Do you have a major gifts portfolio or a spreadsheet?
Do you have a major gifts portfolio? Or do you have a spreadsheet with 150 names on it?
There’s a big difference. And that difference might be why your major gifts program is stuck.
If you ask about their portfolio, most fundraisers will tell you they “manage 150 donors.”
But often, if you dig a bit deeper, you’ll find what they’re really managing is data.
Wealth screening scores. Giving histories. Mailing addresses.
They don’t manage relationships. They manage information.
And information doesn’t make major gifts. People do.
Here’s what most of us know about the people giving to our nonprofits:
- He went to Stanford.
- She lives in a $2M house.
- They give $5000 annually.
- She has a net worth that makes your wealth screening software light up like a Christmas tree.
You know their capacity. You know their largest gift. You might even know their stock holdings and real estate values.
You actually know quite a lot.
But do you understand anything?
Do you know what makes their heart race when they talk about your mission?
Do you understand the moment that first inspired them to care?
Do you have any sense for why this matters so much to them?
Most fundraisers are drowning in donor data while starving for donor understanding.
Wealth screens tell you capacity, not motivation. Giving history will show you transactions, not transformation. Demographics reveal statistics, not stories.
No wonder so many organizations struggle with major gifts.
They have a wish list and not a portfolio.
A real portfolio means you have relationships. Not transactions. Not data. Relationships.
How do you know which one you have?
Start by asking a few questions about each person:
- Can you reach them at least two different ways? Real ways, not just via mailing address in your database. Do you have their cell? Their personal email?
- Have they ever responded when you’ve reached out? Have you had actual back-and-forth communication? Have they replied to your text? Have they ever called you back? Have you heard their voice? Have they ever said yes to coffee?
- And then, do you understand … not just know … anything about what they care about What’s the difference? Knowing = demographics, capacity, giving history. Understanding = values, motivations, the life experiences that drive their generosity.
If you can’t answer yes to those questions for at least 80% of your “portfolio,” you don’t have a portfolio.
You have a wish list.
And I’ll take 25 genuine relationships over 150 prospects on a wishlist every day.
Why?
Because relationship depth beats portfolio width every single time.
It’s better to have 20 donors who trust you than 100 who barely know you.
Focus allows for personalization, which drives retention. And quality relationships compound over time.
Quantity relationships? They just exhaust you.
I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know pulling reports is easier than having real conversations.
I understand how busy you are. I realize real relationships take time. They’re scary. Vulnerable. You might get rejected.
Want to know what’s scarier?
Spending another year sending appeals to a list of strangers and wondering why your major gifts revenue is flat.
What can you do?
Start small. Really small.
Take your list of 150 or 300 or whatever obscene number of names you’re managing and audit it honestly.
Who haven’t you had a meaningful conversation with in 6 months? Who has never responded to your attempt to connect? Who still feels like a stranger despite being on your list for years?
Stop pretending they’re in your portfolio and move them to automated stewardship.
Now circle the 10 or 20 people you actually understand.
Not the wealthiest people. Not the ones who gave the most last year.
The people whose values you understand. The ones you could call right now, and they’d probably answer. The ones where you know the story behind their giving, not just the amount.
That’s your real portfolio. Start there.
For those relationships:
- Schedule a meaningful conversation this month (not a solicitation)
- Before each visit, spend 5 minutes reviewing what you understand about them versus what you know.
- Ask them one simple question: “What first inspired you to start giving to causes like ours?“
- Learn something new about their story, not their capacity
- Find one way to connect their values to your mission
Stop padding your portfolio with more names. That’s not the goal.
The goal is deeper relationships.
Nobody ever made a transformational gift to an organization that only knew their wealth screening score. But they’ll move mountains for organizations that understand why they care.
Show that you care often enough, and you just might change the world.
