Should You Include Major Donor Prospects in Your Year-End Appeal?

Should your year-end fundraising appeal for annual giving funding include your major donors?

Many development offices are challenged by this question, and we understand. Our clients are always asking about how to handle major gift prospects at year end.

Here’s the issue – your team has developed close, friendly, easy connections with their assigned major gift prospects.

They are investing time with these special major prospects — visiting with them, listening to their ideas, sharing your work with them.

These select donors are receiving high-touch, very personalized treatment from your organization, and they’re feeling like insiders.

So what to do at year-end, with the special donors that have been engaged so carefully?

For the year-end campaign, should you include them in mass mailings?

No – because a generic appeal letter would feel like a cold splash of water on the warm relationship your team has painstakingly developed. It’s way too impersonal.

Even more, is it really appropriate to ask major gift prospects for a smaller annual gift when they’re talking about doing something much, much bigger?

It’s awkward, to say the least.

Many fundraisers simply hold back. They remove their major donor prospects from their year-end appeal campaigns because they don’t want to damage this special donor relationship with a mass-produced ask. 

They are “saving” the ask for something much bigger and more personal.

As a result, the donors do not receive any holiday appeals or communications, because the staff feels those communications are not personalized enough.

But look at it from the donor’s side:

Say I am a close friend (and major donor prospect) of your organization. I sponsor events, I serve on committees; I have lunch with staffers; I love your work.

I “feel” really close to you. 

And it’s holiday season is approaching. Like many people, I’m organizing my year-end donations. 

As I consider what organizations to support this December, I don’t see anything from my favorite organization – yours.

What? That’s strange. I’d certainly like to do something for your organization – above all! 

But there’s no ask. . . 

The major gift prospect once asked me, “Why don’t you all ever ask me for a gift?” 

Yes, this is a real question someone once asked me. And, yes, it felt quite awkward – especially coming from a capital campaign prospect! 

The reason they asked was because I was routinely removing my major donor and campaign prospects from the annual fund appeals.

For instance, they never received regular fundraising communications because we were saving them for something bigger.

So, what’s the answer? What to do with these special, carefully engaged individuals?  

Send selected major gift prospects a custom, personalized year-end ask.  

It should be carefully tailored to each individual donor.

How do to this? Two ways:

1. You can take the regular appeal letter and modify it slightly for selected major donor prospects. Add a handwritten note as well. 
2. You can start from scratch with a loving note, acknowledging your donor’s partnership, their deep interest and commitment to your work.

If you are actually discussing a large gift with your donor, you can say,

“While I know we are discussing a larger level of support for your favorite area, I didn’t want to forget about you during our holiday appeal. We’d love to have you participate in the annual fund , if you’d like.” 

If you have developed a warm, close relationship but have not yet broached the subject of a major gift, then you could send a gentle ask like this: 

“It’s been wonderful getting to know you and understanding your deep commitment to our cause. You might know that our annual year-end appeal is focusing on (xxx project). We’d like to invite you to join our leadership annual giving group of committed supporters, if you would like.

Note that both of these asks are gentle and not heavy-handed.

Your major donors need a light touch when it comes to routine smaller gifts.

BOTTOM LINE:

Do’s and Don’ts for Handling Major Donor Prospects at Year-End:

Do send them a low-key ask.

Do make their ask highly personalized.

Do make their ask feel kind and loving – a reflection of how they feel about you and your cause.

Do make it more like an “invitation” to participate along with everyone else.

Don’t send them a generic appeal letter.

Ready to Expand Major Gifts at Your Organization?

Would you like to ramp up major gifts for YOUR organization? Want to get everyone organized and trained in major gift fundraising skills? Would you like to lay down the infrastructure for major gifts that will bring in long term funding?

Then join us!