DONOR IDENTIFICATION AND CULTIVATION

The Why

You may have heard of the “Five I’s” of resource development: identification, information, interest, involvement and investment. These are the steps you would use to turn a prospect into a donor and “investor” in your Club. Too many times, some of the steps are hurried or even missed, which can result in the difference between a small gift and a major gift. And, more often that not, people who give those small token gifts do not increase their giving over time because their interest did not turn into involvement. Do you have many donors who gave just once?

The How

Review the names of your donors and their giving histories. For example, do you have annual donors who give year-in and year-out? Do you know why they give consistently? Have you made a point to get to know these regular donors?

Whether you are starting from scratch or adding to your existing donor base, gaining information is important. The Individual Gift Prospect form below can be used to capture additional information about your donors and prospects. Ask your board members and volunteers to use this form and return it to the Club so that you can enter the information into your donor system.

Who are your best prospects for a top-level gift to your campaign? Make sure you learn how to use the range-of-gifts table click herein the resource development planning section; it will help you determine your top-level prospects. Evaluate your prospects based on what you and your board members and volunteers know about them or by doing research.

You might consider using some of your key board members or another small group of volunteers who are familiar with your community to assist in a “peer review” process. Meet with this group and ask them to share additional information about individuals you have already determined to be top prospects. (Depending on the size of your Club and your potential prospect list, this could be a list of 10-25 prospects.)

Ask these questions:

What can the prospect afford to give?

  • What is his/her relationship with our Club?
  • What are his/her interests?
  • Who is the best contact person?

Use the Evaluating Gift Prospects chart to rate your prospects. You can use the chart for each of your donors and circle their readiness to give. Based on this, you may decide to code them using these two scenarios:

  • Those familiar enough to make an “early” gift.
  • Those less familiar who are thus less inclined to give and need to be cultivated further.

The CPO should also review the comprehensive list and use the Evaluating Gift Prospects chart below to initially classify prospects who could give a $1,000 or more. (As a general rule, anyone who has ever provided support of $500 or more to the Club should be classified this way initially.) Anyone who has ever given $2,000 or more should be considered a candidate for the top level of giving in your campaign.

Based on this process, you can then develop a specific strategy for those donors you feel are most ready to give and those who need more cultivation. The Strategy Memo provides specific suggestions.

Prospect List

Whether you have a current database of donors and need to expand your prospect list or are building a donor list from scratch, donor acquisition should always be an ongoing part of your resource development process. If you need to build a prospect list, follow the steps below to create a list of potential One Campaign donors.

  1. Have a staff member assemble an initial prospect list. (This is also a great job for an intern.) The prospect list should be as comprehensive as possible and include the following groups:
  1. All current and past donors
  2. All current and past board members
  3. All current and past volunteers
  4. All current and past members of any advisory boards and/or councils
  5. All current and past special event volunteers
  6. All current and past special event participants, sponsors and donors
  7. Previous capital campaign supporters
  8. Loaned executives
  9. Alumni
  10. Vendors
  11. Newsletter or other Club publication recipients
  12. People who run corporations or foundations and who are known by your board members
  13. People who contribute $1,000 or more to other nonprofit organizations in your community

If time and resources do not permit you to cover all of the groups mentioned above, focus on a – g.

Ask all board members to suggest other possible prospects, such as people they know and have good relationships with.

  1. Gather the following information about each prospect you identified:
  • Name
  • Contact information, including home address, home phone and/or business address and business phone
  • Relationship to Boys & Girls Club. What involvement has the person had with the Club? Does this person know a board or staff member?
  • Past giving to and support of Boys & Girls Club
  • Other relevant information. This may include information related to the ability to give and/or how much the person gives to other institutions.
  1. Once this information has been gathered and, hopefully, stored in an electronic database system, the next step is to begin an initial classification/rating of the prospects.

The process is the same as noted before. The CPO should ask a small group of board members to assist in this process. Using the Evaluating Gift Prospects chart, initially classify prospects who could provide gifts of $1,000 or more. (As a general rule, anyone who has ever provided support of $500 or more to the Club should be rated this way initially.) Anyone who has ever given $2,000 or more should be considered for the top level of giving in your campaign.

