Your 2026 Major Gifts Plan: Aspirational but Realistic

A donor rode a city bus at 6:15 a.m. He hadn't been on one since college. The woman next to him had lived in that neighborhood for forty years. She was about to change his $250,000 gift. They were riding the route families take to the local food pantry. One hour and ten minutes. One transfer. And when they arrived, the doors didn't open until ten. He looked at his watch and said, "Nobody who works a morning shift can do this." She smiled. "That's what we've been trying to tell you." He and his wife had offered a gift to expand the warehouse. Instead of saying yes on the spot, the executive director invited them to sit at a table with other donors and five paid neighborhood residents to decide together. The table chose a mobile market along bus routes and evening hours. The donors? They turned their gift into a multi-year commitment. That's what this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser is about: "Human-Centered Major Gifts." We talk about: Why the human-centered model is rising in 2026 Four practical ways to share power in major gifts, plus my Power Dial How to frame this with donors, communities, and your board

A 6:45 a.m. call from London. A donor wanted to give $1.5 million to the children's hospital that saved her little brother. Her gift officer was thrilled. Thirty seconds later, she was terrified. Because the donor was a US citizen living in London. Her husband was British. The money was in pounds. Their business had accounts in two countries. Who gets the tax benefit? Which account does the money come from? What if the exchange rate moves? Here's what I love. She didn't pretend to have the answers. She said, "I want to get this right for you. Can I ask a few questions, then bring in our finance team and your advisors?" Two months later, the gift was structured in a way that worked for everyone. Every payment arrived on time. That's what this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast is all about: "Thinking Global: Cross-Border Major Gifts." I talk about: Why global giving is showing up at organizations of every size The core questions to ask early, and the pitfalls to avoid How to build the right support team so you're never figuring it out alone

Her mother's name was spelled wrong. It was on the plaque. On dedication day. In front of her grandkids. The mistake didn't end the relationship. What came next almost did. The clinic took six weeks to fix it. Nobody called. The apology email said, "We apologize for any inconvenience." The family went silent for a year. Then a new major gift officer picked up the phone. She named what happened. She said she was sorry. She asked to hear about the donor's mom. Forty-five minutes later, the door was open again. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser, "Bringing Relationships Back from the Brink," I share: The Four Lenses of Repair for diagnosing what's really going on Three short scripts for silence, missteps, and conflict Why timing and channel matter more than you think How to know when it's time to step back, and how to document it

My worst December as a fundraiser? I spent it chasing a stock transfer with no name on it. My plan had been "we'll get serious after the gala." The gala ended in mid-November. You can guess how that year went. Here's what I learned the hard way. December isn't where year-end is won. It's where you find out how well you planned in October. And year-end 2026 raises the stakes. New tax rules. Donors who "bunched" their giving into last year. Complex gifts that need more lead time than ever. On this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast, "Stacking the Deck for Year-End Major Gifts," I walk through: What's changed for donors this year, and the one question to ask about it The Year-End Countdown, five checkpoints planned backward from December 31 A one-page dashboard and a 15-minute Monday huddle that keep your whole team focused

One page changed everything. A donor said it was the first report she'd ever kept. Two years later, she made the largest gift in the organization's history. It wasn't a glossy annual report. No pie charts. No forty pages. Just one number she cared about, one note from a teacher, and one honest line about what the team was learning. The difference? Her development director asked her what success looked like before she made the gift. That's what this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser is all about. I talk about: What donors really want to know (hint: it's not how many workshops you held) How to co-create and right-size impact metrics with your major donors Simple formats that work in 2026, from brief impact notes to 90-second phone videos Where AI helps, and where your judgment still matters most