How to be a Successful Major Gift Officer

Major gift officers are generally an optimistic bunch. We have to be really.

There's a lot of rejection as we go about the business of finding and securing major gifts.

If you want to be a successful major gift officer, the key to success is to have a positive mindset.

I once had a gift officer say to me that he was having a difficult time getting a hold of people and securing visits. I asked why, and he shared that 9 out of every 10 phone calls he made were a bust.

My response was that he was doing great! He was surprised and asked why, and I shared that if he made 10 calls, got one good connection, secured a visit, that was really pretty good. I encouraged him to make more calls and do more outreach.

From his perspective, 10% was terrible. I thought it was pretty great and shared that the more outreach he did, the better he would get.

To be a successful major gift officer, it's all about having a positive mindset.

Positivity is a huge asset, because 9 times out of 10 you will be rejected. You won't connect.

But don't let this get you down. It should be your normal expectation. A yes is right around the corner.

You'll connect with plenty of prospective donors if you do more outreach. Particularly as you're building your portfolio.

But you'll get a ton of "no's" and a lot of dead ends along the way. This is to be expected.

As famous fundraiser Jerry Panas has said many times, the hardest part in major gifts is getting in the door. I agree. It takes knocking on a lot of doors to find the people that can help your cause and make a difference in the world.

Being a successful major gift officer requires a positive mindset. Don't let rejection get you down, see it as normal. Keep a positive mindset and you'll raise some great major gifts!

If you like this post, please consider subscribing to the Raising Major Gifts blog at raisingmajorgifts.com, or following me on Twitter: @byOwenThomas .