{"id":4402231481794,"date":"2026-05-05T10:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T14:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.philanthropy.com\/?p=4402231481794"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:35:09","slug":"as-pressure-grows-big-gift-fundraising-is-changing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philanthropy.com\/news\/as-pressure-grows-big-gift-fundraising-is-changing\/","title":{"rendered":"As Pressure Grows, Big-Gift Fundraising Is Changing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The layoffs arrived last summer, the third round in five years. Along with buyouts, the downsizing slashed 15 percent of staff at San Francisco\u2019s KQED, victims of unexpectedly sluggish revenue, economic volatility, and looming federal cuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days later, the organization lost about $8 million in federal funding \u2014 a little less than one-tenth of its budget \u2014 after Congress gutted the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 71-year-old station, one of California\u2019s largest public-media news outlets and a ratings star nationally, is asking each of its 250,000 contributors to help fill the gap. But about 1,300 get special attention \u2014 phone calls, visits, invitations to exclusive events. These are the group\u2019s major donors, individuals who\u2019ve donated $5,000 or more to the station. Though they make up less than 1 percent of the group\u2019s supporters, they provide about 20 percent of its revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Matt
Poppy Lynch for Chronicle of Philanthropy<\/div>
KQED\u2019s Matt Hitchcock leads a major-gift effort that raises almost a fifth of the station\u2019s revenue.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Clearly, the station\u2019s big donors have the wherewithal to blunt its fiscal pain, says Matt Hitchcock, KQED\u2019s senior director of major gifts. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of asking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hitchcock\u2019s team is one of many major-gift operations facing yet another stress test in what has been a decade or more of change in big-dollar fundraising. Gift officers \u2014 once a luxury enjoyed chiefly by well-resourced organizations like colleges and hospitals \u2014 are now essential for groups of all kinds. Publicly funded social-\u00adservice agencies like homeless shelters, membership-driven organizations like the YMCA, walkathon revenue giants like the diabetes-fighting Breakthrough T1D \u2014 they all have created or doubled down on efforts to raise money from the wealthy. Even the Movement for Black Lives, which describes itself as anti-capitalist, has a team dedicated to working with high-net-worth indivi\u00adduals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe competition for dollars has never been greater,\u201d says Paul Johnson, a former arts and higher-education fundraiser who now leads the Creative Fundraising Advisors consultancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as pressure grows to land big checks, the job of the major-gift officer has evolved, in some cases radically. The archetype of the road warrior who charms donors and single-handedly lands big gifts is still a fixture. But it\u2019s giving way as more gift officers work within a sophisticated infrastructure that includes data analysts, communications professionals, and top leaders. Success is a byproduct of that system\u2019s effectiveness, not a single fundraiser\u2019s charm offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t get to transformative gifts by personality,\u201d says Ron Goines, managing director at the Drug Policy Alliance and former director of resource strategy and development at the Movement for Black Lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work is no longer just, \u2018OK, go to Florida in February and do your donor visits.\u2019 It\u2019s certainly become a more demanding job.<\/p>\u2014 Sarah Krasin, managing partner at CCS Fundraising<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Building donor relationships remains paramount, but \u201cwe definitely are moving away from charismatic-\u00addriven hiring,\u201d says Chelsey Megli, who leads talent management for the fundraising teams at Johns Hopkins University and its health care system \u2014 fundraising powerhouses that have netted more than $4.5 billion from alumnus and media tycoon Michael Bloomberg. \u201cIncreasingly, fundraisers aren\u2019t the center of attention in the room anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change comes with new opportunities for growth and respect. Even job titles are changing, with some organizations opting for \u201cphilanthropy adviser.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, bosses and donors expect more. \u201cThe work is no longer just, \u2018OK, go to Florida in February and do your donor visits,\u2019\u200a\u201d says Sarah Krasin, managing partner at CCS Fundraising. \u201cIt\u2019s certainly become a more demanding job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MacKenzie Scott Effect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The boom in major-gift fundraising \u2014 and the evolution within \u2014 stems in large part from changes in philanthropy that are scrambling the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\n
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7 Traits of Highly Effective Gift Officers<\/p>\n <\/div>\n

\n \"\" <\/div>\n
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What fundraising leaders are looking for<\/a> when they hire.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Many groups are turning to major donors because they see that America\u2019s wealthy are growing richer. The number of U.S. households worth $30 million or more has nearly doubled in five years to more than 190,000, according to research firm Altrata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though MacKenzie Scott doesn\u2019t accept solicitations, her high-profile giving spree is among those prompting groups to go big-gift hunting, says Paul Dana, a fundraising consultant who works with many small organizations launching their first major-gift programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a bit of envy, like, \u2018Oh, I see these other organizations raising these big gifts, and I need to figure out how to do that,\u2019\u200a\u201d says Dana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some instances, nonprofits are responding to wealth popping up in their donor rolls. Since just before the pandemic, KQED\u2019s major-gift operation has grown from one to seven fundraisers. They bring in about $18 million a year \u2014 up from $6 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donors often don\u2019t have time for traditional cultivation \u2014 they don\u2019t want to meet for lunch or coffee.