The Annual Giving Exchange

Ask an annual giving manager about their overall alumni participation rate and you’ll probably get a quick and accurate answer.  But ask them about the participation rate of a major gift officer’s prospect portfolio and many won’t have a good answer for you.

Every major gift officer’s prospect portfolio should be evaluated for annual fund participation on a regular basis.  This should happen in a meeting (quarterly, if not monthly) that includes the annual giving and major gift teams as well as the head of development.

These meetings should be used to examine the participation rate of each major gift officer’s portfolio and to review lists of major gift prospects that have not yet made an annual fund gift.  This will give each major gift officer an opportunity to consider their own annual gift strategies or ask for help from the annual giving team in boosting their portfolio’s participation rates.

Encouraging partnership between annual giving and major gifts will not only build a stronger development team, but will bolster your donor pipeline and increase the overall achievement of your annual fund.