Discover new gift closing techniques for major and principal gifts.
Get to the gift conversation with ease and confidence.
Master the Art, Science and Joy of Major Gift Fundraising
Learn to close transformational gifts with the powerful art of Collaborative Asking!
“We joined the Major Gifts Intensive and smashed our targets as we followed your guidance. After the course, we met with two of our lovely loyal donors and told them about our building plans in the hope that they would plan their future giving with us in mind.
A few days later they called to say they were giving us $500,000 towards our building fund! No one has ever given us $500,000. We are so excited by this gift and grateful for the training we received. Thank you for giving us the tools and confidence to do this work!”
Imagine securing the largest gifts of your career with confidence and authenticity. The Major Gifts Intensive makes this vision your reality.
Our transformative program equips you and your team with strategies to inspire transformational donations and realize your organization’s true major gift potential.
Welcome to the 2025 Major Gifts Intensive
with Gail Perry, Dr. Kathryn Gamble and Beth Ann Locke
A live, actionable educational program that empowers you and your team to unlock record-breaking gifts.
Add structure, metrics and accountability.
Bring discipline to your team’s major gifts process.
Build confidence with high-net-worth donor conversations.
Learn tools and strategies to raise more asap.
Master powerful discovery and qualification skills.
Find new major prospects, determine their giving capacity.
Real Results
from MGI Graduates
We’re closing more gifts because of the Major Gifts Intensive course. As an example, a donor told me that she had very much enjoyed the change in our communications, because we had become much more transparent. Because of that, she wanted to make a gift for $1 million, paid over 4 years! In terms of a return on investment, the major gifts course is a home run!
My big news is that I received a $100,000 gift from a woman who we were not going to make an Ask of this year. I followed all of your training for working with major donors, patiently listening to a demanding donor. Later, she said to me “You have made me feel heard. I didn’t feel that way before. I want to give a $100,000 gift in support of your new leadership.”
Do you want to:
- Expand your major and principal gifts and realize significant revenue
- Start planning for a groundbreaking capital campaign
- Build out a high performing, sustainable major gifts program
- Strengthen the individual skillsets of your major gift officers and team leaders
- Strategically involve and fire-up your board members for major gift success
The Major Gifts Intensive is for professional fundraising teams striving to be the best.
By inviting vice presidents, directors of development, major gift managers and advancement officers to join the program, you’ll build the strong foundation of a true major gifts program.
Learn, Practice and Succeed:
Tailored Training, Coaching Sessions and Real-Time Guidance
See everything your organization’s investment will provide you and your team.
Professional Development & Training
12 LIVE interactive, 60-minute sessions with time for direct Q&A
Private Team Coaching
3 private team coaching sessions for 45 minutes, tailored to you
Cohort Coaching
3 group coaching sessions with your program cohort, for peer learning
Hands-On Practice
Assignments to move your team forward and build accountability for success
Ongoing Support
Email your coaches for real-time support with challenges or wins
CFRE Credit
20 course hours for certification to further your career
Interested?
Here’s what you should know about the 4-step enrollment process.
Unlock Even More Learning This Year:
Enjoy 7 Core training sessions, 5 Deep Dive sessions held weekly with LIVE sessions
PLUS new exclusive pre-recorded content and resources in our enhanced learning portal!
Meet Your Expert Instructors
Gail Perry MBA CFRE
A best-selling author, international speaker, and a LinkedIn “Top Voice in Philanthropy”, Gail Perry’s Fired-Up Fundraising approach has helped nonprofits across North America raise hundreds of millions in gifts. With more than 30 years’ experience, Gail specializes in capital campaigns, board development and building major gifts programs. She developed the Major Gifts Intensive help fundraisers increase their professional accomplishments and grow the impact of their organizations. Gail is President and Founder of the Gail Perry Group and recently named #10 of America’s Top Fundraising Experts.
Dr. Kathryn Gamble
The creator of Gail Perry Group’s “Fundraising by the Numbers methodology, Kathryn’s career is marked by record-breaking achievements in major gift and capital campaign fundraising. As Vice President of Client Advancement at the Gail Perry Group and a data analytics expert, she combines academic rigor with practical expertise. Kathryn regularly presents her research on nonprofit board governance, and her analytical skills and strategic insights continue to drive transformative results in the nonprofit sector. She is also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University teaching nonprofit governance and fundraising.
