Major gifts: asking for and looking after your largest donations

This guide is for founders, directors and board members of small charities who suspect a few supporters could give much more than they do, but feel awkward asking. A major gift is a donation much larger than your usual gifts, usually asked for in person and planned with the donor. After reading, you'll know how to decide what "major" means for you, how to find likely donors without crossing ethical lines, how to run an ask meeting, what a gift agreement should say, and how to thank, recognize and protect the people who give big.

If you're still building your first donor list, start with building a donor base. Major gifts come later, from people who already know and trust you.

What counts as "major"

There's no national number. A major gift is large compared with your own budget and your own donors. For a charity that runs on $40,000 a year, a $2,500 gift may change what's possible. For a charity with a $2 million budget, it might not.

To set your own level:

1. Look at last year's gifts from individuals, largest first.
2. Notice where gifts jump in size. Often a handful of donors give far more than everyone else.
3. Pick a round number near that jump, and call gifts at or above it "major" for planning purposes.

Review the number every year as you grow. What matters isn't the label: it's that these donors get personal attention, not just the appeal letter.

Finding prospects, ethically

Your best prospects are usually people who already give, volunteer or serve on your board, and who care deeply about the work. Start with:

• Loyal donors, especially those who have given for several years in a row or increased their gifts.
• Board members, volunteers and their networks, with their permission.
• People who have told you why the work matters to them.

You can learn about prospects from what they've shared with you and from public information, such as news stories, published annual reports of other charities or a company's website. Stay on the right side of the line:

• Treat donor information as confidential. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Code of Ethical Standards, which binds AFP members, says they shall "not disclose privileged or confidential information to unauthorized parties," and that donor and prospect information belongs to the organization, not to the person who collected it.
• Don't buy, borrow or swap lists without the donors' consent. The same Code says donors must have the chance to have their names removed from lists that are sold, rented or exchanged.
• Don't exploit relationships. The Code says fundraisers must not exploit any relationship with a donor or prospect.
• Keep notes factual and kind. Write in your donor records only what you'd be comfortable with the donor reading.

Our data privacy guide explains how to store donor information safely.

Getting ready to ask

A major gift usually follows a relationship, not a single letter.

• Get to know them. Invite the prospect to see the work: a program visit, a coffee with the founder, a small gathering. Ask what they care about and listen.
• Have a clear, specific project. Donors give more when they can see what the gift will do. Our case for support guide helps you write it down.
• Decide who asks. Often two people: someone the donor knows well, such as a board member, and someone who knows the work, such as the director.
• Decide the amount. Base it on what you know of the donor's past giving and interest, and the project's real cost. A specific amount is easier for a donor to answer than "anything you can."

The ask meeting

Ask in person or by video if you can, and say ahead of time that you'd like to talk about a gift.

1. Thank them for what they've already done.
2. Share the plan and why it matters now, in a few minutes, not a lecture.
3. Ask for a specific amount for a specific purpose: "Would you consider a gift of $10,000 to fund the reading program for a full year?"
4. Stop talking and listen. Silence is fine. Let them think.
5. Answer questions honestly. The Donor Bill of Rights says donors have the right "to feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers."
6. Agree on next steps, whether it's a yes, a smaller yes, "let me think about it" or a no. Follow up in writing within a few days.

A "no" or "not now" isn't failure. Thank them sincerely, keep them informed, and ask again later if it fits.

Gift agreements and restrictions

For a large gift, especially one for a specific purpose or paid over several years, put the terms in a short written gift agreement signed by the donor and the charity. It should say:

• the amount and whether it's paid at once or as a pledge over time, with dates;
• the purpose, in words you can actually live with for years;
• any restrictions, and what happens if the purpose becomes impossible or no longer needed;
• recognition: how the donor will be named, or whether they wish to stay anonymous;
• reports the donor will receive, and how often.

When a donor says what a gift is for, you must use it that way. The AFP Code says members must "ensure that contributions are used in accordance with donors' intentions" and "obtain explicit consent by donors before altering the conditions of financial transactions." Our restricted funds guide explains how to track restricted gifts and what to do if you can't use one as the donor asked. Our gift acceptance policy template helps your board decide in advance which gifts it will accept.

Recognition

The Donor Bill of Rights says donors have the right "to receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition." Appropriate means what the donor wants:

• Ask first. Some donors love to see their name on a wall or in the annual report. Others want no public mention at all.
• Respect anonymity completely, including in board materials shared outside the board and on social media.
• Be careful with naming. If you name a room, program or fund after a donor, put the terms in the gift agreement: how long the name lasts and what happens if the gift isn't paid.
• Recognize fairly. If you list donors by giving level, apply the same rules to everyone.

Receipts and the IRS

Major gifts need the same written acknowledgment as any gift of $250 or more: your charity's name, the amount (or a description of a non-cash gift), and a statement of whether you gave anything in return. If the donor received something, like dinner tickets, the acknowledgment must describe it and estimate its value. Our guide to thanking donors the way the IRS requires explains the rules.

Gifts of stock, property or other non-cash assets have their own rules. See our non-cash gifts guide, and for gifts from donor-advised funds or retirement accounts, our guide to DAFs, IRA gifts and matching gifts.

Don't give donors tax advice. The AFP Code says donors should get "informed, accurate and ethical advice about the value and tax implications" of their gifts, which usually means suggesting they talk to their own adviser.

After the gift

How you treat a major donor after the gift decides whether there's a next one.

• Thank them within days, personally, by phone or a handwritten note from the board chair or director.
• Report back on what the gift did, honestly, including problems and lessons. The Donor Bill of Rights says donors have the right "to be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given."
• Keep them close with occasional updates and invitations that don't include an ask.

Our guide to building a donor base has more on keeping donors close year after year.

Your major gifts checklist

• We've set our own "major gift" level based on our budget and donors
• We've listed our most likely prospects from people who already support us
• Donor information is kept confidential and never shared without consent
• Each prospect has a clear, specific project and a planned ask amount
• Large or restricted gifts have a signed gift agreement
• We ask donors how they want to be recognized, and respect anonymity
• Every gift of $250 or more gets a written acknowledgment that meets IRS rules
• Major donors hear back about what their gift did