If you follow the roadmap we set out for your organization and execute the process as we outline, you will land more major gifts. It really is that simple.
What sets Rainmaking apart from other books about major gift fundraising is that it presents a framework you can implement immediately to help you raise more money.
This book is unique because it isn’t based on classroom theory. The strategies and tactics outlined here are field tested, proven, successful formulas for securing big gifts. In fact, the tips and tactics in this book have helped us raise more than $150 million over the last three decades.
In this book, we’ve set out to provide you with a step-by-step guide for building lifelong relationships with people who have a passion for your cause. The success of all major donor fundraising efforts relies on people.
You’ve no doubt heard the saying, “People give to people.” That’s only partly true. In reality, people give to people who inspire passion and compassion in them, and with whom they have trust-based relationships.
We’re going to guide you through the process of creating systems and processes that allow you to build high-trust relationships, uncover true philanthropic passions and create meaningful giving experiences that lead to transformational giving.
Why did we write this book?
We wrote this book for the new executive director who for the first time in her career must jump head-first into philanthropy to save a struggling organization. For the recent college grad who is eager to join the ranks of the charitable sector and make a difference for his favorite cause, but is uncertain he has the knowledge or tools to be successful.
For the board member who wants to see her organization become financially stable and grow to serve more people in the community. Who, though she knows the charity needs to ask for gifts, doesn’t know what that really means or how to do it.
For the seasoned nonprofit generalist with experience in direct mail fundraising, events, community relations and grants. Someone who wants to round out her abilities by taking on greater major donor responsibilities in her organization–but whose organization doesn’t have a budget for major donor training. This professional may not yet make enough to pay $2,500-$5,000 of her own money for training, but needs to start somewhere.
We wrote this book for organizations struggling to bridge the gap between annual giving, direct mail, events and major gifts. The organization that has for years–or even decades–relied solely on direct mail, events or unsolicited gifts to meet their budget. But now, with the weight of our current economy and the increase in fundraising costs, this organization may finally realize it needs to do things differently.
For the institution exclusively reliant on a small core of major donors. The organization that doesn’t see the value in annual giving, and that doesn’t understand why a charity would “stoop so low” as to sendout junk mail when they could “just as easily build one-on-one relationships with donors instead.”
Ultimately, we wrote this book to help people build better donor relationships, be more strategic in their fundraising efforts and do more good in the world.
But there’s another reason we wrote this book…
We’re amazed at how many nonprofits have a robust direct mail program or special event operations in place, but have little or no strategy, plan or infrastructure built for major gift fundraising.
Equally confusing are those nonprofits that have highly focused major giving operations and are raising boatloads of money from a very small, select group of supporters. They aren’t growing at the rate necessary to significantly impact their cause because they’ve exhausted their core donors. They’ve made one too many trips to the proverbial well, if you know what we mean. Since they have no infrastructure in place to grow their donor base, they face continual challenges to increase their major gift pipeline.
Sustainability and scalability are BOTH critical to fundraising success. There must be a happy medium between major gift procurement and annual fund programs like direct mail that help to build a base of committed supporters with both capacity and intent. This intersection of strategic approaches is the place where mass marketing tactics combine with major donor cultivation and solicitation techniques.
We believe that there should be a balanced approach where every organization properly allocates the right direct response fundraising techniques to build vibrant, growing bases of support, then leverages those committed donors to identify the highly valuable subset with the capacity to make transformational gifts. The sad fact is that most organizations don’t step into the intersection of these two approaches. They either stay in the event/major gift track or they raise lots of small gifts with direct response. Rarely do organizations use the two approaches in an integrated fashion to maximize fundraising results. The fact is that few organizations have identified what that looks like, and even fewer embrace it once they see it.
In the following chapters, we’ll outline this unique model and help you build a framework for success up and down the donor pyramid.
As we said, there were two motivations in writing this book. The second motivation is our hope to bridge the gap inside many nonprofits between annual giving (direct mail, digital, telemarketing, etc.) and major gift operations.
You know the gap we’re talking about. Maybe you don’t want to admit it—but you know it. You see it when an annual giving director claims “ownership” of middle donors and refuses to work with major gift officers or senior staff to build an upgrade strategy to move these donors out of the direct mail program and into the major donor cultivation track. Annual giving staff see it when major gift officers reach down into the organization’s direct mail, newsletter and online giving programs to take credit for every gift—large or small—from assigned donors.
This division between annual giving and major gifts is so much more than a gap; it is a schism that cripples organizations and prevents donors from giving at their highest potential.
The crippling disconnect between major gifts and annual giving is so detrimental to nonprofit organizations:
– It causes friction within your organization that leads to frustration, infighting and increased turnover of your staff
– It robs those you serve of critical resources that could otherwise be gained through a more sophisticated, coordinated approach to your donors
– It robs your donors of the satisfaction of a richer philanthropic experience and deeper relationship with your cause
The tools and framework in this book will help executive directors, development directors, board members and other key nonprofit leaders understand the unique values and aspects of annual giving and major gifts. We’ll also show you why these two fundraising methods are dependent upon one another, and how by integrating them, you can raise more money than you ever have before.
Rainmaking: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Landing Big Gifts Description:
What sets Rainmaking apart from other books about major gift fundraising is that it presents a framework you can implement immediately to help you raise more money. This book is unique because it isn’t based on classroom theory.
The strategies and tactics outlined here are field tested, proven, success- ful formulas for securing big gifts. In fact, the tips and tactics in this book have helped us raise more than $150 million over the last three decades. In this book, we’ve set out to provide you with a step-by-step guide for building lifelong relationships with people who have a passion for your cause.
The success of all major donor fundraising efforts relies on people. You’ve no doubt heard the saying, “People give to people.” That’s only partly true. In reality, people give to people who inspire passion and compassion in them, and with whom they have trust-based relationships.
We’re going to guide you through the process of creating systems and processes that allow you to build high-trust relationships, uncover true philanthropic passions and create meaningful giving experiences that lead to transformational giving.
