In research that would make statisticians weep into their spreadsheets, 400 advancement officers were given identical donor information and asked to determine appropriate ask amounts. The result? A variance wider than the Grand Canyon – from $50K to $3M for the EXACT SAME donor profile. That’s not fundraising science; that’s fundraising astrology.
Let’s bring some science to this art before your next major gift meeting turns into another expensive guessing game:
1. Establish a Standardized Methodology
Wild variances in your major gift program make your fundraising team look like they’re pricing donations by throwing darts or consulting fortune cookies. Implement a consistent, repeatable process, so your fundraisers aren’t just making up numbers that “feel right” after their morning coffee.
2. Document Your Decision-Making Factors
“Why did we ask for $50,000?” “Well, it just felt right, and Mercury was in retrograde.” Stop the madness! For each major donor, record the specific factors that influenced your ask amount. The Future You will thank the present when the board starts asking awkward questions about your methodology.
3. Focus on Donor-Specific Behavior Variables, Not Just Wealth
Knowing a donor is wealthy is like knowing water is wet – technically accurate but not particularly helpful for swimming decisions. Their engagement level, past giving patterns, and interest in your mission are more powerful predictors than the fact that they own a boat and a vacation home (though those don’t hurt).
Your fundraising success shouldn’t depend on which gift officer happened to wake up feeling lucky that day. Donor AbacusTM provides a methodical, bias-free approach that consistently outperforms traditional wealth capacity estimates by a factor of 12X – without requiring crystal balls, tea leaves, or lucky rabbit’s feet.
Try Donor Abacus Free for 30 Days
To your fundraising success – that’s based on science, not guesswork.
Larry Raff Founder, Donor Abacus… The guy who thinks fundraising should be more reliable than weather forecasts.