The New Major-Gift Gameplan
Before Covid, major-gift officers relied on face-to-face meetings with wealthy donors, logging many thousands of sky miles in the process. Pivoting to video calls felt unsettling in those early days of the pandemic, but Zoom has become the new normal in donor outreach, three nonprofit leaders told me.
“We are all the same size on Zoom. It makes people more accessible,” says Abby Falik, co-founder and CEO of the Flight School. “I’ve had really profound connections with people on video. I’ve raised major gifts from people I have not met in person.”
Aria Florant, co-founder and CEO of Liberation Ventures, became a first-time nonprofit leader in 2020 when she started her group to raise money for harm-based reparations for Black Americans. She recalls that being new to fundraising made it easier to adapt to Zoom.
“I don’t know what the ‘before’ was like,” Florant says. “I don’t see meeting face-to-face as a requirement.”
She says that conferences and other in-person events remain effective ways to make new contacts, but a video call with a prospective donor is usually the result of a referral from an existing supporter, which is half the battle in creating a personal connection. She also likes that Zoom makes it natural and seamless to screen-share the documents and data at her fingertips.
Beyond Zoom, the pandemic also reshaped how charities connect with donors’ values, approach stewardship, and host fundraising events.
Catholic Charities of Baltimore, the largest provider of human services in Maryland, doesn’t have a black tie gala. Instead, it invites major donors as spectators and competitors in its biennial dragon boat race in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, says its chief development officer Jocabel Michel Reyes. Inspired by an ancient Chinese sport, the event pits teams of 25 contestants — including 20 paddlers, a steerer, a drummer, and three relief rowers — against each other in an open-water boat race.
Having the race out in the community where the group operates democratizes participation, says Michel Reyes. The 2023 event raised nearly $350,000, and the next race is planned for September.
“When we think of engagement, we want them to make that major-gift commitment, but we also want them to engage their families and their colleagues,” she says. “It gives major-gift donors the opportunity to invite their loved ones and deepen that engagement on multiple levels.”
For more takeaways about how the nature of major-gift fundraising has changed in the past five years, read the rest of the article.
