Now back to our regularly scheduled fundraising discussions after a foodie break last week.

Richard Perry of Veritus Group has penned yet another great post focusing on the path to donor-centric major gift success. He writes:

A donation is simply a way a donor transfers their personhood – their essence — toward something they care deeply about. Money transfers values.

If you understand this correctly, then you understand why it is so important to:

1. Be sure you understand what the donor is interested and passionate about. You do not want to misfire on this one.
2. Be very careful that you can deliver on your promise about what the donor’s giving will accomplish.
3. Be very quick to thank the donor the second her gift arrives in your office.
4. Be very very very quick to report back on the difference the donor’s gift made – and report back more than once so the donor knows that good continues to happen. Remember, it’s not the money the donor is worried about. It is knowing that what you promised would happen as a result of her gift actually happened. That is what matters.

Money is not the objective. It is the result of fulfilling donor passions and interests. So if you are not getting the money, check on how you are doing in understanding and fulfilling what the donor is interested in. That is where the failure is likely to be.

Thanks Richard. I really have nothing to add. He’s spot on.