor your communication and proposals to what matters most to them.<\/p>\n In the for-profit world, it takes an average of eight touchpoints<\/a> with a person to make a sale. In the nonprofit world, we can expect something similar, which is why we recommend trying to reach out to a potential donor eight times to get a conversation. If you make an effort, reach out eight times, and your prospect doesn\u2019t respond, move on to other donors who might.<\/p>\n These eight steps might look like this:<\/p>\n You likely don\u2019t have the time or energy to chase every one of your major prospects. Qualifying them is a great way to make sure they\u2019re interested in maintaining a relationship with you and your organization before you launch into the rest of the gift cultivation process.<\/p>\n Start the cultivation process by developing a concrete case for support that you can share with donors. Keep in mind that donors give because they\u2019re passionate about your mission. In fact, 42% of donors<\/a> said that hearing personal stories from a nonprofit\u2019s beneficiaries impacted their decision to give. Explaining why you need their support and how they\u2019ll make an impact is key for obtaining gifts.<\/p>\n Start by creating opportunities that allow you to get to know your supporters on an intimate level. For instance, you might decide to create opportunities such as:<\/p>\n These activities are designed to cultivate relationships, strengthen relationships, and deepen connections with donors, ultimately fostering long-term engagement and support.<\/p>\n As you use these opportunities to build major donor relationships, you\u2019ll want to gather some specific information about them, including:<\/p>\n Track each interaction you have with your supporters and prospects in your CRM to understand how far along in the cultivation process each prospect is and how the relationship is evolving.<\/p>\n So, you\u2019ve started building relationships and cultivating prospects. Cultivate by definition means that you\u2019re leading up to something\u2014and that something is a solicitation. In this case, you\u2019re leading up to making the ask for a major contribution.<\/p>\n There are two primary parts of a solicitation to keep in mind: the meeting setting and the language you use to ask for a donation.<\/p>\n When scheduling a meeting with donors, ask if they prefer to meet virtually or in person.<\/p>\n Virtual meetings are convenient for many individuals with tight schedules and allow organizations to reach donors who don\u2019t live nearby. However, they generally don\u2019t allow for the same level of personal interaction as the in-person alternative.<\/p>\n When you schedule meetings with prospective major donors, make sure to choose an environment set up for intimate conversation. It\u2019s ideal for these meetings to occur in quiet spaces such as a home or office rather than a public setting, allowing for additional privacy and fewer distractions for both parties.<\/p>\n Generally, it\u2019s best to limit the number of attendees. You don\u2019t want your prospects to feel as though they\u2019re being ganged up on by your team. Your executive director, major gift officer, or another team member with whom they\u2019ve developed a relationship are the best choices for the meeting\u2019s importance and personal nature.<\/p>\n If you feel uncomfortable asking prospects for major donations, you\u2019re not alone. We often hear from fundraisers that they feel awkward making such an ask. The good news is that you\u2019re reaching out to people you\u2019ve researched and who you\u2019ve determined are interested in helping your mission. Take comfort in the fact that you\u2019re making an informed ask.<\/p>\n When it comes to making your ask, the first step is to show appreciation for the prospect\u2019s past contributions. As mentioned, it\u2019s unlikely that this person is brand new to your organization and your mission. They\u2019ve gotten involved in several other ways, whether through donations, volunteer work, or event attendance. Tell them about the impact they\u2019ve made and how much you appreciate their support.<\/p>\n Then, when you make the ask, frame it as something for them to consider and provide a specific amount. You should also include the specific program that would benefit from the gift. For instance, you might say something like: \u201cWould you consider contributing a gift of $5,000 for the Save Our Farm program?\u201d<\/p>\n In the best-case scenario, they agree right away. However, you should go into the meeting prepared for them to say no, whether that\u2019s because they don\u2019t have those funds on hand or because they\u2019re not interested in contributing more at this time. If your prospect says no, decide whether it\u2019s appropriate to ask for a smaller gift at that time or if you should just resolve to make another ask in the future.<\/p>\n After you solicit and secure a major gift, you need to follow up and thank your donor for their generosity. Stewardship starts with two simple words: thank you. Show your appreciation for everything your major donors do for your organization and give concrete examples of how you used their donations to help you achieve your mission. Share success stories<\/a> that highlight the real-world impact of their gifts. These stories not only demonstrate the effectiveness of your programs but also inspire continued donor support. This helps cement the relationship you\u2019ve built with them and encourages future involvement with your organization.