Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map: A New Framework for Fundraising + Website

Praise for Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map "Deborah Polivy has written a valuable and cogent guide to building, maintaining, and growing donor relationships. She skillfully balances research, commentary, and anecdote to create a work that provides both inspiration and framework to ensure that the donor is always first in our minds as professionals." —Kay Sprinkel Grace "Dr. Polivy makes a singular contribution with the innovative and substantive strategies for raising funds and building effective relationships with potential donors. In a time of scarce resources, cutbacks in public funds, and the lingering effects of a deep recession, no organization—not-for-profit or private—can afford to ignore the lessons in this valuable treatise on donor cultivation and fundraising." —Dr. Fernando M. Torres-Gil, Director, UCLA Center for Policy Research on Aging "Deborah Polivy appropriately places long-term relationship-building at the epicenter of donor development. More importantly, her new book provides time-tested strategies, a detailed road map, and multiple case studies for philanthropic success. Her rich academic background and diverse professional experience is fully on display in Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map and should prove immensely beneficial to both development professionals and their volunteer partners." —Jay L. Rubin, Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Federation of Greater Austin "Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map: A New Framework for Fundraising presents a well-conceived framework for donor relationships and an organization's development program. I recommend it highly to volunteer and staff leaders to understand that the cultivation and engagement of committed donors is a long-term endeavor that belongs to the whole organization." —Angela G. Powers, Senior Vice President, Development, Stewardship & Donor Services, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven "This 'Guide for the Perplexed Fundraiser' is a timely, innovative, and practical tool that should be required reading for volunteer and professional financial resource development leaders." —Dr. Misha Galperin, President & CEO, Jewish Agency International Development

Foreword v Preface vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 And So This Book 3 1 Defining Donor Cultivation 5 The Donor Lifecycle Map 7 Why Focus on All Three Goals of Cultivation? 10 The Lifecycle Map as a Framework for Thinking about Donor Cultivation 13 Summary 16 2 Increasing Donor Diversity 17 Increasing Diversity Decreases Risk 17 Illustrating the Numbers 20 Summary 25 3 Building a Foundation 27 Highlight the Mission and How to Achieve It 28 Take Advantage of a Strategic Plan 33 Build a Top–Notch Back Room 35 Summary 40 4 Utilizing Personal Donor Cultivation Tools 43 Personal Donor Cultivation Tools 48 Summary 78 5 Applying Nonpersonal Donor Cultivation Tools 81 Nonpersonal Donor Cultivation Tools 81 Summary 113 6 The Intersection of Donor Cultivation Tools and the Donor Lifecycle Map 115 Cultivation Tools for Obtaining the First Gift 116 Cultivation Tools for Obtaining the Second Gift 120 Moving Second Gift to Second–Year Active 127 Multiyear Active 129 Major or Stretch Giving 133 Ultimate Giving 135 Summary 140 7 Determining Priorities among Donors 143 The Donor Pyramid 145 Age 148 Gender 155 Summary 160 8 Impediments to Change 163 The Culture of Philanthropy and the Role of the Executive Director 163 The Board as an Obstacle to Change 170 Summary 172 9 A Case Study in Effecting Change 175 A Little Background Information 176 The Interview 178 Summary 186 10 (Re)engaging Lapsed Donors 189 Drivers of Donor Loyalty 191 The Reasons Donors Stop Giving 194 How to Identify the Reason for Stopping Support 196 Classifying Lapsed Donors 197 Developing an Effective Reactivation Program 200 Applying the Proper Tools 201 Who Should Reactivate the Donor and How? 204 Identifying and Reactivating Ultimate–Giving Prospects 205 Summary 206 11 The Donor Lifecycle Map and Cultivation Tools 207 Feasibility of Effecting Change 210 Summary 215 About the Author 217 About the Companion Website 219 Index 221

Deborah Kaplan Polivy, PhD, Fundraising Consultant "Thank you for what I thought was the best donor cultivation presentation that I've ever heard. It was very clear that you had real-life examples from the wealth of experience you shared with us," wrote one Jewish Federation president after listening to Deborah Kaplan Polivy. Deborah began her professional career at Allied Jewish Community Services in Montreal, Quebec, and then helped establish two successful Jewish Federation foundations and also served as the Director of Total Financial Resource Development for the New Haven Federation. She was the Director of Development of Goodspeed Musicals, the originator of Annie . She has served as a research associate at Yale University's Program on Nonprofit Organizations where she conducted studies on the United Way and corporate charitable payroll deduction programs. She has taught at McGill University, Smith and Trinity (Hartford) colleges, and has published numerous articles on fundraising and the nonprofit sector. As a consultant, she has participated in several successful solicitations and trained many fundraising professionals on how to succeed in their positions, and she has led numerous workshops on the Role of the Board, particularly as it relates to fundraising. While she addresses all kinds of resource development, her specialty is endowment, and one of her favorite articles is "Annual Gift, Endowment Gift, or Both?," which appeared in Planned Giving Today . She has consulted with numerous organizations representing various fields of service. Her doctoral degree is from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, and her website is www.deborahpolivy.com.