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Other groups see big donors as a hedge against a revenue stream that\u2019s slowing or at risk. Annual giving \u2014 particularly at colleges and universities \u2014 has been hit hard as the share of American households giving to charity has declined from about two-thirds in 2000 to less than half in 2024, according to the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, 45 percent of nonprofits reported that federal funding was canceled or not renewed in 2025, accord\u00ading to a Mission Partners-Chronicle of Philanthropy survey<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lincoln Center Theater in New York hired Mary Angelo, its first dedicated major-gift officer, in 2023. The arts as a whole have suffered from National Endowment of the Arts cuts, slumping post-pandemic ticket sales, and a drift of corporate and private funders away from the arts, Angelo says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe focus increasingly is on major gifts,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Such a Simple Job Anymore<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As organizations build out major-gift operations, the job of the frontline fundraiser has become more sophisticated and complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Neuroscience and behavioral psychology are unlocking key mysteries of giving, introducing science to a field that previously saw fundraising chiefly as an art. Research by experts such as Russell James at Texas Tech and Neurogiving author Cherian Koshy address how to build relationships, understand donors\u2019 motivations, and balance appeals to emotion and reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe simply have a much better understanding of human behavior now when it comes to charitable giving,\u201d says Laura MacDonald, founder of the Benefactor Group, a fundraising consultancy. Some groups are hiring outside firms to coach up their gift officers, MacDonald says, while others are sharing information informally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gift officer\u2019s job is also changing with the increasing availability \u2014 and importance \u2014 of data. Even without help from prospect researchers, fundraisers can mine information about a donor\u2019s wealth, interests, and giving habits via social media, campaign-\u00adfinance and securities databases, and wealth-screening services.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
M4BL<\/div>
Wealthy donors often operate within an ecosystem of wealth advisers, consultants, and others, says Ron Goines, managing director at the Drug Policy Alliance,<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Big organizations, meanwhile, are building teams of data-science professionals who compile statistical portraits of donors that rate their engagement with the organization, their affinity, and their propensity to give. These portraits draw on internal data such as how often donors open an organization\u2019s emails or interact with its social media. Third-party sources provide, among other things, news of real-estate or stock transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, fundraisers relied chiefly on instinct to decide whom to prioritize in their portfolio, how frequently to engage, and when to make an ask, says Kathleen Seitz, chief global development officer at Breakthrough T1D, which boosted major-gift revenue from $33.5 million to $125 million in just two years. \u201cNow, in many cases, they\u2019re being fed that information and using it alongside their own intuition and expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also adding to the complexity of the gift officer\u2019s day-to-day work: the growing sophistication of charitable giving. Over the past decade or so, the wealthy have increasingly eschewed large cash gifts in favor of donated assets \u2014 stocks, cryptocurrency, real estate, and holdings in businesses, trusts, or retirement accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, the wealthiest individuals seldom act alone. They operate within an ecosystem of wealth advisers, philanthropy consultants, donor collaboratives, and other players who curate the donor\u2019s portfolio and \u201cshape how and when the money moves,\u201d says Goines of the Drug Policy Alliance. The most successful organizations, Goines adds, \u201cstop thinking in terms of a single relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increasing Donor Demands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Donors themselves are adding new layers of work to the job. Increasingly, fundraisers say, gifts are not reflexive acts of charity but deeply researched endeavors to net the most good possible for the donated dollar. Donors want to probe finances, operations, and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a tremendous increase in the amount of information that people want to know,\u201d says KQED\u2019s Hitchcock. Even those who haven\u2019t made a large donation in years \u201care still asking as many details as anyone making a $1 million gift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donors often don\u2019t have time or patience for traditional cultivation. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to go to lunch. They don\u2019t want to have that cup of coffee,\u201d says Christine Bork, chief development officer at the American Academy of Pediatrics, which raised $25 million in 2025. Donors ask a lot about their role in delivering impact. \u201cAnd you had better come prepared with that answer at the very first meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Food Bank For NYC<\/div>
A donor to Food Bank for NYC volunteers at a mobile pantry, to experience the impact of their giving alongside the communities they support.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Donors today also are interested in \u201cimmersive experiences\u201d in which they can see the organization at work, meet the principals, and feel part of it, says Melanie Buhrmaster, vice president of philanthropy at the Food Bank of New York City. Among other things, she arranges for donors to talk with those who come to the organization for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople want to experience their philanthropy,\u201d says the 30-year fundraising veteran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Johns Hopkins, Megli coaches her fundraisers to stay close to the university staff and faculty who can help engage donors \u2014 for instance, a researcher in a lab that\u2019s part of a capital campaign. \u201cMy refrain is: \u2018Who\u2019s your internal portfolio and who\u2019s your external portfolio? If there are 30 people you need to be worried about to raise money from, who are the 30 people internally you need to build relationships with proactively?