The WRONG Ways to Approach the Wealthiest Donors for a Campaign Gift

Do the wealthiest people in your community seem beyond your reach? Especially during a capital campaign?

Wealthy Donors: A Boon for Your Capital Campaign

Perhaps there’s a business person in your city who seems to have her fingers in most everything. She is the developer of the town’s most prestigious residential community. Her family owns or has a stake in several other area businesses. She has at least two homes in other places.

You see her name and the names of other of her family members on the top giving levels of the symphony play bill and on the wall of the art museum. But your organization has never received a gift from her or her family. Your board members don’t hobnob in her social circles.

Now your organization is planning a capital campaign and as you assemble a list of prospective donors, her name pops up. No one on your board knows her personally, but everyone knows who she is. But how should you go about approaching her for a campaign gift?

8 Possible Ways to Approach a Wealthy Individual

Take a look at the following list of eight possible approaches. Which of them would you try? Which of these answers are just plain wrong?

FUNDRAISING QUIZ: Which Ways Are Best?

There isn’t one right answer. But there are a couple of answers that are just plain wrong. See if you can spot them in the list below.

1. Forget about her. She hasn’t given to you before and she’s not likely to start now.
2. Start asking around your community to find out if someone you know knows her. If so, ask if they’d introduce you.
3. Do as much research as you can on her and her family. Look for things that give you a clue about how her interests might connect to your organization and your project.
4. Send her a well-written proposal asking for a big gift. Then wait for her response.
5. Call to schedule an appointment to ask her for advice.
6. Have your ED invite her to get acquainted and visit your program.
7. Let her know that you are contacting the leaders in your community to let them know your plans and get their advice. And she, of course, is one of the people whose opinion matters.
8. Honor her and her family at your next gala.

Let’s Look at the WRONG Answers

Here are the answers that are just plain wrong!

1. Forget about her.

Wrong!  Never forget about the largest prospective donors your community. Always be looking for ways to engage them.

It might take weeks or months or even years, but they have the power to transform your organization. Don’t forget about them. Treat them well, find out who they are and what they are interested in. It will pay off.

4. Ask her for a big gift.

Wrong!  There’s no chance that she’ll say yes if you ask for a big gift out of the blue. To ask for a big gift before you have built a relationship will start your relationship off on the wrong foot.

Remember, just because a person has lots of money isn’t enough of a reason to ask for a big gift. It’s got to be combined with an interest in your mission and a propensity to be generous.

8. Honor her at your next gala.

Somewhat wrong…  This may not be a wrong answer per se, but you shouldn’t honor her until and unless you really have something to honor her for (in addition to her money).

And What of the RIGHT Answers?

Be sure to check out our next post — part two on this topic — where we take a deep dive into the RIGHT answers. You’ll learn about the best ways to approach the wealthiest prospective donors in your community.