Beth Ann Locke
As a speaker, writer and major gift expert, Beth Ann is celebrated for her innovative, relationship-driven fundraising strategies. With over 30 years’ experience as a major gift leader, she helps fundraisers develop tailored approaches that inspire significant donations and drive transformative impact, particularly with high-net-worth individuals. As Director of the Academy at Gail Perry Group, Beth Ann goes beyond coaching to catalyze change, empowering professionals and organizations to break through barriers, engage in meaningful donor conversations and build high performing teams, in both the U.S. and Canada.
Your team’s investment of
$6,500 provides 4 registrations
for your team members to gain new gift-closing skills via this 4-month course.
Learning alongside your team members will bring consistency to your major gift strategy and reinforce your new learnings.
If you would like to register more than four people, the fee is $500 per additional person. We understand the value of the team learning experience, improved collaboration among team members, and far better revenue outcomes.
A payment plan is also available.
For any questions about the Major Gifts Intensive please contact coaching@gailperry.com.
Curriculum to Boost Team Performance
The 2025 Major Gifts Intensive is intentionally designed to elevate your major gifts strategy and success. Together, your team will engage in an immersive experience and come out stronger. Here’s what to expect:
Discover how our coaching has empowered fundraisers to thrive.
“One of my best ‘happy ending’ stories involves a donor with whom I spent two years repairing a hurt relationship. The donor came back with a gift nearly 80% above her previous large gift two and a half years earlier— and revealed she had left us in her will for a $2.5 million bequest gift. All of this was due to careful stewardship of her and good conversation starters taken from Gail Perry Group’s Major Gifts Intensive course.”
“I wanted to share that just a few days after completing the Major Gifts Intensive, we secured a $437,500 commitment over 5 years in support of our research and training! It’s one of the most substantial wins we’ve had in my entire time here, and with a funder I’ve been pursuing for several years. I felt equipped to draw out her interest and connect them to our current needs. You prepared me for that conversation and appeal.”
“I am delighted to report that we just passed the $1.2 million mark in our capital campaign so far. How exciting to see the tools and strategies we learned be turned into a project that will allow us to continue our mission.”
“A participant’s dad emailed me today asking how he could get involved. I remembered your strategy for Discovery Calls I learned during the Major Gifts Intensive. When I returned his call, I used some of the questions, let him talk, and then he asked about giving opportunities. The call ended with a first time gift of $10,000!”
“We closed a $700,000 gift because of Gail’s coaching for a major gift ask!”
“What sets Gail and her team apart from the competition is that they get right to the point and get the participants doing the work and applying the principles quickly. Plus, they are a fun and caring group of people!”
“I’m constantly referring to the things I learned in the Major Gifts Intensive course. I had a thank you call with a donor who had been giving $1,000 faithfully. However, in this conversation, I used the discovery and cultivation techniques I learned, and she suddenly said she was writing a check for $100,000!
We’ve made other big strides. I also secured a gift for $25,000 for scholarships from an individual and a grant for $50,000. These are very large gifts for us. I also secured another $10,000 gift out of a conversation where there was really no asking. The biggest plus is that I now recognize opportunities to ask for a gift when they come up on the phone. It has become very natural for me. The Major Gifts Intensive course was truly an investment that has paid off!”
Update: The Alumna who gave the $100,000 gift is now an annual supporter at that level!
“Without a doubt, the Managing the Portfolio tool that we used in the Major Gifts Intensive was one of the key factors in securing generous gifts during our Giving Day. We had an initial fundraising goal of $250,000, and we achieved that in only 2 hours. We then set a ‘Bonus’ goal of $400,000 – we were tripling donations and at $400,000, all our Matched Funds would have been used. We achieved this within 6 hours! People continued to give anyway and we finished with $486,000.”
Your Top Questions, Answered
What are the dates of the Major Gifts Intensive program?
The program runs on Tuesdays, from March 4 to June 17, 2025.
The live sessions take place at 2 pm Eastern/ 11 am Pacific for one hour.
Need to miss a session for an important donor meeting? No problem! Every session is recorded and kept in our portal for you to watch – or review up to a year from the course ending.
To support your learning and to help you access the portal for the first time, we will share a brief 30-minute orientation about using the portal.
One registration includes up to 4 team members. What if we have a larger team who wants to participate?
We have welcomed teams of all sizes – even a team of 19 major gift and planned giving fundraisers!
If you have more than 4 participants you believe will benefit – board members, leadership team members, colleagues or key ambassadors – it is only an additional $500 per person.
The reduced rate for each additional seat reflects our focus on team-wide transformation. It is our commitment to working with the entire team to build a thriving major gift program that truly sets the Major Gifts Intensive apart from other programs.
How long is each weekly course session?
