What Special Talents Do You Bring to Fundraising?
I’ve been recently reflecting on what makes a great major donor programme: donor development plans, cycles of solicitation, moments to wow supported by a well thought out engagement calendar and robust systems and processes.
But the best outcome of your major donor fundraising programme is your fundraisers!
There's no single blueprint for a great fundraiser. Some of us lead with warmth, others with strategy, others with sheer persistence. What matters is knowing your strengths and putting them to work for your mission.
I’ve compiled a list of talents that show up again and again in great fundraisers. Which ones sound like you?
Creativity
Fundraising is supposed to be enjoyable and while there may be guidelines to follow, when it comes to donor engagement and stewardship, you can be as creative as you want. Updates don’t have to be written documents or in person meetings. They can be videos, voice notes, video calls from project sites. Tangible items and artwork can evoke strong emotions from donors and there are countless ways you can put your donors in your beneficiaries’ shoes to understand the real impact of the work they support.
Storytelling
Numbers open a door, but stories walk people through it. If you can take a programme's impact and turn it into a moment a donor can picture clearly what your charity does, you have one of the most valuable skills in fundraising. Donors give based on feelings, not spreadsheets, and storytellers know how to bridge the two.
Relationship Building
Some fundraisers have a gift for remembering details: a donor's grandchild's name, the reason they first gave, what they said at last year's gala. This isn't small talk, it's the foundation of trust. Relationship builders turn one-time gifts into decades-long partnerships because donors feel genuinely known, not just solicited.
Strategic Focus
Not every talent is people-facing. Some fundraisers shine at seeing the bigger picture. They are adept at segmenting a donor list, spotting when a lapsed donor is ready to be asked, or building a campaign timeline that actually hits its goal. Strategists bring order to what can otherwise feel like guesswork, and their instincts often mean the difference between a good year and a record-breaking one.
Organisation
Sometimes an underrated skill but being organised is key to high value fundraising success. The unexpected often happens; deadlines move forward, a trustee meets the ideal donor and needs a one pager to follow up on their discussion, you are asked for an update on a project. This is where being organised with good record keeping and having key dates, moments and a “ready to go” folder prepares you for any fundraising eventuality.
A Rebellious Streak
I’m not talking about starting a French Revolution style of disruption, but there is something beneficial about having someone in the team who challenges the general consensus: a critical friend or someone offering a counter argument. Providing an alternative perspective and challenge can stop wrong assumptions or poor judgements being made.
Watch out: If this is you, be mindful about the timing and delivery of your objections. You want your views to be interpreted as constructive criticism and not dismissed as counter-productive or disruptive.
Eloquence
These colleagues have a natural way with words when spoken or written. They can sit in a silence after making an ask without rushing to fill it, and they know how to read a donor's hesitation and respond to it directly instead of dancing around it. This talent alone can move a campaign from "almost there" to fully funded.
Why Your Fundraising Team Needs All Seven
No one fundraiser has all of these talents in equal measure. Beth Upton has written separately on what makes a great major donor fundraiser and the six attributes she looks for when hiring one. The best fundraising teams are built like a good relay team: pairing storytellers with strategists, creatives with organisers. This ensures your charity’s strengths add up to more than any one person could deliver alone.
So, What Is Your Talent?
Knowing the answer isn't just good for self-reflection, it helps your team figure out where you'll have the most impact, and where a teammate might complement what you bring to the table.
Try This at Your Next Team Meeting
Next time your team meets, go around and have everyone name the one fundraising talent they think they bring. You might be surprised at how well those talents fit together and uncover different ways of approaching your major donor fundraising programme.
You have assessed your talents. Now assess your programme.
The Major Donor Scorecard is twenty yes or no questions that give you an honest picture of where your major donor programme is strong and where it is not. It takes about five minutes and you get your results straight away.