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EVALUATING GIFT PROSPECTS

STRONG PROSPECTWEAK PROSPECT

Has long history of giving / Made a major gift in the past / Made an annual gift last year / Made small gift in the past / No gift history
Clearly involved with the Club / Highly committed (board member; long relationship) / Above average commitment (volunteer) / Some involvement (occasional volunteer) / No involvement
Experience with the Boys & Girls Club / Received personal benefit
(alum) / Family member received benefit / Friend received benefit / No relationship
Potential interest in the Club / Has expressed a strong interest / Known reason to be interested / Someone you know has influence with this prospect / No apparent interest in the Boys & Girls Club
Contacts or influence with potential donor / Board/staff has very high degree of influence or knowledge / Board/staff has low degree of influence or knowledge / Board/staff has minimal influence or knowledge / Board/staff does not have influence or knowledge

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INDIVIDUAL GIFT PROSPECT INFORMATION

Name:

Home Address:

Telephone:

E-mail Address:

Corporate Affiliation/Employment

Business Name:

Title:

Address:

Telephone:(Business)(Fax)

Personal Information

Date of BirthPersonal Interests/Hobbies

Formative InformationSocial Interests

Education

Spouse

Children

Significant Historical and Anecdotal Information

Corporate Boards

Professional Associations

Nonprofit Involvement/Boards

Personal Financial Information

Significant Charitable Gifts to Boys & Girls Club

Affiliated Corporate/Foundation Giving

Known Gifts to Other Organizations

Real Estate

Luxury Vehicles

Securities/Public Holdings

Salary and Bonus Information

Investments

Strategy Memo

CONFIDENTIAL

Boys & Girls Club

Prepared for

(Solicitor’s Name)

Board Member:Jane Smith

Address:Mr. and Mrs. J. John Smith (Jane)

3455 Woodhaven Road, NW

Atlanta, GA 30305

(404) 266-2225

(404) 869-8028 fax

Evaluation:Upgrade to a $10,000 annual gift

B/G Club Giving History:

2002$5,000Annual campaign

$2,500Steak & Burger Table Sponsor

2001$5,000Annual campaign

$200Event ticket

2000$5,000Annual campaign

$2,500Steak & Burger Table Sponsor

1999$1,000Annual campaign

$1,000Event tickets

1998$1,000Annual campaign

1997$1,000Annual campaign

1996$500Annual campaign

1995$500Annual campaign

1994$500Annual campaign

TOTAL$25,700

Background Information

  • Jane is one of our largest donors.
  • Jane is a new member of the Board of Directors.
  • The Smiths were instrumental in securing a $10,000 challenge grant for the 2002 Annual Campaign from the B. T. Smith Foundation. In the past, the Foundation has not given to the Boys & Girls Club.
  • Jane is also the current president of the City Arts Foundation. Under her leadership, City Arts supported the Impressionist Show in 2001.
  • Jane serves on the boards of the Community Outreach Mission, the Education Board, the University of Georgia and the HighHopesSchool.
  • The Smiths give $10,000 per year to the United Way and regularly give to several other charities at a level ranging from $1,000 to $15,000.

Other Information

Jane’s husband, John Smith, was born in 1940 in Nashville. He received his undergraduate degree from VanderbiltUniversity in 1962 and his graduate degree in business administration from Harvard in 1964. He is chairman of XYZ Co., and directly and indirectly owns 1,153,954 shares as of 8/26/99, valued at $22 million (as of 12/28/99). He owns 40,881 shares of ABC Corp. as of 3/1/99, valued at $1 million (as of 12/28/99). He owns 9,000 shares of Carpet Industries (4/5/99) valued at $135,000 (as of 12/28/99).

Mr. Smith serves on several corporate boards:
Ford Motor Co.

Crawford & Company

ABC Corp.

Carpet Industries

Big Banks of Georgia
Mr. Smith serves on two foundation boards:
B. T. Smith Foundation
ABC Corp. Foundation

Strategy

Schedule a meeting with Jane at her home or another place that is convenient for her. Ask if she would like John to join the two of you. During the meeting, ask them to consider an increased gift of $10,000 for your annual campaign.

Talking Points

  • Thank you for your ongoing financial support of the Boys & Girls Club and for your service on the board. You have been very generous to the Club.
  • We especially appreciate your help in getting the challenge grant from the B. T. Smith Foundation.
  • As you know, it will be crucial to have 100 percent participation from the board. This is extremely important for the success of our campaign and when we begin asking others. We must set a standard of giving for others.
  • This is an important campaign and it needs big commitments. The funds we raise from within our own ranks will set the tone for the rest of our efforts.
  • I am here today to ask you for a commitment to the campaign. On behalf on the Board of Directors, I hope you will consider joining the Jeremiah Milbank Society with a gift of $10,000 to support the programs we offer every day at our Club.
  • Let them respond without interruption.

Answer questions and determine when you can follow up.

One Campaign\Laying the Groundwork\Tools9/13/2018