It's every fundraiser's dream. A million dollar gift!

For years you have cultivated Mrs. Brown. You've been to her lovely home a dozen times, played with her two feisty poodles, enjoyed hours of conversation about family, friends and occasionally politics. You have come to consider her a good friend. And now the gift of a lifetime. It's the largest contribution your institution has ever received and it will finish your building campaign with a dramatic crescendo of timpani drums and fireworks.

How do you recognize a gift of this magnitude? A plaque on the wall will not suffice. Actually your planning for this gift should have begun long before the kickoff of the capital campaign or annual appeal. Recognition of major donors is one of the most important and critical aspects of a development program.

"Recognition is probably the most important element of our fundraising program," commented Claudia A. Looney, Vice President, Planning & Advancement for the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, CA. (CalArt) "How we say thank you is a reflection of the character of the institution, judgment of the staff and board, and a predictor for our future fundraising successes. Donor recognition helps bind our donors to our institution."

Recognition of donors is an integral part of any fundraising program. Whether it's a one dollar gift or a million dollar gift, all donations should be recognized. However, major gifts present a unique challenge to fundraisers. What is a major gift? For Laura R. Grafman, Executive Vice President of Scottsdale Memorial Health Foundation, in Scottsdale, AZ, a major gift is $20,000. "We use that figure because that's the amount needed to be initially included on our donor wall. However, I wouldn't snub my nose at a donor who only wanted to give $10,000!"

Claudia Looney considers a six figure contribution a major gift. For Pam Bruns, Capital Campaign Director at the Dayton Art Institute in Dayton, Ohio, a $1 million contribution would be a leadership gift in her current $20 million capital campaign.

No matter what you consider a major gift, it needs to be recognized in a sincere manner befitting the size of the donation. "It takes a lot of planning and thinking to come up with appropriate recognition for major donors, " commented Grafman. "One of the strengths of any successful recognition program has to be knowledge of the donor. You have to be sure you are very sincere and very knowledgeable of the individual you're honoring. If you don't know them well enough, it pays to find out about them and what they like and dislike, and what's interesting to them. I'm a firm believer in knowing my donors so well that I know what their favorite cookie is, and favorite flower, and the colors they like. It's also very important to know the things they don't like."

Pam Bruns agrees. "We develop our recognition on a case by case basis. I consider it easier to develop recognition programs for major contributors because you are developing personal relationships with these people and corporations. Our recognition program is very individualized. We have some people who are making major gifts who don't want any recognition, and we have people who love all the recognition they can get. So we sit down with major donors and discuss with them their goals and what they're interested in as far as recognition. They might want to recognize a loved one, or give credit to a family member or recognize a mentor or friend. We try to find something that would be of interest to them, perhaps something that's going on at the Art Institute that they would like to have their name associated with. We also consider activities that may be of interest to the major donor. Some people may just want a plaque, but others may want a living memorial to their generosity. They may choose to be part of a new program, or even involved with the actual development of that program."

One of the critical keys to successfully recognizing a major donor is knowledge of the individual or the corporation. Pam Bruns is acutely aware of the importance of knowing her donors. She and her staff keep meticulous records. "We carefully research our most generous donors. We read local and regional publications to find out about these individuals. We also ask board members and volunteers about these people, they can be your very best resources to learn about your major donors. We keep careful notes. When I go into someone's home or office, I pay attention to what's hanging on the walls, golf pictures or a picture of a political figure, and even plaques from other organizations. These are all important ways to learn about your supporters. When I talk to donors I listen carefully and ask questions that will tell me more about them. I try to spend a great deal of one-on-one time with our donors. I've found that it's absolutely important to find out what kind of recognition they want, and sometimes the best way to accomplish this is to ask them directly."

C. Richard Mattingly, Executive V.P. & C.O.O. of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Bethesda, Maryland believes strongly in knowing the donor and keeping them informed. "An educated donor is one who appreciates you the most," he stated. "Last year we received a $1.6 million donation from Boomer Esiason, the quarterback of the New York Jets. When his son was diagnosed with CF he was faced with the reality of battling the disease. He had a personal interest in becoming more active in the fight against the disease, so he turned to our Foundation. We have concentrated on keeping him informed about medical progress and improvements, what's on the horizon and the needs of the organization. Our efforts to thank Boomer are ongoing. We're thanking him for the work he, his family and friends are doing to help raise the dollars to invest in the fight against CF. We believe that 'thank you' are two very important words, and can't be said enough. We are where we are today because of the people that have supported our efforts."

