A closer look Making a Difference: A Donor’s Guide to Major Gifts

In Brief

• From philanthropy’s golden age to the present, major gifts have allowed donors to partner with nonprofit recipients to achieve their mutual goals.
• Answering key questions — about setting intentions, assessing and selecting a suitable nonprofit recipient, determining the size and purpose of the gift, and evaluating the gift’s impact, among others — before making a major gift commitment and throughout the gift-making process will help ensure philanthropic objectives are met.
• To help secure a mutually beneficial outcome for a major gift donor and nonprofit, it is essential to have a sound written agreement that clearly articulates the wishes of both parties.
• In this A Closer Look, we outline approaches to making a major gift a valuable and impactful form of philanthropy.