So, you have finally decided to start your major gifts program in your fundraising office, and now you are wondering how to establish a Moves Management system for cultivation.

Well, you may be first wondering, what are moves?

Moves are cultivation activities. They may include things such as a telephone call, a personal visit, or a letter. How many moves should you consider doing for your major donor prospects? Well, I recommend at least one move per month or 12 per year, with at least 5 of those being personal calls. Moves can be individual, and they can be group activities, but you surely want a mix of both – it is not a one or another type of thing.

Now that we have that straight, your next question is, “How do I manage all of these moves?”

Here are the step-by-step instructions on setting up a Prospect Management Program in your major gifts office.

#1 – Identify 10 to 25 of your best prospects.

#2 – Create a file for each and collect research on each prospect.

#3 – Identify the prospect’s “natural partners”, or those best apt to manage the prospect relationship.

#4 – Meet with the natural partner and determine the best strategy for each prospect and the anticipated gift goal.

#5 – Plan your first five series of moves for each prospect. Moves should be a mix of both individual and group activities.

#6 – Implement those moves and track where each prospect is.

#7 – After each move is complete have those involved fill out a call report outlining what transpired during the move. And, yes, I still believe in call reports.

#8 – Review the strategy for each prospect and refine, as needed, based on any new information that you may have received.

#9 – Set the next move objective, with best and minimum objectives for the move.

#10 – After the first five set of moves have been completed, review the status of each prospect, refine the strategy and goals, and plan the next five moves. Remove prospects, as needed, and add others as well.

So, there you have the ten simple steps needed to establish your “Moves Management” system for your major gifts program. It is an ongoing, evaluative process, but one that needs to be systematic and thoughtful. And, don’t forget to capture call reports for historical organizational purposes and to track actions with prospects. Please email me for a sample, old-fashioned call report to use in your work.

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