Managing Major Gift Portfolios Effectively 686

Managing Major Gift Portfolios Effectively

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I have always been a “query junkie” and one of things I am always concerned about is that my query is too narrow and that I am missing out on my next million dollar donor!  

This obviously translates over into thinking about major gift portfolios and who should be included.  There is always so much focus on “warm prospects” which is a term that we all use for those donors who are closely held to our organizations by not only wealth but my affinity. 

This is an easy group to focus on and while it is necessary it is also important to be finding those new major gift prospects that could be down the pipeline 18-36 months out. 


There are many articles out there about how a major gift officer’s portfolio should be segmented.  I know for myself the last thing I would want to have is a portfolio of 125 warm or low hanging fruit prospects.   There are not enough hours in the day to effective cultivate and steward 125. 

Some people think a 50/50 mix is great – meaning 50% warm and 50% cool when you have a large major gift team.  Smaller shops generally operate on a 70/30 ratio.  Having some type of balance allows for an organization to effectively move through a pool of prospects.  

So with the 50/50 scenario if you assign 4 new prospects you would have 2 that are warm and 2 that are cold. 

What this can do is help alleviate the idea that any newly assigned prospects 9-12 months from now are all cold and the “bottom of the barrel”.   


First of all you need to determine what defines a warm prospect for you organization. 

This is why I love using predictive modeling and wealth screening together.  It provides not only those with wealth but affinity to your organization. 

I generally suggest using additional internal variables along with these resources. 

Second, develop metrics around disqualifying prospects – what steps and what needs to be accomplished to take someone out of the portfolio.  I believe setting a standard helps ensure that prospects are effectively considered before they are dismissed. 

 
  • How are you all working with major gift portfolios? 
  • What ratio are you finding that works best for your organization?

I also would love to hear what metrics some of you are using to ensure that a prospect is not dismissed too soon. 

The last thing anyone wants to see is that a prospect make a major gift to another organization and that they were dismissed without probable cause.  

 

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3 Comments
This is something we struggle with, we haven't yet perfected the ratio but are working towards it!
This is a tricky one. Although it's not in the jurisdiction of what I do day to day, I'd like to hear what other people have to say as this topic has come up at meetings. Thank you. 
Dan Snyder Dan Snyder Mar '19
I know this is an older post, but great information particularly about having metrics around disqualifying prospects in addition to qualifying them.

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