Donor Cultivation: Turning Everyday Donors into Major Donors

It’s no mystery that nonprofits need big donors. Through prospect research and well-crafted fundraising letters, you’ve likely already secured the support of some major donors. But to fulfill your mission, your organization must continually grow its major donor base. 

Where are they going to come from? Many of your next major donors are already giving to you. The key is donor cultivation—by developing strong relationships with existing supporters, your nonprofit can deepen donors’ commitments and secure larger gifts.

Don’t assume your regular donors are already giving at the peak of their capacity. It’s worth your time to figure out if they are interested and have the ability to do more. Let’s explore the best practices your nonprofit can employ to convert everyday donors into major givers. 

Conduct Prospect Research

Details about your donors, such as their giving frequency, history, and personal reasons for supporting your nonprofit, are a gold mine of information you can use to determine if they’re a candidate for major giving. For example, someone who made a small, one-time gift isn’t likely to donate more significantly, but someone who made a larger one-time gift in memory of a loved one is more likely.

‍CharityEngine’s guide to nonprofit fundraising recommends using data from your CRM to learn more about donors. This information helps you create fundraising appeals that resonate with donors, increasing the likelihood that they’ll respond and take action. Use the following data points to identify prospective major donors:

• Previous donations to your organization
• Contributions to other nonprofits
• Involvement history, including volunteer work and advocacy
• Wealth indicators, including real estate or stock ownership 

Actionable data is hygenic, meaning it’s organized and error-free. No matter where you store donor information, be sure to append data regularly to fix duplicate entries, outdated details, incomplete data, and inconsistent formatting.

Clean data means you can accurately identify prospects using the most updated and reliable information. It also means you can communicate on the channels that have proven to be most effective and engaging for that prospect and personalize your communications—which is certain to increase engagement. In other words, hygienic data can be a fundraising game-changer. 

In today's digital age, you might be able to access easy-to-use AI prospect research tools within your CRM.  These tools can significantly enhance your team's ability to quickly conduct thorough prospect research.

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Reach Out to Potential Major Donors 

Equipped with a list of major donor prospects and data from your CRM, you’re ready to make your case for support.

Make sure any pertinent notes are attached to contact records. The more you can personalize and tailor content and engagement to land with a prospect, the more likely they are to commit to a more significant donation. And remember, your donors are people. They want to feel recognized and appreciated. Connect with your donors on as personal a level as you can.

A creative way to appeal to your prospects and secure their support is by connecting with them one-on-one, perhaps through an in-person meeting!

Use this email script to set it up:

[Name],

Greetings from [name of your organization]!

I’m writing because I’d like to treat you to lunch in the weeks ahead. We’re grateful for your longtime support and I’d like to say “thank you” in person. I’d also welcome your input on some of our plans for the future.

Perhaps we could meet at [restaurant] on [street near prospect’s home or office]. I’ll call you on Tuesday to see if we can arrange a time.

I look forward to connecting soon!

Warm regards,

[Your name, title, etc.]

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In their guide to donation requests, Fundraising Letters recommends also including an emotional appeal when reaching out to prospective donors. For example, you might include a quick update on a beneficiary who benefitted from the donor’s previous gift. Invite them to lunch to talk more about their impact on your organization’s work and how they can continue to help.

What if your donors skew younger, and email isn’t the best way to reach them? Consult your data and see the channels that have been the most effective. Typically, email, direct mail, and phone calls work better for older donors, while texts and social media connect with younger donors. You can have a field for communication preferences in your CRM, or you can just look at where and when they’ve engaged in the past. Even if they’ve only volunteered or attended an event, you have the data to know how to reach them.

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Meet With Potential Major Donors

If donors respond positively to your invitation to meet, prepare to get to know them better! One-on-one meetings with donors are like hanging out with a friend. This interaction allows you to get to know them personally—and make them feel valued by your organization. 

To start, be sure to thank the donor for their longtime giving. Celebrating a positive action (no matter how small) creates a desire for more reinforcement, meaning the donor will feel appreciated and more likely to give again after your meeting.

Don’t end the meeting without calling the donor to action. Invite them to be a part of your nonprofit’s future in an increased way. They can donate, of course, but they can also have lunch with your board or tour your facility. They can volunteer at an event, attend an event, or even get involved in advocacy opportunities like surveys. They might even be willing to make phone calls! Commitment to a cause goes well beyond dollars donated.

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Cultivate Donors for the Long Haul

For those who responded favorably to your meetings, it’s time to put a cultivation plan in place! You want to increase the likelihood that your prospect will respond with a “Yes!” when you eventually make the ask. Here are a few ways you can cultivate donors for the long haul:

• Automate communications. Leverage nonprofit fundraising software for major gift management to automate outreach and donor stewardship. 
• Send personal follow-ups. Personally invite prospective major donors to fundraising events to make them feel like VIPs on your invite list. 
• Host small group cultivation events. These could be as simple as dinners with your President or Executive Director. For example, you might reserve a private room at a restaurant and invite three to four couples to join your senior leader for dinner and conversation.’

Remember that the best messages—and the ones most likely to be well received—are donor-centric. Angel Alomá, decades-long executive director of Food for the Poor, once said that nonprofits must give donors the chance to feel good about themselves. When your message is focused on the donor and how they feel, your message is different than a traditional fundraising ask or showcasing your nonprofit. Instead of talking about what a donation will do, for example, make the donor the subject: “You are providing clean drinking water to children.” “You are saving an acre of the rainforest.” It’s a nuanced difference but an important one.

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Make Your Fundraising Ask

Once you’ve established a relationship with a prospective major donor, it’s time to officially make your fundraising ask. Whether you write a letter, send an email, or use another preferred communication channel, be sure to use what you know about your donors to craft unique messages that appeal to them. 

How will you know when it’s time to ask? Here are some standard “green light indicators:”

• You’ve met the prospect face-to-face at least once
• They’ve responded positively to a qualifying question
• They know at least two people (including you) in your organization
• They’ve attended an event or participated in a volunteer opportunity

Keep in mind every donor and donation is different. While the list above will help you feel confident to move forward and ask for a big gift, you’ll know when the time is right based on what you’ve learned about prospective major donors during the cultivation process. And if all goes well, you’ve successfully converted a regular donor into a major donor!

As you make fundraising requests, be sure to assess your progress to determine your strategy’s strengths and weaknesses. This way, you can adjust your approach as you cultivate future donors.

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While donor acquisition will always be a focus for nonprofits, it’s easier and less expensive to keep a donor you have. Ideally, you’re focused on doing both! Using data to understand the donor journey is an excellent strategy for growing your nonprofit and connecting with your supporters. Every major gift donor starts with one donation and it’s up to you to move donors along the continuum. If you can replicate this process, you’ve got a recipe for success.

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