Major donor fundraising: what donors want

Understand the donor’s giving ambitions

One of the biggest differences between major donor fundraising and many other forms of fundraising is that it is not centred on a single opportunity to convey your message. When you are applying to a trust or foundation or creating a public campaign, the focus is usually on a one-off chance to make your case for support as persuasively as possible and hope it resonates.

Major donor fundraising is different. It takes time and is more like a conversation than a pitch or application.

Across our events, a consistent theme has been the deeply personal connection donors feel to the causes they support. Their giving is often shaped by life experiences, family circumstances, professional interests or strongly held values. Even the most analytical donor, who wants to understand every impact metric and budget line, is usually motivated by something that matters to them on a personal level.

Before thinking about how to ask for support, spend time understanding why a donor is interested in your mission in the first place. The more insight you have into their motivations, the more meaningful and relevant your future conversations will be. 

What you can do:

If you are used to writing trust applications, it can feel counterintuitive not to lead with your work. With major donors, your questions are as important as your case for support.

Lean into the conversation and try asking:

• How did they first come across your organisation?
• What drew them to your cause?
• Which aspects of your work resonate most strongly?
• What outcomes do they care most about?

Giving donors the opportunity to answer these, often with personal insights into their values and experiences, helps create a stronger connection and can lead to a more rewarding relationship for charity and donor. Successful major donor fundraisers know about their donors' families, hobbies, interests and passions, not just the amount of their last gift.

Earn the donor’s confidence

Many of our panellists tell us they first learned about charities through personal recommendations and trusted networks. Several say that while evidence, impact data and budgets are all important, the decision to donate often comes down to confidence in a small number of individuals within an organisation.

The prospect of securing a major gift and the perceived power imbalance between wealthy donors and your charity can be daunting. However, if a donor cares about your cause, you already have meaningful common ground. Knowing your donor well will help you navigate the relationship. Generally, our donors say that they are most influenced by people who spoke passionately and demonstrated expertise and competence, rather than those who flattered them. Many donors also say that honesty and transparency about challenges, not just positive messaging, helps build trust at an early stage.

Approaching the relationship as a partnership, recognising that both the donor and charity have important roles to play, can be more effective than treating it as a transaction. While thanking donors is important, the more personal and authentic your approach, the more meaningful it will be. Generic campaign-style communications are unlikely to have the same impact as tailored messages that recognise a major donor's support.

What you can do:

If confidence is built through people, think carefully about who donors need access to and what role different colleagues can play in strengthening donor engagement.

Major donors should always have a single, named contact, who is usually a fundraiser, but that does not mean the relationship rests on one person alone. Effective fundraisers create opportunities, directly or indirectly, for donors to build relationships with key people across the organisation.

You could try:

• One-to-one meetings or calls with colleagues, from the Chief Executive to project delivery staff (used selectively).
• Site visits to see the charity in action.
• Sharing briefings, blogs and updates from project staff. These do not have to be polished, and, in some cases, are more effective when they are not. Authenticity has value.
• Sending a thank you letter or card from your Chief Executive or, for very large donations, asking them to call the donor personally.