According to The Fundraising Authority, fundraising generally follows the 80/20 rule, which states that 80% percent of your revenue comes from only 20% of your donors. That 20% of donors are your major donors, and while what is considered “major” will vary from organization to organization, these are the individuals that give your nonprofit the largest contributions. 

Because you rely on major gifts for so much of your revenue, fine-tuning your major giving program is one of the best things you can do to strengthen your nonprofit and set it up for sustainable growth.

Of course, this is easier said than done. To help you get a strong start, let’s explore five best practices for increasing major giving to your nonprofit organization: 

1. Prioritize prospect research. 
2. Set up a major gifts program. 
3. Incorporate matching gifts into your strategy. 
4. Invite major donors to get involved in other ways. 
5. Thank your donors. 

On top of incorporating these tips into your major giving strategy, look for ways you can offer additional learning opportunities to your team geared toward major gift fundraising. Encouraging your staff members to learn from other major giving experts can be an excellent way to maintain your major giving program’s momentum. Let’s dive into our first best practice. 

1. Prioritize prospect research. 

To secure more major gifts, you need more major donors! You can find these individuals through prospect research. This is the process in which you identify potential donors’ capacity (wealth) markers and affinity (warmth) markers to determine whether they would be interested in giving your organization a major gift. 

Here are some examples of capacity and affinity markers: 

• Capacity markers 
• Real estate ownership 
• SEC transactions
• Business affiliations
• Political giving history 

• Affinity markers
• Past donations to your nonprofit or similar organizations 
• Nonprofit involvement history 
• Personal information like values and interests 

Once you’ve found a potential donor that exhibits both types of markers, you can be confident that you’ve found a prospect to whom your team can begin reaching out. 

The right software can help you identify prospects more efficiently and accurately. Look for a provider that offers access to robust prospect databases and wealth screening tools. Some solutions even have AI tools that can help you further qualify your prospects. 

2. Set up a major gifts program. 

As your nonprofit grows, you may find it helpful to create a formal major gifts program. When you have the capacity to do so, hire or appoint a major gifts officer or a full major gifts team. These individuals will use the information from the prospect research stage to cultivate and steward major donors. 

Specifically, they’ll be responsible for duties like:

• Keeping major donor prospect profiles up to date
• Creating educational and promotional materials centered around major gifts
• Issuing major gift appeals to prospects and donors 
• Seeking upgrade opportunities 
• Engaging major donors to maintain strong relationships 

Your major gifts team may decide that it would also be worthwhile to create a major donor society, an exclusive group that celebrates those who give your nonprofit its largest contributions. Doing so will encourage donors giving gifts just under what is considered “major” to upgrade their giving so they can be part of the society. To make the society feel more special, consider hosting society-specific events and offering additional perks, like giveaways or early event registration opportunities. 

3. Incorporate matching gifts into your strategy. 

Did you know that many of your major donors may be eligible to boost their donations’ impacts without reaching back into their wallets? This is done by tapping into their employers’ matching gift programs.

A corporate matching gift program is a form of corporate philanthropy in which employers agree to financially match their employees’ charitable contributions at a certain ratio (usually 1:1 or 2:1). As a result, your major donors can effectively have their donations doubled!

To ensure that your major donors can tap into matching gift opportunities, make sure to educate them about major gifts. They can check their eligibility using a matching gift database, or you can check it for them during the prospect research phase. 

From there, all the donor has to do is submit a match request to their employer. You can make this process go even faster by leveraging a matching gifts tool that has auto-submission capabilities. 

4. Invite major donors to get involved in other ways. 

There are additional ways your major donors can contribute to your cause beyond donating. And, when you invite them to get involved in other ways, you’ll deepen their engagement with your organization, laying the groundwork for future contributions, both monetary and otherwise. 

Encourage your major donors to do one or more of the following: 

• Volunteer
• Participate in peer-to-peer fundraising efforts
• Attend events 
• Provide advice or pro bono services 
• Serve on your board 

Use what you know about your major donors to suggest involvement opportunities that will resonate with them. For example, if you know that your major donor is a seasoned accountant who enjoys giving back to the community, you might ask them to provide your nonprofit with advice about streamlining how you submit your Form 990 each year. Or, if you know your donor loves to involve their family in philanthropic work, you might extend a special invitation to their grandchildren for your next volunteer project. 

5. Thank your donors. 

Thanking your major donors for their contributions is crucial for ensuring you’ll have their support for the long term. Plus, after they’ve given such a generous gift to your organization, it’s just the right thing to do!

But what thank-you strategies work best for major donors? According to DonorSearch, here are some winning appreciation ideas to try: 

• Create a donor recognition wall. Whether virtual or physical, a donor recognition wall can be a great tool for thanking major donors and giving them a tangible reminder of the legacy they’re creating with your nonprofit. 
• Send thank-you letters. A traditional handwritten thank-you letter does wonders for communicating your appreciation to your major donors. Make the letter as personal as possible, specifying how the donor’s gift will impact your organization, and make sure to have someone from your nonprofit (such as a board member or your executive director) sign it. 
• Host appreciation events. Try hosting events where all you do is celebrate your major donors. Throughout the night, you can thank individuals for their specific contributions and communicate exactly how your organization is using the donations to move its mission forward. Plus, your donors will come away from the event with great memories!
• Deliver gift baskets. Gift baskets are fun to put together and even more fun to receive. You can fill your baskets with products from local businesses and branded merchandise from your nonprofit. 
• Make thank-you videos. Put a spin on a traditional thank-you note by creating a thank-you video. These videos can be short and effective, featuring one or more members of your nonprofit’s team personally thanking your donor for their gift. Take your videos to the next level by adding music or eye-catching graphics. 

Similar to involvement opportunities, thank-you strategies should be catered to each individual major donor based on what you know about them. Whatever strategy you opt for, ensure that you’re leaning into personalization and setting the stage for your next interaction. 

About the Authors

Sarah Tedesco



Sarah Tedesco is the Executive Vice President of DonorSearch, a prospect research and wealth screening company that focuses on proven philanthropy. Sarah is responsible for managing the production and customer support department concerning client contract fulfillment, increasing retention rate and customer satisfaction. She collaborates with other team members on a variety of issues including sales, marketing and product development ideas.