There’s a long-held belief in fundraising that major donors, especially new major donors, do not give large unrestricted amounts of cash to organizations. Why?

Perhaps it is because major gift fundraising professionals do not ask for unrestricted support. Instead, we ask for what we think we can get first and never truly make the case for what we need. We opt for the easiest path because fundraisers are ultimately evaluated on the amount of dollars raised and not the direction. This means you could potentially raise restricted dollars and, in the end, still have a financially struggling organization.

But could there be a way to shift this paradigm in advancement?

Let me tell you the story of Ted—which illustrates how fundraisers can make the case (and make the ask) for unrestricted giving.

In 2015, my small liberal arts college launched an aggressive campaign focused on endowment giving and capital needs. In 2017, a perfect storm of a small incoming freshman class and a slide in student retention hit and created a significant loss in revenue. Despite tough operational decisions, the institution still needed cash to shore up its financial position. This required leadership to rethink the campaign priorities. At that time, the college president asked if a major donor would be willing to help cover the gap. As a fundraiser with more than 20 years of experience, my first instinct was “no.” Large major donors do not give to correct a balance sheet; they give to support positive change, growth, and innovation. At least, that is what I had always been taught.

But was that true or just what fundraisers say? After all, research has shown that as fundraising has become more professionalized, in-house advancement offices often incorporate widely held myths about fundraising activities and ideals. The truth is, little research on unrestricted major giving exists. Most research on unrestricted giving, including a 2017 case study from Philanthropy in Education, focuses on how universities pursue such gifts through an annual appeal to large populations, expecting to generate large numbers of smaller gifts.

Ted’s Story

In February 2018, I flew to Wisconsin to meet with Ted, a new major gift prospect. Ted was a smart, engaged individual who was both charitable and purposeful in his philanthropy. The conversation was very good, and toward the end, Ted asked me bluntly, “What do you really want from me?”

“Ted,” I answered honestly, “I want your heart.”

I continued: “What we really want, Ted, is that you care about us and think about our mission on a regular basis. I want you to love that mission and make it an important aspect of who you are. I want you to know who we are, be a central part of our future, and experience the pride that results from helping people. I want you to feel connected to our accomplishments and the pain in our struggles because you are a vital part of our community.”

Ted looked at me and asked, “Then… you don’t want any of my money?”

“No, Ted.” I laughed “Honestly, I’d rather have your heart. Once you discover a passion for what we do, then I want you to think about making a major gift to our greatest priority.”

At that, Ted smiled.

“I don’t know if I got off easy or not, but I am willing to make the investment of time if you are,” he said.

My colleague Mat and I walked out of the restaurant with no financial commitment from Ted. Most fundraising practitioners would say that was a missed opportunity. But to help donors like Ted consider an unrestricted major gift, practitioners must frame the need for such support in a tangible way that gives the individual something to contemplate. The first step in that process is drafting a comprehensive case for making an unrestricted gift.

The Case for Unrestricted Giving: Emotional and Financial

In my experience, most institutions say they would prefer to receive unrestricted gifts, but very few take the time to draft a case for it. A case for unrestricted giving is a case for the overall institution that captures its strategic plan, values, and aspirations. A case for unrestricted giving is a case about the future dreams of your academic mission, and an open invitation for the donor to be a trusted part in ensuring that it comes to fruition.

First, the written appeal has to logically and passionately illustrate to a donor why the institution needs a gift to be unrestricted. Like Ted, most major donors connect their passion with their philanthropy. Giving is an amalgamation of financial and emotional thinking. In a case for a major gift, assemble a wide range of resources that help the donor work through each of the factors in the gift decision-making process, like your mission statements, financials, and more—and marry that with altruism. Make the point early that an unrestricted gift is one of the most unselfish acts that a philanthropist can bestow.

The second priority of the case is to effectively outline the problems facing academia. Relying only on institutional strengths minimizes the donors’ desires to help. In his seminal work The Commons: New Perspectives on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action, Roger Lohmann found that for potential donors, deeply understanding problems can create powerful philanthropic motivations—like the desire to help right wrongs and solve real problems. In essence, the solicitation needs to be real, meaning it paints an actual picture of what the donor can accomplish by making an unrestricted gift, acknowledging the reasons why such a gift is revered and unique. For donors, seeing those tangible outcomes firsthand is vital to determining whether the choice to give was positive. Therefore, sharing the cost–benefit analysis of an unrestricted gift within the solicitation strategy is key.

The third element to an effective unrestricted case is entirely about tone. The tone has to be personal—explanatory, with a clear indication of impact, but also warm and rooted in trust.

See what I mean in the sample unrestricted giving case below.

Drafting an unrestricted case requires a unique knowledge of the institution, but that is only the beginning. Positioning such an ask also requires intimate knowledge of the donor(s). That kind of knowledge only comes through meaningful engagement.

Engagement: Know Your Donors So They Can Know You

Ted’s unrestricted solicitation experiment was not an irresponsible gamble. Our team did the research, listened to him, and began to understand who he and his spouse really are. Once you know the donor’s capability and potential to make a major gift, an effective donor engagement strategy is a simple two-step process: one, demonstrate that the organization knows the donor(s) well, and two, get the donor(s) involved so they can know more about the mission.

