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The larger-capacity donor can be a different breed than your regular monthly partner. Most tend to give larger "special gift" amounts (via check) and don't tend to commit to any regular, recurring giving (i.e. monthly). They're efficient in how they spend their time with you and are interested in hearing how this investment will impact the Kingdom and, after the gift, interested in their ROI or "return on investment."

Example from the field: We have a large donor (who has now given the most out of anyone) who at first said no. They think differently. They wanted to see us get closer to finishing our support goal before they gave. They got joy out of being the hero that put us across the finish line. They wanted to hear from God and see God do crazy things as they gave crazy amounts.

Fundraising guru Jerold Panas literally wrote the book on large donor fund development. *His book, “Asking,” is still one of the best ones out there. Here are a few key concepts from his lifetime of fundraising among large-capacity donors. 


  1. Do your homework before the meeting. 
    • Formulas for determining what amount to ask a large-capacity donor to consider giving:

      • Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a number that will inspire faith-growing generosity. 
      • Age x annual income x .01 = what they will give over a 3-year period.
      • Net worth x .4 = what they will give over a 3-5 year period.
      • You can research if your donor is on the board of any companies or non-profits.
        • Look at the annual reports for the non-profits and see how much your donor is giving. You can make an ask in the ballpark of this gift.
        • Look at the other board members your donor serves alongside and see if they’re someone you’d like them to introduce you to.
      • Look up their house on Zillow and when they purchased it. This gives a good indication of their income level as well as if they might be getting toward the end of their mortgage (which frees up finances for giving). 
  2. Schedule a quick meeting on their turf.
        • Meet on their turf (office, boat, golf course, country club, coffee shop near them, home). 
        • Ask for a 15-minute meeting. But block out an hour in your schedule. This meeting will run longer if the donor is interested. 
        • Don’t plan to go through a slide deck. You can bring your Reliant brochure or an ask letter instead. This will also be your leaving piece. 
  3. Listen your way to the gift.
    • Your job in the donor appointment is to get your donor talking in order to discover what they care about. Look for bridges to link your ministry to where God's moving in their heart. Your donor should be the one talking about 2/3 of the time. This also means your "45-minute presentation" needs to be narrowed down to a 10-15 minute pitch that you scatter within this conversation. 

      • Sample questions:
        • What are some of the giving initiatives you've had in the past that you're really passionate about? 
        • What’s the change you feel the Lord is calling you to make in the world?
        • What are some of your philanthropic goals for the coming year? / What are some of your giving goals?
        • What return do you tend to want to see on the non-profit work you do? 
        • *It helps for you to talk about how you're investing in people/ the work of the gospel, and the return you see. 
  4. You're not asking for money, you're offering opportunities to invest in something they care about. 
    • Fund development is not about the money, your ministry vision, or your needs. It's about giving people an opportunity to invest in something they care about. Your job is to draw out the donor’s heart, listen for what God is doing in them, invite them to take steps toward that growth, and connect them with giving and serving opportunities with things they care about (whether it’s your ministry or not).

      Here are some phrases that tend to resonate with higher-capacity givers:

      • High-impact
      • Sustainable impact
      • Engaging with greater intentionality
      • Major goals take major gifts to get there
      • Experience the joy of greater generosity
      • Harness the innovation around us to experience greater impact and reach. 
  5. If the donor is aloof or difficult to get a hold of, ask for advice. 
    • Example: We needed to raise $24K at end of year. The Lord led us to think of a matching challenge. We just needed to find a donor (or donors) to put up the $12K match amount. Instead of asking a high-capacity donor for funding, we asked them for advice, "Who do you know that we could ask for this?" They said they'd get back to us in a couple of days. A few days later, they called and said they felt the Lord was asking them to put up the match. We were off to the races!

      If you want advice, ask for money. If you want money, ask for advice.

  6. Encourage them to pray about it. 
    • When offering an opportunity to invest in Kingdom work, you don’t want them to give because they feel obligated or emotionally tugged. You don’t even want them to stroke a check just because they can, and it’s a number they feel good about. You want them to give because they’ve spoken to Christ and heard His direction for the money He’s entrusted to their care. Our job is to encourage our donors to have these conversations with the Lord and disciple them toward joyful generosity.

        • Here's what this might look like: Give the total dollar amount you need to raise this year ($100k). Tell how much you've raised so far ($30k). Show how much you have left to raise ($70K) Ask how much of that chunk they want to bite off. Encourage them to take time over the next 24 hours to prayerfully take that decision before the Lord (their Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer); asking Him to lead them in joyful generosity. Tell them you'll pray over them during this time. Make a plan to talk again in 24 hours. 
  7. After the gift: Thank, Share, Connect, Offer. 
      • Remember, the first gift is a testing gift; they want to discover what their ROI (Return on Investment) will be. This is why it's crucial to share the impact their gift made. See the OFFER, THANK, SHOW, CONNECT cycle below. 

      • MTD stewardship is the relationship-building and communication that takes place after a ministry gift has been received.

        Stewardship involves thanking donors, updating them on the impact of their gifts, keeping them involved, and offering other opportunities to give. Generally, this can be accomplished in a OFFER, THANK, SHOW, CONNECT cycle twice a year.  This ongoing view of MTD leads to a strong and stable support base and only takes about 2-3 hours a week. 

        • After a gift, THANK donors for their giving. The general standard is a handwritten thank-you card and a phone call. (Other ideas HERE.) No financial ask. 

        • A month or two later, SHOW the donor how their gift made an impact. They need to know they made a difference. No financial ask. 

