A common refrain I hear when talking to nonprofit boards (and often staff) is that “I/we don’t know anybody who could be a major donor.”
Now if their definition of a major donor is too ambitious, this might be true. The universe of $100,000+ donors is small.
At the same time, the universe of donors who can and will give at the $10,000 level is larger than most people realize. And that’s true and then some with regard to donors at the $1,000+ level. At least for most my clients, anybody giving $1,000+ is a “major” donor.
Yet, even then, the complaint continues: “I don’t know anybody who can give $1,000.”
While this is sometimes true, it’s more often true that they can’t recall off the top of their head the people they know who can give at that level.
Working with various clients, I’ve found that running board and staff through an exercise focused on prospect identification often surfaces new, legitimate prospects to pursue.
Some context — the A, B, C test
Your major donor list should start with existing donors, board members who left on good standing, volunteers, etc.
In thinking about potential donors who don’t fit any of those categories, I was taught the A, B, C test.
- A = Ability – do they have the income or assets that would allow them to make a donation at the designated level?
- B = Belief – do they believe in the organization or, the more general “cause” or “impact” that the organization is working to advance via its mission?
- C = Connection (or Contact) – does somebody in the organization know them at least at the level of acquaintance?
The biggest hang up for many people is when it comes to Ability — they believe only a tiny fraction of Americans donate at the $1,000 level. In reality, I’ve seen estimates showing that more than half of American families donate to charity in any given year and 10% of those say they’ve donated more than $1,000. So that’s 1 in 20 overall.
This may seem like a small percentage, but given that the average person knows hundreds of people, that leaves a sizeable number (on average) that you’re likely to know. Most people know at least one.
This obviously will vary by geography, age, economic situation, and other factors, but bottom line: most people underestimate the level of generosity that their friends (and acquaintances) display.
An exercise
The compounding factor is that many organizations ask “who do you know who could be a major donor” as an abstract question that asks people to rack their brains.
Instead, an exercise is warranted.
- Provide people a short 10 minute overview of charitable giving.
- Ask them to take 10-30 minutes on their own scanning through their email address book, their social media account friends/followers, their cell phone contact list, and any old-fashioned rolodex.
- If this is a collective exercise, as they identify somebody, have them shout out the name. On more than one occasion, I’ve experienced somebody else in the group immediately both recognizing the name AND having that prompt some other name to come to their mind.
- Don’t call it done when people have scanned their lists. They may have passed over names in haste or more likely there are people they know not included.
- Ask them a series of questions:
Who in their family (extended) may have the ability and belief?
Are they part of a religious institution and do they know others through that with the likely ability and belief?
Are they a member of any club or regular activity and who from those would have the likely ability and belief? — I once had this exercise cause somebody to remember some people in their book club that they had neglected to consider.
Do they know people through participation in sports (active or as spectators/watchers) who would have the ability and belief? – I once had somebody remember somebody from their fantasy football league when prompted in this way.
Who do they know via employment, such as co-workers (current or former) or via professional networks – I once had somebody remember that a former co-worker had retired with some degree of wealth and had spoken with passion of the cause the organization addressed.
Getting people to ask
Of course, creating a strong prospect list is only valuable if people are willing to network with, cultivate where necessary, and make asks. That’s worthy of a different article. For now, recognize that your team almost certainly knows more potential donors than you realize if you’re prepared to be systematic in working with the team.