Where to Actually Start with Major Gifts

If you’re working at a small non-profit, you’ve probably been thinking you need to spend more time on your major gifts program. 

And you’re not wrong. Major gifts can transform your fundraising. They bring in larger sums of money, deepen relationships, and create more stability for your organization. 

But here’s what we see over and over again: 

Most organizations don’t actually have a major gifts problem. They have a readiness problem. 

You can’t build a major gifts program on wishful thinking 

It’s easy to feel like you know your donors well enough, and that you can start reaching out and figure out the rest as you go. 

But major gifts don’t really respond to that kind of approach. 

They require a clear pool of donors, a plan to engage them, and a compelling reason for someone to give at a higher level. Without those pieces, what looks like a strategy is usually just a series of one-off asks. 

Start with your data  

Before you think about strategy, go to your donor database. 

Do you have people giving $1,000 or more each year? Do you know who your higher-level donors are, how they give, and how often you’re in touch with them? 

If the answer is “kind of” or “not really,” that’s your starting point. 

Do the math  

Let’s say your goal is to secure 25 donors at $10,000. That’s $250,000. 

That’s meaningful revenue for most organizations. 

But you won’t get there with a list of 25 people. 

You’ll need four to 10 times that number in your pipeline — people with the capacity to give, and a plan to build relationships before making an ask. 

This is where most programs quietly break down. Not because the goal is unrealistic, but because the pipeline hasn’t been built yet. And for most small teams, that pipeline starts with the donors you already have and grows from there. 

What you’re actually asking for matters 

Even when the right donors are identified, there’s another gap we see all the time. 

Organizations aren’t always clear on what they’re asking for. And major donors care about that. 

They want to understand what their gift will support, how it connects to your mission, and what will be different because they gave. 

That means you need clear program priorities, alignment across your team, realistic costing, and a way to talk about impact. 

This is where fundraising and programs need to work closely together. 

If those conversations aren’t happening, your major gifts program will feel harder than it needs to. 

Planning is what makes this manageable 

When you’re already juggling campaigns, grants, reporting, and day-to-day demands, it’s tempting to just start. 

But without a plan, you end up reacting instead of building and missing opportunities that were right in front of you.  

A simple plan helps you focus on the right donors, sequence your outreach, and make realistic decisions about what you can actually do this year. 

Not everything at once. Just the right things, in the right order. 

What to do next 

If you’re not sure where to begin, start with your data, your priorities, and your plan. 

You don’t need a perfect major gifts program. You just need one that is grounded in reality and built to grow. And for most organizations, that growth starts with the relationships you already have.