Each live session is designed to last 60 minutes, with 5 – 10 minutes for open Q&A at the conclusion. The webinar-style sessions are hosted on Zoom, and you’ll receive a reminder the day before and the day of each session.
What is the financial investment?
The cost of the course is $6,500 for up to 4 attendees from your organization. You can pay all at once, or in 3 installments.
Why do you encourage team participation in this Intensive?
We believe teamwork is one of the foundations of a successful fundraising team. By engaging whole teams, a shared language and common frameworks are shared, and team priorities become aligned.
This comprehensive, team-oriented approach fosters a genuine culture of philanthropy, built from within your organization. The result is a more cohesive and effective major gifts operation – and it makes your day-to-day efforts a lot more rewarding.
But what if I’m a team of one?
We understand that many nonprofits operate with a single-person development office, and you likely juggle multiple responsibilities beyond fundraising. We do welcome solo practitioners to our program. Please note, the most successful “one-person shops” in our past cohorts have approached the Major Gifts Intensive with these strategies:
- Maintaining a sharp focus on major gift efforts throughout the program
- Temporarily re-allocating their time away from other tasks
- Prioritizing the Major Gifts Intensive training and then implementing the foundational major gift work
This approach allows solo fundraisers to fully engage with the program and implement crucial major gift strategies, even with limited resources.
What if we want additional private coaching sessions for our team?
We would enjoy working more closely with your team to ensure success and have found that many teams benefit from this additional level of support. Please contact us at Coaching@GailPerry.com to learn more.
How much time will I need to invest?
Participants can plan to spend approximately 60 to 90 minutes per week. You’ll be most successful if you apply the knowledge and strategies right away in your day-to-day fundraising.
This sounds really great! But I know I’ll need to get approval from my Vice President/ Executive Director/ Board Chair. Can you help me with this?
We’ve got your back! We know that agreement and approval is often needed from organizational leadership. We frequently receive this request and are well-prepared to help you build your own “case for support”!
You may click here to download “The Case for Major Gifts Intensive” to provide your leadership to discuss.
I - or members of my team - have participated in the Major Gifts Intensive in the past, but new initiatives are headed our way or we’ve experienced department turnover. Is it wise to retake the program?
If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that change is inevitable! And we are happy to help you at every step on your fundraising journey.
Yes, you and your colleagues are welcome to retake the Major Gifts Intensive course. The shared perspectives, common language and unified action plans we develop in the course never stop being crucial to your success. In fact, they become even more valuable as your organization evolves. Each year, we update the curriculum by responding to new research, economic forces, and fresh perspectives.
Many leaders we work with have made it a standard practice to enroll every new team member in the Major Gifts Intensive. This ensures that the shared framework is fully integrated across the team, allowing new colleagues to hit the ground running alongside their more experienced peers.
Whether you’re facing new initiatives or integrating new team members, a refresher can help realign your team and invigorate your major gift strategies.
For any questions about the course please don’t hesitate to contact coaching@gailperry.com.
Join the 150+ Organizations and Teams Transformed
A decade of transformational fundraising education: our proven track record
30 Mile River Watershed Association
4KIDS of South Florida
Achievement Centers for Children & Families
Action Against Hunger USA
Adirondack Health Foundation
Adopt-A-Pet
Alpha Sigma Tau Foundation
ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
American Kidney Fund
American Rivers
Animal Rescue League of Iowa
Arts of Life
Asante Foundation
Augustana College
Australian Himalayan Foundation
BANANAS Childcare Referrals
Baptist Children’s Homes of NC
Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry, Inc. (BEAM)
Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts
Blue Deer Center
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Central Piedmont
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta
Boothbay Region Land Trust
Boys Town Nevada
Buffalo Academy of the Scared Heart
Calvert Marine Museum
Campbell County Healthcare Foundation
CARE House of Oakland County
Caritas of Austin
CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County
Casper Lyric
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Catholic Social Services
Ceres
Cheshire Medical Center
CHI St. Alexius Health Williston Foundation
Chicago Commons
Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County
Children’s Hope Alliance
Christian Library International
Circle Urban Ministries
Citizen Advocacy Center
City On a Hill
City Rescue Mission
Community Access to the Arts
Concordia Place
Congo Initiative
Connelly School of the Holy Child
Connecticut Food Share
Cornerstone Community Housing
Crocker Art Museum
Cross International
Crossroads School, Inc.
CURE Childhood Cancer
De Benneville Pines, Inc.
