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created by Heather Yandow at Third Space Studio, thirdspacestudio.com.
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Finding Major Donor Prospects
If you have trouble connecting, please contact Heather at
919.451.1329.
How To Use Join.me
Let’s get started!
NameOrganization
What is one question you’d like answered today?
Amanda RodriguezDogwood Alliance
Betsy DassauCary Creative Reuse for the Arts
Brenda BattleDown East Partnership for Children
Camilla EubanksNC Coalition Against
Domestic Violence
Cheri GrauerIowa Natural Heritage Foundation
Gwen GriffithCumberland River Compact
Henrietta ZalkindDown East Partnership for
Children
Jan NicholsNC Justice Center
Jill WigginsLand Trust for the Little Tennessee
Karen RindgeWakeUP Wake County
Katherine O’BrienEllerbe Creek Watershed
Association
Lexi KayYadkin Riverkeeper
Lucy MartinezNC Justice Center
Nicole StewartNC Conservation Network
Rose HobanRaleigh Public Record
Russell HermanOrganizeNorthCarolina.org
Sean KasofskyBlue Print NC
Sheena WoodsWhite Oak-New Riverkeeper
Alliance
Heather YandowThird Space Studio
Today’s Agenda
A Model Prospecting Program• Creating your draft prospect list• Refining your list• Researching your prospects• Organizing your prospects• Making it happen!
“You already know all the people you need to know to raise all the
money you want to raise” -Kim Klein
Finding Major Donor Prospects
Finding prospects has a lot to do with volume, data, and research
AND
A successful major donor program is created by building strong relationships
Major DonorsWhat makes your donors MAJOR?
Major Donors• What makes your donors MAJOR?– Treat them differently from other donors– Different for every group– Most groups have a dollar limit: $100 and above,
$5,000 and above– Mostly an internal definition– Key ?: How many donors can you treat in this way?
Major DonorsMajor donors need to have the three Cs: care,
connection, and capacity
care
capacity
connection
Creating Your List
Where do you find prospective donors?
Current donors
Staff and Board contacts
Sister organizations
Local foundations
Random people
Current Donors• Best way to find new major
donors is by upgrading existing donors– All about building relationships
• Mine your giving data! Look for people who:– Have a history of consistent giving– Have given big gifts in the past few years– May be giving under their capacity
• Ask current donors for names and introductions to other donors
Staff and Board• Create a culture of
fundraising in your organization
• Make sure staff are comfortable talking about the basics of your organization and funding
• Ask staff and Board to be on the lookout for new people to bring into the organization
• Ask for names and contact information for potential donors
Questions? Comments?
Sister Organizations
• What organizations in your area do similar or compatible work? What are other organizations that you, your staff, or your Board give to?
• Look at their donor lists – website, newsletter, annual report, donor wall!
• Know that these donors have capacity and likely care – need connection
Local Foundations
• http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/foundfinder/
• Search by city, state, or zip• Examine 990’s, particularly:– Page 6: list of officers and possibly their contact
info– Page 10: if and how they accept proposals– Page 11: list of grantees
Data Management
• Important to track data consistently• Important to include:– First and last name– Spouse/partner
name– City– Source of name– Links to relevant
website
Questions? Comments?
Focus
Focus
• You’ve mostly identified people with capacity and/or care, but you need connection.
• Have Board and staff respond to your list.– Do they know? Can they introduce?– Give option for “call me later to discuss”
• Compare potential prospects to your email list or donor list.
Research Top Prospects• GOAL: if you have a connection (or potential),
find out enough information to make an ask– Giving history– Contact information– Work or personal history
• Simple sources of info– People who know them– Google– Tray.com– White Pages
What other methods do you use for research?
Questions? Comments?
Organize
• Organize your prospects according to your pyramid • Focus on the largest
donors first
A Sample PyramidAmount Number of Gifts Total Gifts
$25,000 1 $25,000
$10,000 1 $10,000
$5,000 3 $15,000
$2,500 6 $15,000
$1,000 12 $12,000
$500 16 $8,000
$250 24 $6,000
$100 40 $4,000
Average of $50 100 $5,000
203 $100,000
Create Your Own PyramidAmount # of
GiftsTotal Gifts
$25,000 1 $25,000
$10,000 1 $10,000
$5,000 3 $15,000
$2,500 6 $15,000
$1,000 12 $12,000
$500 16 $8,000
$250 24 $6,000
$100 40 $4,000
Avg of $50 100 $5,000
203 $100,000
The Pyramid and Prospects
Amount # of Gifts
Total Gifts Likely Previous Donors
New Prospects Needed
$25,000 1 $25,000 1 0
$10,000 1 $10,000 0 4
$5,000 3 $15,000 1 8
$2,500 6 $15,000 3 12
$1,000 12 $12,000 5 28
$500 16 $8,000 10 24
$250 24 $6,000 15 36
$100 40 $4,000
Avg of $50 100 $5,000
203 $100,000
Need 112 prospects!
The Pyramid and ProspectsAmount # of
Gifts
Total Gifts
Likely Previous Donors
New Prospects Needed
Donor Names
Prospect Names
$25,000 1 $25,000 1 0
$10,000 1 $10,000 0 4
$5,000 3 $15,000 1 8
$2,500 6 $15,000 3 12
$1,000 12 $12,000 5 28
$500 16 $8,000 10 24
$250 24 $6,000 15 36
$100 40 $4,000
Avg of $50
100 $5,000
Questions? Comments?
Action!• Prioritize and plan. Try focusing on a different
set of donors each quarter: – Q1 - renew previous donors– Q2 - reach out to new donors $5,000 and up– Q3 – reach out to new donors below $5,000– Q4 – clean-up
• Delegate – use the Coordinator/Director part of your title!
• Follow up – give a timeline and check in
• A Model Prospecting Program– Creating your “big list”– Defining your prospects– Researching your prospects– Organizing– Making it happen!
