Episode Details

In this episode, Tom continues his conversation with Tim Meier and gets very practical about what it really takes to cultivate, solicit, and steward major donors over the long haul, especially in complex ministry or networked environments.

Tim shares the story of a donor who gave the same seven-figure gift twelve years in a row, and what finally unlocked a fourfold and then fivefold increase when the vision caught up with the donor’s passion. He also talks about why you can never assume capacity based on appearance, and how “ordinary” people often carry extraordinary potential for generosity.

In this conversation, you will learn how to:

• Recognize when a long-standing donor relationship is ready to be invited into a bigger vision
• Connect a donor’s personal story and community impact to a global or organizational campaign
• Stop guessing about who has wealth and start paying attention to passion, track record, and quiet signals
• Make bolder, vision-driven asks of organizational leaders, churches, and foundations
• Use challenge and matching gifts to catalyze whole communities of givers
• Practice meaningful stewardship at both high and modest gift levels, without a big-shop production budget
• Handle “rogue” donor initiatives and boundary issues without damaging the relationship
• Frame your organization’s funding needs so partners see collaboration, not competition, for donor dollars

If you want to get better at growing large gifts over time, honoring donors well, and navigating the messy human side of generosity, this episode will give you clear examples and language you can use right away.

Looking for fundraising coaching?  Check out www.abundantvision.net