Tracking Major Gifts Program

David Rosner

My organization has never had an MGO or a MG plan. In the past, I've used Veritus Group's Donor Engagement Plan (DEP) to track my portfolio, monthly touch points, and everything related to a MG program. Before I replicate that again here, curious if there a similar way to create a MG program using NXT. Be nice to just use one program to manage my to-be-established portfolio. Thanks for any tips and suggestions!!

Dariel Dixon

Welcome to the community @David Rosner! This is such an interesting question, because to me, this is one of the things that RE does best. My organization uses RE to track all of these things, and is honestly one of the top selling points of the database.

The gift officers at my organization use RE to file actions, proposals, notes, and track gifts and moves management. All of these things can be done pretty easily in RE with the proper training and data setup.

Is there a particular type of engagement you were looking for? I think this is the question that you'll have to determine to see how you would want to proceed. Different tools present in unique ways, so you'll have to make some modifications or adjustments. I'm not familiar with the Ventis DEP to speak on if its an apples-to-apples comparison, but Major Gift tracking is definitely something that RE does.

David Rosner

@Dariel Dixon. Wonderful. Thank you Dariel. As to your question, these are the kinds of details the Veritus DEP plan tracks/records, and things I'd like to have in one place or easy to access/report on. Donor qualification status/stage, # qualified, monthly touch points and status of each, donors financial history and current financial goals, wealth rating, interest in org., communication preference, DOB, highest level of contact, notes, etc.

Any suggestions for best place(s) to get started exploring/learning? Not necessarily new to RE, but new to taking time to be trained on it! No database admin here.

Check out the Veritus Group in your “spare time.” They are paid consultants but offer a LOT of free content and tools as well. I'm a fan.

Dariel Dixon

@David Rosner I think the answer to this part is more nuanced. It really depends on how your database is set up. RE isn't a prospecting tool, but can house some of that information if it is migrated over (this is where the db admin comes in).

You'll need to coordinate with them to determine what the best way to set up the proposals, and how to properly create a tool that works for all parties. There are a couple of videos on Blackbaud on demand, but the YouTube video I found was really blurry. Here's another one that might be helpful. https://youtu.be/OJNFRjseQQM?si=8JB2GY5CJA7X76kB

If your organization has a training pass, I'd go that route. I'm not sure if some of the other consultants like PSG might have some free resources that can show you best practices for how to organize your proposals/opportunities, and how to best use actions and the like. It's worth the conversation with your admin to find the best path forward.

David Rosner

@Dariel Dixon Just to clarify, all of that info I mentioned that I want to track would be data that I enter for each donor. Such as: The DEP has a column for each month with individualized monthly touch points. Another column which indicates the date when donor was qualified and what stage donor is like cultivation, stewardship, solicitation, etc. Or Date of birth. And Just want to be able to manage it thru RE vs an outside platform if possible…all in one place. Not looking to use it to prospect.

Christine Robertson

@David Rosner Have you looked at the Actions in RE? You can create future Actions that will show up in your Work Center.

David Rosner

@Christine Robertson I have, thank you!

Sherry Aldrich

@David Rosner We have used a combination of actions, notes and status in the opportunities section of NXT.

Raina O'Neil

@David Rosner Curious about this as well. Love the DEP through Veritus. Such an incredible tool. From my experience, this is not something that RE can replicate. The DEP maps out a plan for future touch points, whereas RE keeps track of what has already occurred (thru actions, notes, appeals, etc.). Just my two cents.