\u2019\u200a\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New Pressures, Accountability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The new era of big-gift fundraising comes with ramped-up pressures and anxieties. As supersize gifts account for a bigger share of budgets, gift officers worry that their organization\u2019s financial fate rests in the hands of fewer and fewer donors. \u201cJust one thing can swing the budget, and that can be stressful,\u201d says Angelo of Lincoln Center Theater, which raised nearly $24 million last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, connecting with prospects is increasingly difficult as busy donors stiff-arm get-to-know-you overtures. \u201cI\u2019ve found that with the really big major donors, the philanthropists with a capital \u2018P,\u2019 it\u2019s almost like they\u2019re cultivation-proof,\u201d says Kyle Williams, director of philanthropy at Cumberland Heights, which runs addiction-\u00adtreatment centers in Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donors today want \u201cimmersive experiences\u201d in which they can see the organization at work, meet the principals, and feel part of it.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some fundraisers squirm at the growing importance of data. Bork at the American Academy of Pediatrics recently began measuring \u201cpipeline velocity\u201d \u2014 the time it takes a cultivated donor to make a gift. Prospects that move too slowly are removed from the major-gift roster. \u201cWe simply have too many prospects stacking up with not enough staff,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff, however, fear they will lose good prospects, Bork says. And they are wary of the new metric\u2019s impact on their performance evaluation. \u201cThey don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best fundraisers find that data enhances their effectiveness, says the Benefactor Group\u2019s MacDonald, but their bosses also can more easily identify top performers and laggards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no place to hide,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortcuts and Smaller Portfolios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Still, for some gift officers, the changes in big-money fundraising are making the job easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bigger organizations are building teams to backstop fundraisers. Since 2023, when Breakthrough T1D doubled down on major gifts, it has added 18 staff in roles related to campaign planning, prospect research and management, analytics, donor communications, and stewardship. For the gift officers, \u201cadding the analytics team took us from looking for a needle in a haystack to having a lot of needles presented to us,\u201d says Amber Mueller, who\u2019s been raising major gifts with the organization since 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"The
Ritter Center<\/div>
The Ritter Center creates \u201csalons\u201d and other opportunities for major donors to learn about the social issues the organization is tackling. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The communications team creates templates of giving proposals that Mueller customizes. Previously, she spent hours tracking down information and preparing documents that, she admits, \u201cdidn\u2019t look professional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just get to spend more time doing the work that we love and ultimately driving greater impact through philanthropy toward our mission,\u201d Mueller says of her fellow gift officers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some organizations are reassessing their expectations of major-gift officers. The size of the fundraiser portfolio is getting a fresh look, for instance. OhioHealth, a large health care system, generally caps the number of prospects for major-gift officers at 70. \u201cThe ability of one person to manage 100-plus relationships in any depth or substance feels ridiculous today,\u201d says Simon Bisson, vice president of philanthropy. \u201cIt\u2019s just not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gift Officer to Philanthropy Adviser<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s gift officers are increasingly seen as charitable-giving experts who can offer donors strategy and advice about philanthropy writ large. Some organizations even give fundraisers the title of \u201cphilanthropy adviser.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the long run, the rebranding could help the profession move away from stereotypes of fundraising as arm-\u00adtwisting. In a survey of 3,000 people conducted by Russell James, the Texas Tech charitable-giving scholar, donors responded most positively to job titles that suggested guidance or advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noelle Colom\u00e9, a veteran of raising big gifts, took the title \u201cdirector of donor advising\u201d when she joined the Ritter Center, a service agency for low-income families in Marin County, outside San Francisco. Branding her a \u201cmajor gifts\u201d fundraiser was a nonstarter. There was a \u201cvisceral reaction to that,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colom\u00e9 is helping lead a $22 million campaign for the organization. She says she helps donors analyze tax law, learn about giving platforms and vehicles, and determine how best to tap their financial assets for charity. She even helps them advance their philanthropic goals with gifts to other groups. One recent donor wanted to go beyond supporting Ritter\u2019s short-term shelter, so Colom\u00e9 recommended organizations working on tiny homes and more permanent housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping a donor give elsewhere might seem odd, but it\u2019s a reflection of today\u2019s wealth and the new era of giving, she says. \u201cThese folks have money to give across the counties, states, and nations. They\u2019re going to diversify their philanthropy portfolio just like they diversify their financial portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Competition and challenges are growing, but the role of frontline fundraisers may also be getting more attractive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":365126,"featured_media":4402231487445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","cop_editorial_slug":"Print-Lindsay-MajorGiftsCover-0426","cop_asana_id":"1213973339170670","editorial_asana_id":"","editorial_doc_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[81925],"issue":[193005],"profile":[],"role":[191050],"series":[],"topic":[191093],"coauthors":[189912],"class_list":{"0":"post-4402231481794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-news","8":"issue-may-2026","9":"role-fundraising","10":"topic-major-gift-fundraising","12":"has-featured-image"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAs Pressure Grows, Big-Gift Fundraising Is Changing – Chronicle of Philanthropy<\/title>\n<meta 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