The Search and Close of the Major Gift

In 1994, Jerry Panas and Bill Sturtevant, Founders of the Institute for Charitable Giving, asked, “Is there anything new in the quest for major gifts? Their answer —there is! It’s important you know where the field is now and what the future holds.”

Here we are at the beginning of 2024, thirty years later, we pose this same question and offer you the same answer!

Make your plans NOW to be with us in 2024 for the ICG Fundraising Seminar this Spring in Costa Mesa.

Issues of Importance to the Major Gift Fundraiser

“We must develop a personal philosophy about the kind of fundraiser we wish to be. There is a “bottom line” to what we do, and we should be measured by results. But all of us must take a stand in life in terms of the kind of person we seek to be and how we go about achieving the sought-after results.

In my mind, the collaborative mode is both effective and philosophically more acceptable. Once we develop an underpinning philosophy, we can consider more specific attributes of an effective major gift officer.

Major gift fundraisers should view themselves as gift consultants. The idea is to establish an atmosphere that is conducive to the donor moving toward a decision on whether to tender the gift. Our planning and strategizing are designed to link shared values and to create an outcome personally satisfying to the donor’s objectives. Control and pressure serve only to create resistance and obstacles, whereas our emphasis must be on creating value”.

 – From the “The Artful Journey” by Bill Sturtevant