The Major Donor Program Health Check

Portfolio & Pipeline

• 1

  Do you know, today, how many of your donors are capable of a gift at your major-gift threshold?

• 2

  Is every major-gift-capable donor assigned to a specific relationship manager — not just "the organization"?

• 3

  Is each gift officer's portfolio sized for real relationship depth? Sector benchmarks commonly cite roughly 100–150 active donors as a workable portfolio — well beyond that, cultivation quality tends to slip.

• 4

  Do you have a documented pipeline of next-tier donors being cultivated toward major-gift capacity?

Moves & Stewardship

• 5

  Does every major donor have a documented moves-management plan — a defined next step, not just "stay in touch"?

• 6

  Are your top donors stewarded on a rhythm that isn't only tied to the next ask?

• 7

  Do you track donor-centered metrics — retention and upgrade rates, not just total dollars raised? Sector-wide average donor retention has hovered near 43%, with new-donor retention under 20%, so this is worth watching closely.

HNW & UHNW / Planned Giving

• 8

  Do you have a defined approach for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth donors, distinct from your general major-gifts process?

• 9

  Is planned or legacy giving actively discussed with your most loyal donors, or is it an afterthought?

Systems & Leadership

• 10

  Is your donor data clean, current, and actually used to prioritize where staff spend their time?

• 11

  Does your board understand — and actively participate in — its role in major gift cultivation?

• 12

  If your most experienced gift officer left tomorrow, would those donor relationships survive the transition?