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Major Gifts Fundraising

How strong is your major gifts fundraising practice? This short, evidence-based self-assessment scores your organisation against fundraising standards, shows where your biggest gaps are, and puts the most useful fixes first.
It takes about 10 minutes. Every question is optional, and the more you can share, especially real numbers and documents, the more accurate your result.

Which best describes your organisation on: Major prospects are qualified against capacity, inclination, and prior relationship, not pursued on capacity (wealth) alone?

Which best describes your organisation on: Major prospects are qualified against capacity, inclination, and prior relationship, not pursued on capacity (wealth) alone?
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Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO recognises that major gifts come from donors with an existing history, and builds the prospect pool accordingly?

Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO recognises that major gifts come from donors with an existing history, and builds the prospect pool accordingly?
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Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO identifies the dominant motivation of each major prospect and tailors the proposition and cultivation to it rather than using a single generic case?

Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO identifies the dominant motivation of each major prospect and tailors the proposition and cultivation to it rather than using a single generic case?
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Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO leads with mission and leadership credibility (the top drivers) rather than tax or organisational need?

Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO leads with mission and leadership credibility (the top drivers) rather than tax or organisational need?
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Which best describes your organisation on: Prospects are cultivated and involved before being solicited; the ask is not the first substantive contact?

Which best describes your organisation on: Prospects are cultivated and involved before being solicited; the ask is not the first substantive contact?
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Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO uses board/committee involvement as a deliberate cultivation pathway for top prospects?

Which best describes your organisation on: The NGO uses board/committee involvement as a deliberate cultivation pathway for top prospects?
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Which best describes your organisation on: Asks state a specific amount and purpose, are made in person, and are followed by silence?

Which best describes your organisation on: Asks state a specific amount and purpose, are made in person, and are followed by silence?
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Which best describes your organisation on: The ask presents a bold vision and opportunity, not organisational need or financial difficulty?

Which best describes your organisation on: The ask presents a bold vision and opportunity, not organisational need or financial difficulty?
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Which best describes your organisation on: Solicitors have made their own gift, at a stretch level, before asking others?

Which best describes your organisation on: Solicitors have made their own gift, at a stretch level, before asking others?
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Which best describes your organisation on: The solicitor is someone the prospect respects, and board members participate in giving and asking?

Which best describes your organisation on: The solicitor is someone the prospect respects, and board members participate in giving and asking?
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Which best describes your organisation on: Hesitation and refusal are handled by diagnosing the cause and preserving the relationship, not by panic-discounting the ask or abandoning the donor?

Which best describes your organisation on: Hesitation and refusal are handled by diagnosing the cause and preserving the relationship, not by panic-discounting the ask or abandoning the donor?
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Which best describes your organisation on: Stewardship begins immediately after the gift and receives proportionate effort; it is not a thank-you letter and silence?

Which best describes your organisation on: Stewardship begins immediately after the gift and receives proportionate effort; it is not a thank-you letter and silence?
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Which best describes your organisation on: Recognition and stewardship are tailored to what each donor type values, not applied uniformly?

Which best describes your organisation on: Recognition and stewardship are tailored to what each donor type values, not applied uniformly?
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Suggested uploads

These are optional. If you can share a few, we can check your answers against real evidence and give you a sharper, more useful result:

Major-gift prospect list or moves-management pipeline
Any prospect qualification or rating criteria the NGO uses
Evidence that major donors are segmented or profiled by motivation
Two or more major-donor proposals showing tailoring to different donor motivations
Cultivation plans or contact histories for current major prospects
Evidence that involvement opportunities are offered to major prospects
Examples of major-gift proposals or ask scripts showing specific amount and purpose
Evidence of in-person solicitation practice
Evidence of an asker-gives-first policy or board-giving expectation
Evidence of how solicitors are matched to prospects
Any guidance or training the NGO uses for handling major-gift objections
Evidence that declined prospects are retained in the pipeline for future cultivation
Stewardship plan or contact history for recent major donors
Evidence that recognition is tailored to donor preferences

Upload any of these documents (optional). You can add several files.

A little context

Over the last 3 years, is your work in this area getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Over the last 3 years, is your work in this area getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
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Where do you keep the relevant records?

Where do you keep the relevant records?
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Anything outside your control that recently affected this area? For example a crisis, a funder leaving, or a sector shock.

This is a demo of the tool. If you have any feedback on it, we would appreciate hearing it.