Whether you are establishing a major giving program from scratch or redesigning an existing program, the kind of major gift fundraising envisioned by the Public Broadcasting Major Giving Initiative may be something outside your experience, requiring new skills, new tools, even a new language.

In this section, you'll find ways to conduct research to set realistic goals, establish a budget and review your internal systems, create your case, organize staff and volunteer leadership, and develop an overarching strategy for your program. As the very first step, we want to help you discover and communicate the incredible opportunity afforded by relationship fundraising that leads to gifts of substance.

An additional source of information can be found in the Major Giving Tutorials. These eleven tutorials will guide you through the process of designing, launching and expanding your major giving program. Start with the tutorials.

As you design your major giving program, let us know if you have ideas or recommendations that might help other stations. and we'll share your information on this site.

The Major Gift Opportunity

There is tremendous, unmet potential in major giving programs for public broadcasting, with the opportunity to increase system-wide net revenue by tens of millions of dollars. Learn more about this opportunity.

Research and Goal Setting

Setting initial goals for your major giving program is critical for two reasons. First, it puts everybody on the same page. And it gives you a place to start when it's time to evaluate the results. Read more about research and goal setting.

Budget and Systems

Good work habits, sound policies, and solid systems will help you keep good records and monitor return on investment. Prepare yourself to project budgets and evaluate software with the tools, resources and extensive information you'll find here.

Create Your Case

The case — and the case expression — provide the reasons why your organization both needs and merits philanthropic support. Use the Case Builder tool to jumpstart your efforts to create your case.

Staff and Volunteer Organization

Understanding and respect between management, development staff, and volunteers is critical to the success of your major giving effort. Check out the sample job descriptions, organization models, and board materials — all designed to help you find success.

Strategy

Once you have put the foundation in place, it's time to prepare your major giving strategy. How will you structure your program, what benefits will you offer and how will you recognize your donors? Read the strategy page for information and tips on getting your program started.

Integrated Development Plan

The final step prior to launch involves tying together all of the elements you looked at when designing your program. To move forward, it's critical to create a written plan to guide your efforts. This page will give you step by step instructions on creating an Integrated Development Plan.