Creativity also plays an important role in honoring major donors. If the fundraising department has done its job, major donors have been thanked in the past for smaller gifts. So when the large gift is received it takes creativity to show sincerity. "We do a great deal of personalized recognition and acknowledgment for major gifts," explained Looney. "We have the advantage in the art institute to be very creative in recognition. If we need something different, something artistic or hand-designed that would appeal to a donor, it's logical for us to turn to our creative people, either faculty or students. We are able to have a great deal of interaction between the faculty, students and the major donors. It enables the donor to see and experience what they have helped support."

Grafman spends a great deal of time with her staff and volunteers to decide on recognition ideas that are truly unique. "Last year we presented an honorary Doctor of Philanthropy Award to a very special donor who has supported our organization for many years. Because we are a health-care organization we felt it was appropriate to give this type of honor to this special person. It was really a fun event. We wanted to do something different that had never been done for her in the past. This idea came from our staff sitting down and carefully planning and considering what would this person appreciate and really get a kick out of."

Occasionally a major contributor will insist on no recognition. This can pose a dilemma for an institution; how do you sincerely thank the donor and still abide by their wishes? "If a donor asks for no recognition we will honor that request," stated Looney. "We will give them no public recognition. However, privately our President will visit with them and thank them for their gift. He will also present them with special mementos from our institution, send them letters to keep them informed of the program they have supported, it's progress, and the ultimate benefit of their gift. Basically we're saying, the world may not know about your major gift -- but we know."

Grafman has also run into this situation at her hospital. "We've had donors who have said please don't spend any money on me. I gave this gift but I don't want you to use any of it for a gift back to me. There are people who could care less about recognition. Not everyone wants to be a society member, or have their name on a wall. They simply don't care for that kind of notoriety. In those cases, we try to think of ways to honor them without spending any money. Whether it's taking them to lunch or dinner and saying thank you, or inviting them to a personal meeting with the CEO. We do anything we can to thank people, but we carefully consider each situation individually. We don't mass produce anything. I believe that personal touch is the key to working with individuals. What fits with one, may not fit with another."

Major donors are vitally important to the continued growth and well-being of your organization and must be recognized by not just the fundraising department or it's director, but also by your leadership. "The CEO must be involved in recognition," commented Grafman. "One of the first things we do after a substantial gift has been received is have the CEO call the donor to express his appreciation. Our CEO knows the importance of this call. He knows that his personal contact is building a rapport with these individuals and this extra effort is certainly appreciated. We very strongly believe in the maintenance factor. I want that major donor to stay involved, and participating until the next major solicitation. Maintenance consists of phone calls, luncheons and other interactions throughout the year. I may be the one responsible for

maintaining the relationship or it may be the CEO or trustee. It just really depends on who is the best person to keep that individual or corporation involved with our program."

Looney couldn't agree more. "Our president is extraordinarily involved in fundraising. In fact, he is one of the best fundraisers I've ever seen. He makes phone calls, writes personal letters, makes appointments to visit donors, and delivers personal gifts to these individuals. He has a deep appreciation and understanding of the importance of fundraising to this institution. His involvement demonstrates to the donors how important and significant their contributions are to the well-being of the school. He's willing to spend 95 percent of his waking hours on fundraising for this institution."

Looney also stressed the importance of having the board involved with the recognition process. "Our board takes an active role. They not only establish the policies and approve the recognition perimeters, they also come to all the recognition events, they participate in programs and are very generous with their time and treasure. They will host events in their homes and pick up the expenses. They are not a board that merely comes to a meeting, hears a report, and goes home. They take joy in being a part of the life at CalArt."

Whenever a major gift comes from a corporation, an organization needs to find creative ways to show recognition and often times that recognition can fit into the corporation's marketing agenda. Pam Bruns makes a point of meeting with the corporation's marketing department. "We will brain-storm ideas that will be acceptable and beneficial to the corporation because we don't really know the inner workings or their specific needs. They may have some really clever ideas that will help promote their own marketing objectives. We also try to generate publicity for our

corporate supporters. We have written materials in the museum explaining their support, and we utilize the media as much as possible to publicize the generosity of these corporations. We also encourage the employees of the corporations to visit the museum and see how their gifts are helping. This is an excellent recognition opportunity for the donor, it's also an excellent long-term donor cultivation opportunity. It keeps them involved. If they see what's happening and know that we're using their money wisely, then future major gifts could be a reality."

Whatever you consider to be a major gift, whether four, five or six figures, these contributions have a significant impact on the future growth of your organization. "You want to keep in mind that recognizing donors not only thanks them for the gift, but it also encourages them to support the institution on a long-term basis," explained Looney. "Recognition is the least expensive, nicest and most appropriate thing we can do for our donors. For me, recognition is something I learned as a child. I can't imagine accepting a gift and not saying thank you. We have to say thank you in the best way we can and as often as we can."

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