4 Important Questions You Should Be Asking Major Donors

Major donors give your nonprofit its largest gifts, allowing you to complete important projects, increase your fundraising capacity, and grow your organization’s finances long-term. 

However, major gift fundraising isn’t just about securing donations. It’s about building long-lasting relationships with individuals who are passionate about your mission and want to make your nonprofit’s vision a reality. 

To build and sustain these relationships, you must get to know major donors (and prospects!) personally. In this guide, we’ll walk through questions you can ask to connect with current and prospective major donors, improve their experience with your organization, and build the foundation for strong relationships that may lead to more major donations down the line.

1. Tell me about yourself.

When you’re meeting with a prospective major donor for the first time, the best way to start is by simply saying, “Tell me about yourself.” This gives the donor a chance to open up, tell you what their life looks like, and explain what matters most to them. 

Prospects may answer by telling you about their family, job, or hobbies. They could recap a recent vacation or share what book they’re currently reading. At first, this information might not seem relevant to your organization or its fundraising activities. However, Donorly’s donor cultivation guide explains that these details can actually help you: 

• Engage donors in regular check-in conversations
• Learn about their communication preferences
• Personalize outreach and cultivation efforts 
• Connect donors with involvement opportunities that match their interests 

By encouraging your donors to share their interests with your team, you also demonstrate that you care about them and want to hear about their lives. This people-first attitude will result in more sustained support as donors feel genuinely seen and valued by your organization.

2. What are your communication preferences? 

You may be able to glean major donors’ communication preferences from initial conversations or based on how they engage with your messages. However, you can get this information faster and more accurately by simply asking. Ask donors what channels they respond to best, how often they want to be contacted, and who they’d like to hear from at your organization. 

For instance, one prospect may get along well with your program director and want to meet with them monthly for coffee to discuss a specific program. Another prospect might like phone calls and emails, preferring to receive quarterly updates about your capital campaign and your organization's future.

Adhere to these preferences as much as possible while still providing variety for your prospects. Even if a donor says they prefer email, they might appreciate the occasional phone call or direct mail invitation to an event. Try out different strategies while always keeping their core preferences in mind.

No matter what form it takes, remember that consistency is key for relationship-building. Kwala’s guide to donor communications suggests creating a calendar to help you plot out your messaging strategies and tailor them to different donor preferences. This is an excellent way to keep in touch and craft your communications around your nonprofit’s campaigns and events.

3. Which aspects of our cause interest you most?

Activities like prospect research, one-on-one conversations, and analyzing donors' giving histories will help you get a feel for the issues and causes that interest your major donors. It’s also beneficial to ask major donor prospects about their charitable priorities directly—this way, you’ll hear about their passions firsthand and start building trust.

Once you have this information, you can develop more personalized:

• Solicitations: Major donors respond best to asks for specific support relevant to their interests. For example, “Will you donate $10,000 to get our youth financial literacy program off the ground?” is much more effective than “Will you give as much as you can to our nonprofit?”

• Impact updates: Both before and after securing a major gift, share personalized information about your organization’s impact. If you know a donor cares about your environmental work, for instance, update them on the results of your latest trash pickup event.
• Involvement opportunities: Donors’ charitable interests should guide your efforts to engage them with additional involvement opportunities, such as events or behind-the-scenes tours of your facilities. To ensure donors stay engaged with the specific causes they care about, align invitations that directly focus on their involvement.

Say you’re working with a capital campaign consultant to develop personalized major donor cultivation plans for your upcoming campaign. During your first face-to-face meeting with each prospect, you might ask them which aspects of your cause they’re most passionate about and explain how your capital campaign ties in. 

For instance, if a prospect named Susan says she’s interested in your housing services, explain how your new community center building will enable more locals to access one-on-one housing support, free showers, and hot meals. After this conversation, send Susan an impact report on last year’s housing service delivery. Or, invite her to have dinner with the board member who spearheaded your first housing program.

4. Would you like to discuss opportunities for further involvement with our cause?

Major donors have more to offer your organization than just monetary donations. They may have the time or talents to help your nonprofit launch its next campaign or elevate a program to new heights. 

This is why you should invite donors to think beyond monetary donations and consider how they can contribute to your mission in other ways that appeal to their interests and are personally fulfilling. For example, a donor might be interested in contributing to your organization by doing one (or more!) of the following: 

• Volunteering. Volunteer opportunities are a great way for major donors to get boots-on-the-ground experience with your mission. Whether they’re tutoring at-risk students, weeding a community garden, or walking shelter dogs, they’ll get to spend time with the people who benefit most from your work, which can inspire them to get more involved!
• Contributing in-kind donations. The term “major donor” immediately brings to mind donations of money, but why not ask your major donors for in-kind gifts, too? For example, ask them to supply materials for one of your programs or donate an auction item for an upcoming event. 
• Offering advice. Major donors typically have a lot of experience, expertise, and wisdom under their belts. Don’t be afraid to ask them for their advice on subjects they’re experts in, whether that’s managing finances or decorating for events. This is a great way for them to combine several aspects of their lives to make a difference for your organization. 
• Serving on your board. For some major donors, it may make sense to invite them to serve on your board of directors. This is a highly involved, hands-on ask, so communicate why you think their presence on the board would be valuable and what is expected of board members. 

When major donors deepen their connection to and involvement with your organization, you’ll have even more opportunities to work alongside them and strengthen your relationships.

Whether your nonprofit is looking to build out its first major giving program or enhance its connections with its base of existing major supporters, getting to know your major donor prospects should be a priority. Use these questions to learn more about your donors as people, tailor your outreach, and inspire them to stay committed to your organization long-term.