Educational Fundraising Whitepapers

Sample Suite of Engagement Opportunities
A Resource of The Osborne Group, Inc.
Ideally, you have a variety of highly personal involvement opportunities for your most important donors and those prospective donors with high capacity, inclination and readiness. In addition, you have a broader set of opportunities for those with lower capacity and who are farther out on the readiness pipeline.

Opportunities should be both short term and long term so that they provide engagement for people with different interests and needs. It is your responsibility to turn the engagement opportunities into meaningful “moves” or initiatives that advance the relationship with the donors and prospective donors.

High Touch
Short Term
• Visit by the CEO
• Borrowing art, photography, etc. for showing on site and hosting the event
• Private dinner with board member or mission leader
• Report on the impact of a gift personally delivered and discussed
• Mentoring opportunities
• Meeting with the CFO, head of programs to discuss important issues facing the organization
• Use of home, office, club for reception, vision meeting, service discussion, mentoring; helping plan and implement
• Use of your site for a foundation board meeting
• Testimonial dinner
• Request for advice, expertise, assistance
• Feedback on marketing, stewardship, website, etc.
• Phone call from recipient of gift or gift impact
• Borrowing private plane to bring VIPs to your site
• Presenting a distinguished service award; receiving award
• Special seating for an event; celebrity function
• Naming an existing entity in appreciation; attending the dedication or inauguration
• Personalized tour
• Potential donor screening sessions – participating, hosting
• Helping with fund-raising strategies
• Making in-person cultivation, solicitation and/or stewardship visits
• Leading task force; non-board member serving on board committee

Long Term
• Request for advice, expertise or assistance on a longer term project, task force or committee
• Board membership
• Advisory Board membership
• Serving on a board committee as a non board member
• Serving on fund-raising committees for major gifts, campaign, leadership annual fund
• Serving on lobbying committees to help secure important legislation or appropriations

Long term opportunities are not appropriate for individuals with lower capacity and/or far out on the readiness pipeline.

Low Touch
Short Term
• Magazines or newsletter with a note about a particular article tied to donor’s interest
• Website engagement and stewardship messages
• Special events attendee
• Networking opportunities
• Annual report with a note about the materials inside
• Participating in a site tour with lots of other people
• Films and slide shows
• Brochures
• Attending receptions and dinners
• Fundraising events
• Lower level annual giving activities
• Helping with event mailings and so forth
• Stewardship
• Writing letters to legislatures