[Quick Tip] How to land more donor meetings

I recently asked our community of fundraisers and nonprofit leaders a big question:

What’s the #1 challenge you are facing when it comes to your major gift fundraising?

Here’s what I’m hearing from you:

Some of your biggest challenges include…

“Getting major donors’ attention and interest.”

“Not enough time to do research and make the reach outs.”

“Convincing our current donors our organization is worth continuing to donate to.”

“Donor unwillingness to increase giving.”

“The amount of time it takes to cultivate.”

I hear you, my friend - and that’s why I’m kicking off this series of quick tips.

I’m sharing ideas that are quick for you to read, simple to implement, and - most importantly - when you use them consistently, they’re effective ways to grow your major gift fundraising.

Here comes quick tip #1…

Make it easy for the donor to say yes!

Face to face meetings are the gold standard in terms of working with major donors and they are incredible. 

But let's face it - it's actually a pretty big commitment for a donor to make, especially early on in the relationship.

One of the silver linings of the widespread adoption of virtual meetings during the pandemic is that it now makes it easier to be creative, and offer up something different, like a virtual coffee or a 20-minute phone call.

Don’t miss the opportunity to stay connected to your donor and keep that meaningful conversation going.

Don’t wait until everything is perfect (because - spoiler alert! - it never will be.)

And even more importantly, don’t make assumptions about HOW donors want to interact with you.

If in doubt, the solution is simple - just ask! Offer up a couple of different options to see what your donor prefers.

When we project our own personal preferences on the donor (“I hate being interrupted by a phone call!”), or make decisions based on unfounded assumptions (“Our donors are older, they aren’t going to want to meet virtually”) it can be one of the biggest barriers to booking a meeting.

If you truly want to get the full value of this tip, before you go, make a decision:

What’s one thing you want to do to implement this idea in your fundraising in the coming week? Go and time block it into your calendar right now!

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