<\/p>\n Here are a few things you can do to thank your major donors:<\/p>\n Ideally, you will use several of these strategies to show appreciation. If you successfully steward your donors, you\u2019ll likely receive additional financial support from them in the future.<\/p>\n Assess your major giving program results to determine how well the program works and identify opportunities for improvement. Use your CRM to develop a report template to measure your program\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n This report should list metrics such as:<\/p>\n By reviewing these metrics, you can identify opportunities to continue improving your major gift program. For example, if your retention rate for your major gift program is low, you might consider revamping your major donor stewardship and appreciation program.<\/p>\n You should also see specific trends in these numbers over time. For instance, your average donation size and giving capacity will likely increase as your nonprofit grows. If it doesn\u2019t, then consider conducting additional prospect research or increasing your ask amounts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n You can leverage several tools to support your major gift fundraising efforts. Here are three of the most helpful options:<\/p>\n Your CRM<\/a> is your nonprofit\u2019s hub for supporter data. It lets you keep donor touchpoints organized and maintain consistency in your relationship-building efforts. Use your CRM to:<\/p>\n Look for a platform that helps automate many steps of the major donor cultivation and stewardship process. For example, Bloomerang\u2019s donor management system<\/a> offers built-in wealth screening tools through a DonorSearch partnership, an engagement meter to identify donors most likely to give, and user-friendly filtering and segmentation tools to develop targeted major donor groups.<\/p>\n Marketing platforms help keep your outreach activities consistent and organized. These solutions include email marketing platforms, social media scheduling tools, and direct mail platforms. Your marketing tools can support your major gift strategy by allowing you to:<\/p>\n Recognition tools can support your gratitude strategy by making it easier to thank donors using a variety of outreach methods. For example, you might invest in recognition platforms such as:<\/p>\n Donors will appreciate unique gratitude touchpoints that feel genuine and personal.<\/p>\n We pulled data on fundraising performance from over 5,000 organizations using Bloomerang for at least a year. What we found was that over two-thirds these organizations saw in increase in gifts over $1000 compared to the previous year prior to using Bloomerang.<\/p>\n![\"Never](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Banner-CTA-copy.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMajor gifts: FAQs<\/h2>\n
What is a major gift?<\/h3>\n
What is considered a major gift?<\/h3>\n
Why are major gifts so important for nonprofits?<\/h3>\n
Who are major donors?<\/h3>\n
![\"Common](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Donor-Traits-ver2.png\")
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Types of major gifts you can secure<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gift-Types-ver2-copy.png\")
<\/p>\nCash or checks<\/h3>\n
Gifts of stock<\/h3>\n
Real estate and other non-cash assets<\/h3>\n
Planned or legacy gifts<\/h3>\n
Donor-advised funds (DAFs)<\/h3>\n
7 steps to start a major gift program in 2026<\/h2>\n
1. Decide what major gifts look like for your organization<\/h3>\n
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![\"Example](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Range-Chart-copy-1.png\")
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2. Assign major giving team members<\/h3>\n
![\"Major](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Team-1.png\")
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3. Identify major gift prospects<\/h3>\n
Identification factors<\/h4>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-3-Cs.png\")
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![\"Bloomerang](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Banner-CTA-1-copy.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFocus on the right people for major gift fundraising<\/h4>\n
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![\"Find](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Donor-Prospects-CTA-copy.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nQualify your prospects<\/h4>\n
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4. Cultivate major gifts<\/h3>\n
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5. Ask for major gifts<\/h3>\n
The meeting setting<\/h4>\n
Language to ask for major gifts<\/h4>\n
6. Thank major donors<\/h3>\n
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7. Review major gift results<\/h3>\n
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Major gift fundraising tools<\/h2>\n
![\"Major](\"https:\/\/bloomerang.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Major-Gifts-Major-Giving-Tools-ver2-copy.png\")
<\/p>\nCRM<\/h3>\n
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Marketing tools<\/h3>\n
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Recognition tools<\/h3>\n
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How nonprofits using Bloomerang raise more major donations<\/h2>\n