Pound for pound, return on investment figures differ depending on the type of fundraising you’re doing and tend to be higher for trusts and foundations, major gifts, grants and capital appeals.
It is often self-imposed barriers that are really preventing a Major Donor Programme from flourishing. In reality, none of the feared-for barriers is insurmountable. WATCH Mike Bartlett give his insights on the barriers that charities face in adopting a Major Donor Programme.
When we hire a fundraiser we are responsible for choosing the person who will succeed for us. We can’t afford to benchmark against the candidates who turn up for interview, we must know the benchmarks already so that we know what success looks like before it walks through the door and introduces itself.
We do not work on a commission basis. Nor will we work on a no-win-no-fee basis. There are lots of reasons for that – it is frowned upon by our sector body, it offers temptation for poor practice, it exploits the weak, it misunderstands the fundamental team effort that is fundraising.
Big Gift, Major Gift, Major Donor – call it what you will – Fundraising isn’t defined by a set gift amount. It is defined by its approach – taking the time to develop a relationship with a person over time in order to ask for a commitment.