Eagle’s Nest Foundation
East Carolina University (ECU Foundation)
Elizabethtown Library
Eyes, Ears, Nose and Paws
Families First
Families Together
Fannin County Children’s Center
Farmer Foodshare
FeedNC
Fleisher Art Memorial
Food For The Poor
Foothills Art Center
For Kids’ Sake
Forest Ontario
Four Seasons Care
Free Will Baptist Children’s Home
Friends of Bonobos/Lola ya Bonobo
Fuller Center for Housing
Garden Center Services
Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts
Georgia Organics
Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
Global Autism Project
Global Fund for Children
GraceWorks Ministries
Grand Companions Humane Society
GrieveWell
Habitat for Humanity of Bucks County
Halachic Organ Donor Society
Halton Health Care
Harlem RBI
Hawaii Children’s Action Network
Hema-Quebec Foundation
Henry Ford Health System
Historic Columbus
Halachic Organ Donors Society
Home Sweet Home Ministries, Inc.
Hospice Giving Foundation
Idaho Conservation League
Idaho Youth Ranch
Indiana 4-H Foundation at Purdue University
Institute for Community Living
International Fund for Animal Welfare
International House
International Literacy and Development
Jhamtse International
John XXIII Montessori Center
Johnston Community College Foundation, Inc.
Kehillah Jewish Education Fund
Kindred Community Farm Sanctuary
Knoxville Habitat for Humanity
Koman Kansas City
Kuumbwa Jazz
Lambda Legal
La Clinica Del Pueblo
Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking
Memphis Library Foundation
Lomakatsi Restoration Project
Los Angeles Conservancy
Loudoun Therapeutic Riding
Maine Maritime Museum
Make A Difference – Wisconsin
Maximum Accessible Housing of Ohio
McDaniel College
Me Fine Foundation, Inc.
Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation
Methodist Senior Services
Methodist Retirement Communities
Misericordia University
Montana Audubon
Mount Paran Christian School
Museum of Nebraska Art
Muttville Senior Dog Rescue
Nashville Public Library Foundation
Nassau County Council on Aging
National Alliance on Mental Illness – Wake County
National Children’s Advocacy Center
National Council of Jewish Women of Australia
National Trust for Canada
Nature Foundation – Canadian Museum of Nature
NC Child
Next Step Ministries
North Carolina Arboretum
North Carolina Outward Bound School
North Carolina Study Center
Noyes Home for Children
Oakland Symphony
Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services
Outlook Nebraska
Ovarian Cancer Canada
Pardee Foundation
Peace Education Project
Penn Foundation
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Pickering College
Pisgah Legal Services
Point Reyes National Seashore Association
Pony Power Therapies
Preston High School
Prevent Blindness Wisconsin
ProGrace
ProKids
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research
Randolph County Partnership for Children
Red Door Family Shelter
Red Horse Center
Restore NYC
Rheumatology Research Foundation
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas
San Diego Center for Children
Seva Foundation
Shalom Austin
Sherwood Community Services
Sight Center of NW PA
Smoky Hills Public Television
Snow City Arts
Sojourner Family Peace Center
Somerville College, Oxford
SouthEast Lancaster Health Services
St. Francis Center
St. Joan Antida High School
St. Timothy’s School
Stuart Hall School
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation
The Childrens Advocacy Center of North Texas
The Childrens Advocacy Center of Texas
The Cornucopia Institute
The Cowles Center for Dance & Performing Arts
The Dressage Foundation
The Emily Program Foundation
The Foundations at Kadlec
The Frick
The Good Food Institute
The International School
The Kilgoris Project
The Mental Health Association of Westchester
The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation
The St. Francis Center
The University of Montana Western Foundation
The Women’s Center of Tarrant County
Three Rivers Land Trust
Tree House Humane Society
UCHealth Memorial Hospital Foundation
United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin
University of Louisville
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg
University of Waterloo
Unlock Ministries
US Business Council for Sustainable Development
USO of North Carolina
Valley Conservation Council, Inc.
VISIONS Foundation
Volunteers of America Michigan
WARM NC
Warren Easton Sr High School Foundation Inc
Washington State University
WaterAid America
WhidbeyHealth Foundation
Winifred West Schools Foundation
Women’s Earth Alliance
Women’s Economic Ventures
YMCA of Northwest North Carolina
Youth Homes
“The Major Gifts Intensive course is the best thing I ever did for my career. The curriculum is so comprehensive – I learned something from every part of it: from the psychological ideas to moves management, new ideas on discovery and especially the permission-based approach.
I’m able to better connect with my donors – particularly ‘skeptical’ donors with high capacity. This course also helped me navigate the large volume of donors at the major and principal gift level.
I would tell anyone that if they want to be successful int heir career in gift planning, major gifts and principal gifts, this is the course they need to take”