SmartRaise® MAJOR GIFTS

For nonprofits that want more gift income

For years, McDonald Schaefer has helped nonprofits raise hundreds of millions of dollars for capital, endowment and operations budgets. At the heart of every successful campaign is major gifts fundraising — identifying and engaging donors, asking for transformational gifts, and acknowledging and appreciating their support.

SmartRaise® Major Gifts is a structured, focused, and guided approach to building or strengthening your organization’s major gifts capacity — with the same rigor and effectiveness that drives our successful capital campaigns.

FOR ALL NONPROFITS
SmartRaise® Major Gifts is for any nonprofit ready to move beyond traditional, small-gift annual fund strategies to more ambitious, more impactful giving — for special projects, endowment growth, and increased operating support.

MAJOR GIFTS YEAR-ROUND
Unlike a traditional capital campaign, SmartRaise® Major Gifts doesn’t require a construction project or a multi-year timeline. Nimble and flexible, it’s designed to fit the pace and priorities of your organization — focused, practical, and built around results.

With SmartRaise® Major Gifts you can:

Grow annual gift income substantially
Identify your highest-potential donors — and know exactly how to approach them
Build authentic donor relationships that generate gifts year after year
Equip your staff and board to ask confidently and effectively
Transform one-time major donors into lifelong partners and legacy givers

Five Steps to Major Gifts

Working alongside your leadership and development staff, McDonald Schaefer guides your team through a disciplined process of engagement, asking, and stewardship.

1. Identify
Comprehensive review of your donor database evaluating Capacity, Connection, and Commitment — combined with proven wealth-screening tools to uncover your highest-potential major gift prospects.

2. Qualify
Personal outreach to confirm genuine interest and capacity before investing significant time and energy. Low-pressure conversations focused on relationship-building, not asking.

3. Engage
A sustained series of meaningful touchpoints — personal visits, tours, personalized updates — that build authentic relationships according to each donor’s pace and preferences.

4. Ask
We help your team determine the right ask amount, the right messenger, and the right approach — then prepare them to make a confident, compelling ask that feels like a natural next step.

5. Steward
Meaningful impact reporting, thoughtful recognition, and a renewal strategy that transforms one-time major donors into lifelong partners — and, ultimately, legacy donors.

How McDonald Schaefer Helps You Increase Gift Income:

Our team has guided hundreds of nonprofits through the major gifts process. We know what works, what doesn’t, and how to build momentum. Through SmartRaise® Major Gifts, we provide:

Prospect research & wealth screening
Strategic prospect portfolio planning
Staff & volunteer coaching
Visit preparation & debrief support
Individual asking strategy
Stewardship & renewal planning

Ready to Get Started?

Contact McDonald Schaefer to schedule a complimentary Major Gifts Executive Briefing — a no-obligation conversation to discuss your goals and whether SmartRaise® Major Gifts is right for your organization.

Schedule Your Executive Briefing (414) 272-1835

With offices in Milwaukee and Madison, we provide services for capital campaigns, general fundraising and capacity building to help our nonprofit partners raise the funds they need to better fulfill their missions.