1. Who makes £1 million + donations, and why?
Institute of Fundraising Major Donor Conference 2017
Dr Beth Breeze, Centre for Philanthropy, University of Kent, UK

3. Big gifts happen when generous people are asked well.
No Magic Buttons
Big gifts happen when generous people are asked well.

4. The Coutts Million Pound/Dollar Donor Report

5. Year-on-Year Trends

6. Average size of £1m+ donations in 2015

7. Source of £m donations: number & value

8. Destination of £m donations in 2015
Cause area
Number of donations
Total value
Higher Education 85
£639m
Foundations 79
£500m
Overseas 67
£242m
Arts & Culture 37
£135m
International development 20
£88m
Human Services 24
£75m
Health 14
£46m
Public & Social benefit 10
£42m
Religious 6
£30m
Environment & Animals 5
£14m
Education (not universities) 7
£13m
Unknown/Other 1
£2m

9. Introducing ‘Lena’

10. Million Pound Donors: Key themes
Identification with the cause
Confidence in the charity
Enrichment as a result of donating

11. Key attributes of successful fundraisers
Planning - organised, strategic, thorough, good at detail and dealing with “tremendous trifles”
Personable – good at building relationships, cheerful, positive, chatty, “immediately likeable”
Passion – for the charity, the cause, the beneficiaries, the donors and volunteers.
Proud – of the cause and of asking - do not accept the normative view (especially in the UK) that asking is ‘dirty work’
Persistent – tenacious, thick-skinned, terriers or weebles!

12. Introducing ‘Anya’ .

13. Million Pound Asking: Key themes
Relationship fundraising
Donor-centred approach
Dual benefits for donor and cause

14. So what do we now know about £m donors and £m askers?

15. Final thoughts
“There is no such thing as a shortage of major donors. There is only a shortage of great ideas to raise money.”
Jerold Panas (1984) Mega Gifts: Who gives them, who gets them?
“[Fundraisers] empower those with financial resources to convert the dross of their money into the gold of a better society… by providing opportunities to give, they empower us to breathe more meaning into our lives”
Arthur C. Brookes, New York Times, 29 March 2014

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