Mastering the Soft Skills of

Major Gift Fundraising

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@GailPerryNC

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Gail Perry: Who am I?

30+ years in fundraising

Helped raise over $500M

Keynote speaker, coach,

consultant

Gail Perry Who am I?

Recent Honors & Achievements

Fundraiser of the Year (NC)

America’s Top Fundraising

Experts (2016)

Mastering the Soft Skills of Major

Gift Fundraising

1. Major gift strategy.

2. Qualification and discovery skills.

3. Discovering your donor’s interests.

4. Facilitation skills.

5. Being sociable and likeable.

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Free 60-Page Workbook

Skyrocket Your Fundraising with a Major Gifts Program

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Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

1:

Major Gift Strategy

Major Gift Strategy

THANK THANK THANK AGAIN

CULTIVATE AND INVOLVE

ASK FOR SUPPORT

IDENTIFY PROSPECTS

Facilitating Your Way to the Gift

Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

2:

Qualification and Discovery Skills

What is a “Qualified Prospect?”

A prospect who. . .

1. Has capacity

2. Is interested in your

institution

3. Can be cultivated

for a gift

Determining Inclination and

Capacity

Questions to

assess interest.

Questions to

validate

capacity.

Questions to Assess interest

• Tell me about your experience with us.

• How do you feel about the xx we do?

• What aspects of our work interests you the most?

• “Tell me more. . .”

• “This is fascinating, what happened next?. . .”

Eli Jordfald, Senior Major Gifts Director

Lineberger Cancer Center

UNC-Chapel Hill

Questions to Validate Capacity

• Tell me about the type of work you do (or did.)

• Are you planning to travel this summer?

• Do you have any favorite organizations you like

to support? Tell me about your involvement?

• What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Eli Jordfald, Senior Major Gifts Director

Lineberger Cancer Center

UNC-Chapel Hill

● Figuring out who else matters

● Who else do they support

● Finding out how they want to be

involved

● Who else matters?

● Who else do they support?

● How do they want to be involved?

Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

3:

Discovering Your

Donor’s Interests

Do you know what your top 20

donors are passionate about?

Exercise:

Write down your top 5

donors.

What is each donor interested in?

Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

4:

Facilitation Skills

“Facilitator”

“One that helps

to bring about an outcome

by providing indirect assistance,

guidance and supervision.”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Where Do You Fit?

DIPLOMAT FRIEND

Direct Approach Social

Open and transparent

My donors are friends

Collaborative Subservient

Authentic Overly Sharing

Transactional Assumptive

Adapted from Plus Delta Partners

Listen Your Way to the Gift

“You have to listen to their story,

write a lot of notes and go with the flow—

and

don’t be shy to propose something -- it opens new doors and opportunities.

Major Gift Coaching Member

Patrick Berard, Hema Quebec

Donors Expect To Do the Talking

Donor You

Power Questions to Get The

Donor to Talk to You

• “I’d love to hear why you chose

to give.

• “What inspired your gift?

• “Would you be willing to have

coffee with me, I’d love to

understand your story.

• “Mr. Jones, you’ve been a

donor all these years. My job is to

know our donors . . .

~Eli Jordfald, Senior Major Gifts Director, Lineberger

Cancer Center, UNC Chapel Hill

More Power questions

Asking

for advice:

Probing

for interest:

Probing

for opinion:

• Tell me what you think about…

• Can we brainstorm this idea?

• I’d love to hear about your

philanthropy…

• What causes are you most

passionate about?

• What’s your opinion of our

institution?

• Do you think this project is a good idea?

Directly Facilitating

A Donor’s Interest

Are you open to learning more about our work?

“Would You Like

To Know More

About

How You Could

Impact our

University?”

OLD WORDS NEW WORDS

I We

Needs Opportunities

I know I don’t want to assume

I’d love to I’d welcome

I want to Here’s what I might

suggest

Visit Meeting

I’d like to talk to you Here’s what I might

suggest

Adapted from Plus Delta Partners

Know When To Open The Ask Discussion

Six STEPS to the Perfect Ask

5:

Being Social and Likeable

What’s the Definition

of “Etiquette?”

• Kind and considerate

• Keep your cool

(decorum)

• Put others at ease

Graciousness

Billy,

You are so wonderful. Your dedication

and support are absolutely remarkable.

Thank you,

Elizabeth

Showing Up As a

Likeable and

Interesting

Person

Your goal is for them to

think you are worth

spending time with.

“You have to be

a relatively interesting person so they are prepared to develop a

relationship with you.

That means you must read.

You must know what is happening

in the world.

Naomi Levine,

$2B fundraiser in NYC

Ethical Behavior Builds Trust

You can’t lie.

You can’t misinterpret.

You can’t pressure.

You have to

obey the rules of privacy.

Naomi Levine,

$2B fundraiser in NYC

First Impressions Count!

• Posture?

• Handshakes?

• The hello kiss?

• How to greet

people.

For a Fundraiser, First Impressions

Count More Than You Know!

• Your voice?

• Cell phones?

• Eye contact?

• Can’t remember

their name?

Learn How to Meet People

Properly

• When to stand up?

• Genuine smile?

• Exuding

cheerfulness

• Mrs. Jones or Betty?

Introductions

• Who gets introduced to

whom?

• How to start two

people in a

conversation.

• Keeping people apart!

Important Arts

For a Gentleman

• Paying a compliment

• Holding the door

• Walking on the outside

• Elevator etiquette

41

Appearance – Ladies Wealthy donors tend to be older and

more conservative.

• Makeup?

• Edgy fashion?

• What to do if you are

young and cute?

Yikes! Avoid “social dismissal.”

Awkward Table Manners =

“Social Dismissal??”

• Hunching over your plate?

• Timing of the napkin?

• Talking and eating at the same time?

• Role of the fork?

• Role of the elbow?

Mastering the Soft Skills of Major

Gift Fundraising

1. Major gift strategy.

2. Qualification and discovery skills.

3. Discovering your donor’s interests.

4. Facilitation skills.

5. Being sociable and likeable.

Get today’s Powerpoints plus my

Free 60-Page Workbook

Skyrocket Your Fundraising with a Major Gifts Program

text

firedup to

66866

How Can We Help You? Gail Perry Associates

• Major gifts coaching

• Full range of consulting services

• Fundraising Training Community-

INSIDERS

gp@gailperry.com Text Firedup

919-821-3050 to

@gailperrync 66866

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Join me at FiredUpFundraising.com!