--Susan Packard Orr, CEO, Telosa Software, Inc.

In my role as a volunteer fundraiser and as a donor, I have had the privilege over the years of working with some truly extraordinary fundraising professionals.  I have learned that development is all about cultivating meaningful relationships with people.  When done well, it goes beyond logging in gifts and getting out acknowledgement letters.  Successful major gift development must have all the components necessary to help the organization make a valuable, personal connection to its prospective donors.

In today’s modern world, a wide spectrum of nonprofit organizations exists, all with unique missions-- from helping the poor to supporting terminally ill children to advancing education or science. With over a million nonprofits nationally, there are conceivably thousands of different missions that nonprofits focus on fulfilling.  Donors receive numerous requests and a variety of communication tools daily. 

How then, do you differentiate your organization, make valuable and personal connections with prospective donors, and thereby increase your total giving?  Undoubtedly, the best way to increase total giving is through the development of major gifts.  However, large gifts typically come only as a result of long-term cultivation and stewardship, built on a solid foundation of shared values and trust.  Therefore, it is imperative that your organization have a thorough understanding of the source and nature of the shared values that motivate a donor’s generosity. These can be categorized into the three C’s of donor motivation:  connection, concern, and capacity.

By understanding and applying the concepts of the “three C’s,”  as explained in detail in the book Beyond Fund Raising by Kay Sprinkel Grace, the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s development staff increased its annual giving from $3 million to $17 million during its first year of launching a major gift campaign.  In the subsequent four years, total giving consistently increased annually precisely because of the values-based personal relationships they have built and maintained. 

Results like these illustrate the importance of developing donor loyalty and building long-term donor relationships.  Organizations should “put away their tin cups” and uncover the “three C’s” during the initial development process, because they are “the reservoir of values,” advises Grace in her book.  As the relationship with a donor evolves and matures, attention to these factors will greatly increase the likelihood of a successful major gift solicitation. 

• Connection is the emotional bond formed between a donor and an organization.  It is the strongest factor in determining the potential gift and involvement.  An example is a grateful patient giving back to the hospital that saved his/her life or an alumnus contributing in honor of a beloved teacher.  These connections are generally deeply rooted in values and should be well understood and carefully cultivated.
  
  
• Concern   Unlike the emotional connection mentioned above, concern is more “intellectual or thoughtful,” explains Grace.  “A person can be concerned about an organization’s mission without being emotionally linked to it.  Values inherent in concern are more intellectual in their root than the values embedded in connection, but they are no less strong.”  Concern can be evidenced by giving to your organization, but also by giving to other organizations with a similar mission.  Researching and recording this type of information can be very helpful in clarifying motivation and therefore in creating an appropriate approach.
  
  
• Capacity   We all know that wealthy donors are approached everyday by nonprofits, but unfortunately they are often approached by organizations whose mission is not consistent with their values.  Therefore, organizations need to pay special attention to balancing capacity with connection and concern.  Capacity ratings can be highly useful, of course, in identifying from among those who have a close connection and a high concern, those who also have a potential for a significant gift.

Donors will, for the most part, come from the group of people who share your values. Major donors can be developed by understanding and building on the 3 C’s. By structuring an ask based on your knowledge of their connection, concern and capacity, you will go a long way towards ensuring a successful outcome.

Telosa has designed Exceed! Premier to help you gather and maintain this crucial information.  Through such features as unlimited note pads, links between households, tracking of every interaction, affiliations, giving histories, and many others, you can not only keep all of this information in one place, but you can provide the kind of institutional memory that is necessary for maintaining long term relationships.  The new optional Major Donor module available in version 6.1and our new integration with WealthEngine bring additional capabilities to your major gift programs.  We look forward to helping you exceed in your fundraising efforts!

To learn more about Exceed! fundraising software, visit www.telosa.com