SUMMARY
The next time you visit a donor or try to close a gift, have these readily available:
- Your nonprofit’s 990
- IRS 501(c)(3) letter
- A most recent audit
- List of board members, and
- Verification that you are registered in the state to solicit gifts (required in several states).
Fancy marketing pieces and brochures are fine, but your high-net-worth donor sees beyond that.
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Do you know how often I’ve heard, “But I don’t have the materials I need.” I’ve had tons of fundraisers tell me this in my 40+ years in the nonprofit sector.
In fact, recently, I received a question from a Tip reader asking what marketing and fundraising materials they needed to successfully close a major gift. Obviously, a good question since I’ve heard something along those lines so many times in my work in fundraising.
So, today I am going to address the topic of required marketing materials and share a true story with you too.
In a Tip this short, there’s no time to give you a full-blown inventory of all the possible materials that you may need to do your fundraising. However, I do want to share this true story with you.
Very interestingly, literally the next day after receiving the above question, I was breaking bread with a billionaire friend of mine who’s also a very, very generous donor. I took the liberty of asking him what information, what documents, and what materials he likes to receive from fundraisers and nonprofits.
His response surprised me. He mentioned that so many people have all these fancy materials but not the basic information he needs. He then went on to share with me his process and what materials he tends to want.
He often makes a “test gift” in the range of $1,000 to $10,000 to start. He prefers that the nonprofit provide their 990, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax letter, their most recent audit, a list of their board members, and other such basic documents.
He stressed to me again that he doesn’t need any fancy marketing materials and brochures. He just wants to be sure it is a viable and properly/legally put together entity. He noted that he’s surprised how many do not respond with these materials. Therefore, he makes no additional gift.
So, let’s start there and begin providing these materials the next time you try to close a gift. We should be ready to respond quickly, promptly, and confidently with your nonprofit’s 990, its IRS 501(c)(3) letter, a most recent audit, a list of board members, and, of course, verification that you are registered in the state to solicit gifts if that’s required.
We as fundraisers need to get out and be visiting our prospect/donors. There is certainly a place for nice marketing materials and fundraising. But let’s not forget that fundraising is more about relationships than it is fancy marketing materials.