        • A month or two later, CONNECT with a call or text to pray/care for the donor. No financial ask. 
        • A month or two later, OFFER another giving opportunity. This rhythm of bi-annual giving opportunities helps to maintain engagement with those larger-capacity donors who generally only give when asked. A spring/summer ask, along with an End of Year Ask, can add a healthy, annual rhythm of encouraging current donors to increase their recurring gift amount. The structure of the OFFER ask can include a general letter with a note to about 20 key folks that you'll be calling. Call to ask if they read your letter and if the Lord is leading them toward involvement in this need. Plan to follow up.

      • More on the OFFER, THANK, SHOW, CONNECT cycle here: Annual Stewardship Plan & Timeline 

      • Additional resources for long-term discipleship and development of your large-capacity donors can be found at Generous Giving. They provide both resources and events that foster joyful generosity. 


Additional resources:

4 Comments

  1. Notes from NCF webinar: 

    Engaging high-capacity givers. 

    • Buzz-words/ phrases:
      • High-impact
      • Sustainable impact
      • Major goals take major gifts to get there
      • Engage high-capacity givers with greater intentionality
      • Experience the joy of greater generosity
      • Harness the .innovation around us to have greater impact and reach. 

    • NCF can help with asset-based giving solutions 
      • Many people have a financial strategy, but not a giving strategy. NCF helps high-capacity donors create a giving strategy to mobilize resources for Kingdom impact. 
      • NCF does not advise or tell givers where to give. NCF is a donor-advised platform. 
      • They advise with tax-saving strategies that enable them to give more
      • Non-cash gifts are important because 90% of the US' wealth is held in non-cash assets (real estate, securities, stocks, etc). When people give out of assets, their capital gains tax and income tax is reduced. 
    • The hardest gift to receive is not the first gift, it's the second gift.
    • 64% of your income should be coming from major gifts. Focus your efforts on this reality. If you do not have an emphasis on major gifts, you are missing key ministry opportunities. 
    • Is the question "How do I find more?" or is it "How am I stewarding what I already have?" Mt 5 parable of the talents. The servant with the smallest amount of talents was still given enough to meet the master's expectation. He missed the opportunity by ignoring the talent he had. *add to Increase ask page
      • Non-cash giving opportunities (asset-based giving) is a differentiator with you and your donors that may open up a whole new level of giving. 
      • Which of your donors has given from stock or something different than an ordinary cash gift? There might be opportunities to connect or 
      • If we could dream big together, what would huge impact look like for you with this ministry? Let's dream big together!
      • What do you want for your donors? 
        • 1 Tim 6:17-19 "Command those who are rich to...."
          • Paul used strong language like "command" because it was about what he wanted for others. 
      • Major donors want: Meaning, connection and accountability from the ministries they engage with. Don't be intimidated by these insulated individuals! The weight of knowing what they should do with their giving is heavy. There are few, if any, who they can trust to tell them the plain truth. 
      • NCF Giver Research project
        • Offer more opportunities for givers to participate in the work first-hand. 
        • Engage the family in the ministry - so there is a family-purpose developed around giving to this endeavor. "The impact of generosity having on their friends and family members." They hope their giving will become a tool for discipleship in their family. They're not looking for a transaction, they're looking for impact on their legacy. 
        • Most Christian givers believe transformation happens better in community (look at Generous giving legacy weekends). 
        • The desire to be a good and faithful steward
        • There is joy in being faithful in what God has led the giver to do. 
        • The transformation the Lord does in a giver's heart and life is more important than anything else. When we focus on hearts and people and trust God to take care of the dollars, that's when we're doing fundraising as ministry. 
        • NCF's Major Gift Guide
        • NCF's Toolbox
        • Winsome way to bring up non-cash giving: I learned something today; that 90% of the wealth in the US is held in non-cash assets. I'd never thought about how my financial partners could give non-cash gifts to the ministry. Have you ever heard of NCF? The National Christian Foundation? (Comfortably and creatively engaging in the conversation and unapologetically inviting them in.)
        • They have the resources, we have the vision. We each cannot accomplish the Kingdom impact we want to have without a partnership with each other. We need each other. 
        • Invest in organizational improvement without chasing the immediate need. 
          • Help your givers understand they are investing in long-term gain
          • We can sometimes cheapen ministry by delivering easy stats without transparency that these are pervasive, complex problems that take time to solve. 
          • WHat's your invitation to them to give? Is it sending a message or undertone that sets them up to expect immediate impact? 
        • Will economy / uncertain time affect donors? 
          • We're seeing record breaking quarters in Christian giving. God is stirring hearts to give! 
          • We aren't seeing or anticipating a decline in giving right now. 
          • We have to be good at sustaining our ministry and stewarding our current donors well before we innovate something new. 
        • The 6 Key Pillars of Sustainable Ministry - book



  2. Build a tribe: The Legacy Team

  3. In the "Thank, Show, Connect, Offer" cycle, the "Show" step can be especially desirable feedback for your higher-capacity givers. Showing how their giving is making an impact reflects their ROI, or Return on Investment. Many higher-capacity givers will give a smaller amount at first. This is part of their due-diligence; the process of discerning if this investment will yield favorable returns. Don't think of this as an evaluation of you! It's quite the opposite: the heart-desire underneath this discernment is to be a wise and faithful steward of what God has given them. The weight of knowing what they should do with their giving is heavy. There are few, if any, who they can trust to tell them the plain truth. Ask the Lord to show you how to engage some of your higher-capacity people in meaningful ways. Then make a plan to do it throughout the year.

    For more on showing supporters their impact, check out the "Show" section on the Annual Stewardship Plan & Timeline page. 


  4. This page was checked and revised for the 2023 Language Change Project on 6/13/23 -A.R.