In spending time with Ted, we learned about his deep commitment to his church and a desire to give without needing acknowledgement. Ted and his wife, Mary, have a reciprocal trust and support for each other’s charitable giving. Though Ted was the primary connection with our institution, his spouse was still a key influencer in Ted’s philanthropic life. Understanding the philosophy of Ted’s philanthropy and Mary’s support taught us more about his decision-making process. Taking in such information and assessing our past communication with Ted showed that we had not yet reached the trust level required for them to make what they would define as a significant gift.

Solicitation: Making an Unrestricted Ask

An unrestricted ask must be customized to your prospect and convey an honest, emotional case for unrestricted giving. Establish that this ask is unique, significant, and based on the donor’s intimate knowledge and past relationship with the institution—this offers the donor a personalized feel that will help them consider new possibilities. Make your case factual and emotionally persuasive. Research in both psychology and economics tells us that giving decisions are influenced by emotional appeals made through storytelling. Therefore, it is up to the individual fundraiser to craft a moment to deliver the case statement in an honest narrative that encapsulates the true state of the institution that leads to building trust, passion, love, and demonstrated need for the individual donor’s investment.

An unrestricted appeal effectively requires three essential elements, outlined in the book Asking by Jerold Panas: empathy, energy, and enthusiasm.

Empathy is the solicitor’s ability to listen and reflect the emotions, ideas, and values of the donor within the conversation. For Ted, we returned with a case statement written just for him, and we began the conversation citing facts about what Ted shared with us in our several encounters. We highlighted information specific to him: places, people, and values he aligned with at the institution. This is a respectful action when working with someone who cares about you and your organization.

Enthusiasm is the spark we bring for the mission we represent. Enthusiastically sharing the spark with your major gift prospect in examples of real work being done by the organization must be purposeful. It requires collecting stories and crafting an institutional message that will draw in and inspire the donor. This strategy becomes easier when advancement staff enjoy spending time with the donor and, in turn, the donor enjoys hearing from the staff.

In our meeting with Ted, we talked about our struggle with enrollment and affordability, but we also talked about the joy we experience at graduation. We told stories about individual students and listened to Ted’s thoughts and his hopes and fears for the next generation. Sharing in the joy of the institution with excitement and salesmanship brings a powerful foundation that can support a complex unrestrictive ask.

Energy is the final element. People give to people who demonstrate boundless energy for helping people. With Ted, we waited for the right time to offer him our case statement. It was when coffee was served, and the discussion was at its peak. Ted told a story about how in college he’d felt an overwhelming pressure to succeed and honor those who made his journey possible.

At that moment, we shifted the conversation and asked, with great joy, if Ted would allow us to ask if he would consider making a financial investment in the institution to help us address the pressures that had made it more difficult for us to address similar needs facing students today. We handed Ted the case and waited as he read it. Without saying a word, we gave him the time to react to what we delivered. It was his time now to ask questions or ponder.

Appreciation: Unrestricted Major Donors Are Special

The final aspect of raising unrestricted revenue is developing an appreciation strategy for those donors. Simply put, how institutions appreciate donors demonstrates how the leadership and fundraising staff of that institution feel about them as individuals. How an institution recognizes such donors will encourage or discourage others in their own philanthropic journeys. As institutions become more engaged in donor-centered fundraising and meaningful recognition, they experience dramatic increases in giving and a broader impact from their donor base, according to Penelope Burk’s 2003 book Donor-Centered Fundraising.

Unrestrictive gifts are difficult to raise and require additional effort to recognize the donor. Such funds lack the simple direct budgetary line item that staff can easily show the donor. This means more creativity in the stewardship approach that results in a meaningful way to say “thank you” that embodies the values, impact, and sentiments of the gift.

Here’s what we did for Ted when he made his unrestricted gift. The college leadership thanked him, the Board of Trustees honored him, and the staff sent him a wooden college seal as a symbol of appreciation for his generosity. Those were nice, but if you asked Ted, they were not impactful. When Ted’s father passed away, our director of stewardship remembered that Ted’s father was an alumnus and, searching the library’s archives, she found a paper he wrote for a freshman seminar class. In the paper, Ted’s father wrote about his life on his family’s farm, his fears and aspirations of starting college, and his anxiety about letting down those who worked so hard to provide him with this opportunity. The director of stewardship printed and bound a copy of that paper for Ted and presented it to him after his father’s funeral—not because he was a donor, but because he was special, a unique part of our organization who cares desperately about our mission. In that action, we showed Ted, and others, that he was valued.

Candor and Commitment

With the help of donors like Ted, my institution was able to raise over US$38,000,000 in unrestricted gifts to benefit unknown future needs. At the end of our comprehensive campaign, unrestricted giving was the second largest amount raised, next to endowment. Significant and regular unrestricted major giving is not a myth. It is possible and requires candor, bravery, and strategic commitment.

Remember, if you value your donors, treat them like family. Thank them, and have the courage to love them for who they are, where they are at that moment, and for more than just their generosity. Ultimately, that will benefit your donors—but also, crucially, benefit your institution’s financial flexibility.