How to Identify Major Gift and Planned Gift Prospects

by William J. Moran, J.D., M.S.Ed.

Prospect identification is the first step in the actual solicitation process. You are looking for two types of prospects who may or may not be the same individuals: major gift donors and planned giving donors. Identification of Major Gift Prospects

Look for individuals who:

• Have the capability to make a major gift (for some organizations this will mean the ability to make a gift of $100,000 or more; for others it might be a gift of $10,000 or more)
• Have a level of involvement with your organization
• Have interests that match your organization’s mission

Major Gift Characteristics

When identifying prospects it helps to review the characteristics of major gifts and major gift donors.

1. The focus is on the values of the donor. What does the donor believe in? What is valuable to him or her? The answers to these questions drive the donor’s giving.
2. Donors have more the mentality of “investor” or “shareholder” in your non-profit than a mere contributor.
3. Gifts are usually made for a certain purpose and therefore restricted to that purpose.
4. They are more dependent upon the donor’s time line and less on the non-profit’s.
5. They are often a “stretch gift” for the donor.
6. The solicitation process usually takes several meetings over a period of months.
7. Gifts are often made in appreciated property from capital rather than cash from income.
8. Gifts are made with the donor’s financial circumstances in mind.
9. Often a team effort is used to close the gift, including volunteers, staff, and the CEO of the non-profit.[1]
10. What is currently considered a “major gift” in your organization?

Identification of Planned Gift Prospects

Look for individuals who:

• Are older (60 and up)
• Are single or widowed
• Are without children
• Have appreciated property

Planned Gift Characteristics

Planned gifts have some of the same characteristics as major gifts but some important distinctions.

1. The gift is often more than a “stretch gift.” It is the donor’s “ultimate gift”, the largest gift he or she is capable of. Therefore, the gifts are usually substantial.
2. Like major gifts, planned gifts also come from the donor’s asset base.
3. The gift is based, even more than a major gift, upon the donor’s life events. The need to revise one’s estate plan because of the death of a loved one or in anticipation of a trip may trigger the gift.
4. The donor’s financial circumstances are paramount. The donor’s needs must be provided for or the gift will not be made. In order to ensure the donor’s lifetime needs, the gift is most often made upon the donor’s death. The donor often is not interested in recognition and may not inform the charity in advance of the planned gift. (A campaign with a planned giving component often reveals planned gifts that you were previously unaware of.)
5. The gift takes even longer than a major gift to come to fruition and often remains revocable by the donor until his or her death.
6. Patience and relationship building are keys to realizing the gift.
7. Solicitation is usually one-on-one as opposed to a team approach. Often the solicitation may be solely staff driven, without the involvement of volunteers.
8. Although major gift donors may also be planned giving donors, they frequently fit different profiles.

Wealthy individuals will often make major gifts during their life times as part of their social responsibilities. They will then leave their estates to family. Planned gift donors often are of more modest means. They may not make major gifts during their lifetime for fear of exhausting their resources. They will then leave the bulk of their estate to charity upon their death.

Planned Gifts in an Endowment Campaign

The traditional model of planned giving changes somewhat in an endowment campaign. In a campaign, you will often approach board members and other close supporters for planned gifts. Often these individuals will fit a different profile than given above. They will be younger and more active than traditional planned giving prospects. They will be in an earlier life stage of accumulating assets, not distributing them. They will often have families and children. Planned gifts from these non-traditional planned giving prospects will be smaller and farther away from maturation for the organization. They will have a tendency to be “major” planned gifts rather than “ultimate” planned gifts. However, these planned gifts are valuable in that they give an encouraging push to these individuals down the road of planned giving. Once they have made their first planned gift, it becomes much easier for them to make bigger planned gifts as they get older and begin to move into retirement years.

[1] Wood, E. 1999. The 6-step Process in Major Gift Fund Raising. Seminar on April 22, 1999, Kansas City, Missouri.

Bill Moran, The Moran Company, specializes in nonprofit executive searches for executive directors, fundraising staff and other top nonprofit leadership.  www.morancompany.com

© 2008 The Moran Company
“We find great nonprofit executives”