Fundraiser meetings: donor visits, asks and commitments on the record

Where meetings fit in the role

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics lists researching prospective donors, contacting them and maintaining records of donor information among a fundraiser's typical duties. Most fundraisers work for nonprofits, and some travel to meet donors.

BLS describes major gifts as large amounts from a single source, and planned gifts as pledges paid later or in installments. Both call for a clear record of what the donor said and what happens next.

Before: a one-page donor brief

Whoever goes to the meeting should be able to read the brief in two minutes:

• Relationship: how long they've given, and to what.
• Last conversation: what they said, and what you promised them.
• Interests: the programs or outcomes they've asked about.
• Purpose: the one next step you want from this meeting.
• People: who else may join, such as a spouse, an adviser or a board member.

During: listen for interest versus commitment

Don't record interest as a pledge. "I'd love to help with the new building" is interest. A commitment has an amount, a timing and any conditions the donor attached.

Write down the donor's own words for anything that sounds like a commitment. Note who else needs to be involved, such as a financial adviser or family members, and any restrictions on how a gift is used.

After: the contact report, same day

Write the contact report while the conversation is fresh. Keep it short, factual and free of opinions you wouldn't want the donor to read.

• Date, attendees and where you met.
• What the donor said about their interests, in their words where it matters.
• Any commitment: amount, timing, conditions and restrictions.
• What you promised, such as a proposal, a tour or an impact report, with a date.
• The next contact, and who owns it.

Example: a first major-gift visit

This example is fictional. A development officer meets a longtime donor about a scholarship fund. The donor says she wants to support first-generation students and will talk to her husband before deciding an amount.

• Interest: first-generation student scholarships.
• Commitment: none yet. A decision is expected after a family conversation.
• Officer's promise: send a one-page proposal with two giving levels by Friday.
• Next contact: a follow-up call in three weeks, with both spouses invited.

Using Bridge for donor meetings

On Professional and above, with your calendar connected, Bridge builds a brief for each upcoming meeting. It covers who's attending, context from earlier conversations and action items from past meetings. Starter includes limited preparation.

After each meeting, notes include a summary, decisions and follow-ups. Action items also collect in your Action items list, so promises like "send the proposal" don't get lost.

For a visit over coffee, don't record the donor. Instead, record your own spoken debrief afterwards with Bridge's in-person recording. Bridge turns it into a transcript and notes you can edit into the contact report.

• On Professional and above, with Gmail connected, an agent can draft a follow-up email reply for you. Read it before it goes anywhere.
• On Professional and above, if your CRM is Attio, Bridge can create or update records from meeting content.
• If your donor database is something else, copy the contact report into it yourself.

Related: Record in-person meetings →Prepare a meeting brief →Meeting briefs in Bridge →Memory for people and companies →

Keep donor details private

Donors trust you with personal and financial details. Ask before you record any meeting with a donor, and keep sensitive notes out of shared places.

In Bridge, notes stay private to the meeting owner until you share them, unless you've turned on auto-sharing. Adding a meeting to a Space gives everyone with access to that Space access to the meeting.

• On Professional and above, set donors' Memory profiles to Private, so only you can see them. Memory profiles can't be deleted at this time.
• Share a meeting's notes only with the colleagues who need them, by email invite rather than the whole workspace.
• Avoid public links for donor meetings. Anyone with the link can read the notes and transcript.