If your fundraising plan doesn’t include a strategy for finding, cultivating, and asking major donors for a large donation, you’re missing out on transformational gifts for your nonprofit.
Large gifts mean more net revenue—more impact, more lives changed.
It’s the old 80/20 rule in action: over 80% of all funds typically come from just 20% of donors. According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, 88% of all funds come from 12% of donors.
So what if you focused most of your time on that top 12%?
You’d raise more money—in less time—and feel less overwhelmed.
Let’s dive into how to make that happen.
There are two big reasons why people don’t work on major gifts:
- They aren’t comfortable asking for money in person.
- They don’t know who to ask.
If major gift work is new to you, I get it.
I was pretty nervous about asking people for a large donation when I was new to fundraising.
But I learned a few tricks that worked beautifully, and now I want to share them with you so you can get big gifts for your small nonprofit.
Let’s start by taking a look at some surprising benefits of working on your major donor fundraising strategy.
Why Focus on Major Donors?
It’s not just about the size of the donation—though that certainly helps. Major donor fundraising brings powerful benefits: Major donor strategy should be a foundational piece of your fundraising plan.
Here’s why:
1. Major donors act fast.
There’s no committee to convene and very little (if any) paperwork. The only person who might need to approve a major gift is a spouse.
Often, just one conversation can result in a gift—sometimes on the spot.
2. Major donors are perfect for funding special projects.
Maybe your food bank is working on a special program to send meals home with students over a holiday break, for children who might not have any other way to get food when school is closed.
A donor who is moved by this particular project might fund the whole thing— yes, that’s happened to me before!
There are no hoops to jump through like with grants or corporate sponsors.
A major donor who believes in your mission is more likely to take a chance without documented proof that your approach will work.
3. Major gifts reduce your reliance on small events.
You could spend hours and hours planning and hosting a fundraising event and make a couple hundred dollars or…
… you could spend a fraction of that time growing a major donor relationship that yields a $10,000 check plus kindles an important relationship for the future.
Where would you rather spend your time? 😉
4. Fundraising gets less stressful.
Knowing you have major gifts coming in can ease the stress of finding money and allow you to get down to work, focusing on your services and programs.
Major donors are also more likely to provide unrestricted funding than grants or other sources of revenue.
What Motivates Major Donors to Give?
Major donors aren’t just giving money—they’re giving meaning. They give because:
- They want to make a difference.
- They care deeply about your cause.
- Giving feels good—it’s emotionally rewarding.
Some might appreciate recognition (like naming opportunities or special access), but most just want to know they’re funding something important.
What Counts as a Major Gift?
There’s no universal number. For many small nonprofits, a major gift starts at $1,000. Others may set the bar at $500 or raise it over time as their fundraising capacity grows.
Here’s how to determine your organization’s major gift threshold:
- Review your top 10 individual gifts from the past year.
- Calculate the average.
- Use that figure to define a major gift in your context.
It’s not about matching other organizations—it’s about what’s “major” for your nonprofit.
8 Ways to Find Major Donors
Ok, so where do you find major donors, especially if you’re new and you don’t have a big donor base yet?
The bad news is that there’s not a list of rich people somewhere that you can access and just get the names.
In fact, targeting people based on their wealth is just a bad idea.
Even if you did know exactly who the wealthy people are, it doesn’t mean they’re going to give you money.
People have their favorite causes, and if your cause isn’t one of their favorites, you’re not going to get a gift.
It’s not about how much money they have but about how much they care about the work your nonprofit does in changing lives.
They give because they trust that you can make a difference in the world.
They give because they feel connected to your mission.
So, instead of focusing on their ability to give, look for a strong connection.
Your best prospects might be closer than you think.
1. Start with your personal network.
Think: friends, extended family, former colleagues. Especially if you’re a founder or early-stage nonprofit, people give because they trust you.
Even if you’re unsure of their financial capacity, don’t rule anyone out. Start building relationships.
2. Look within your nonprofit’s inner circle.
The most likely prospects for major gifts already have a link to your organization.
Board members, volunteers, staff, and even clients can become major donor prospects. You never know who has both the means and the passion.
3. Ask “who do you know?”
Encourage your Board and close supporters to introduce you to others who might be interested in your work. You’re looking for connection, not just wealth.
A warm introduction is often more powerful than any cold outreach.
4. Look through your current donors.
You might already have potential major donors hiding in plain sight. Look for:
- Cumulative giving (not just one-time gifts)
- Consistent donation history
- Longevity—how long they’ve been giving
These are strong signs of donor loyalty and capacity.
5. Look for major donors who support similar causes.
Many philanthropists give to multiple nonprofits in a similar space.
Don’t worry about competition—just build the relationship and share your mission.
6. Leverage your fundraising events.
A well-done fundraising event can be a great way to raise money AND make new contacts.
Non-fundraising events can be productive, too.
At every event you hold, whether it’s a fundraising event or some other kind of event like a volunteer orientation, program event, etc., make a point to “work the room” to meet as many people as possible.
You never know when you’ll meet your next big donor!
7. Plan a friendraising event.
Plan an event specifically for your Board members, staff, and volunteers to invite potential donors, especially those they think might have the ability to be major donors.
An open house or cocktail party can be a great, low-pressure opportunity to get to know people and find out what their interest is in your nonprofit’s mission.
8. Use a wealth-screening tool.
You may have donors in your current donor family who are capable of making a large gift but haven’t chosen to do that yet for whatever reason.
A wealth-screening tool can tell you who among your donors has the means to make a larger gift.
Some donor management softwares have these wealth-screening tools built in or you can use a service to help you identify diamonds in the rough among your donors.
How to Cultivate Major Donor Relationships
Identifying major donor prospects is just Step 1.
The next step is to build a relationship and cultivate each prospect to understand what’s important to them so you can match your Ask to their interests.
People give big when they feel passionately about a cause and want to make a difference.
You need to invest time and attention in your top donors to make sure they know they’re making that difference.
Think about it this way: the more money you want a donor to give, the more time and attention you must invest in the donor.
Building relationships with major donors can be fun and rewarding work as you learn more about each donor and what truly matters to them.
If your nonprofit is new or young, you may not have major donors yet.
Or you might have them, but don’t yet know it.
Here’s how to build lasting relationships with major donors:
The Bottom Line
Building a strong major donor strategy takes time (and time management is critical)—but the return is worth it.
Commit to spending a few minutes each day nurturing relationships with your top donors. Ask yourself:
Who can I reach out to today?
Who needs a thank-you call?
What upcoming project aligns with a donor’s interest?
Remember: the more major donors you cultivate, the more sustainable your nonprofit becomes.
Focus on relationships. Lead with mission. And trust that when you connect the right donor with the right opportunity, amazing things happen.
Thank you for sharing. I was on a board for a while where the other members struggled to “think big.” This is a great resource to help small organizations transition into bigger goals.
thank you for the information. I’ve looking for someone to help me improve my school by donating books, desks and computers. now ..l;ve seen it’s easy to do.
Thanks for the way forward on how to get a donor for my project. Looking forward to get a DONOR soon
Thank you for the tips ,gained potential through your explanation
Good afternoon everyone
Good afternoon, is there anything we can help you with today?
This is very helpful for me in building my small nonprofit
We are very glad that you found this helpful!
Thanks for the information, ok IAM young man having an interest of helping and I would like to have donor so that we can proceed what I started together.
Of course! We hope you find this information helpful in your fundraising venture.
Many thanks to the founder of this platform, I’m a youth leader in Africa who is fighting to make positive change in society
Thank you, Elwood, for all that you are doing! We are so grateful that this information has been helpful to you.
– Coach Jessie