Fundraising Q&A
The following Q&A was developed in response to inquiries from our grant partners, with answers provided by Dayle Wallien, LIL’s Fundraising Advisor. If you have a question you’d like addressed, please contact us — we’ll continue to update this resource as needed.
Q. If I’m looking to grow my donor base of high-capacity, values-aligned funders—what would you suggest I focus on first?
This will be different for every organization – it depends on what you are already doing and what resources you have in place, the strength of your current donor pipeline, and your organization’s capacity. Some good areas to first focus might include:
Hone your story. Build a strong and authentic case for support tailored to high-capacity donors, identifying your core values, your theory of change, and the impact you’re creating.
Consider whether you’re at a stage you can invest in development staff whose primary function is to generate revenue.
Educate and engage your board to support your major donor efforts.
Prospect for potential donors using your donor pipeline and by identifying new potential mission-aligned funders using tools like Candid/Foundation Directory Online or LinkedIn, then focus on relationship-building (without ever losing sight of the ask).
Create a comprehensive development plan to: help prioritize and focus efforts on the most effective strategies and revenue streams; give you, and your staff/board/volunteers a clear understanding of their roles in fundraising; and establish benchmarks and timelines to keep you on track and to make informed adjustments when necessary.
Q. How have you seen organizations build donor pipelines without a big development team?
Small development teams can be successful when they:
Network and effectively tell their story.
Invest time into and use available tools to research potential donors, then both segment and track outreach. CRMs will make this easier, but even spreadsheets can work early on for prospecting, segmenting, and recording contacts.
Empower board and other organizational staff to be part of fundraising efforts.
Focus on relationship cultivation over quantity.
Q. Are there specific networks, donor circles, or funding collaboratives I should be tapping into?
The specifics will be different for every organization, but yes, this type of networking can be very fruitful for generating support and connections for your organization. Seek to participate, build relationships with, or present to:
Giving circles (e.g., Women Donors Network, Solidaire, Threshold Foundation)
Regional and issue-specific collaboratives (e.g., Climate + Clean Energy Equity Fund, Justice Funders)
Local community foundations and donor-advised fund managers
Local chapters of professional or service organizations – e.g.: National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Rotary, Lions Club, Soroptimist, Altrusa, Pilot, Zonta, Quota.
LinkedIn Networks
Q. Are there language shifts or framing tools you recommend when speaking to wealthier or institutional donors about grassroots work?
When approaching High-Net-Worth Individual or Institutional Donors who may be used to more established or large-scale philanthropy, you’ll want to take a personalized and authentic approach – this is what will set you apart from larger organizations. With individuals, you want to connect with them on both a practical and emotional level. When approaching institutional or corporate donors, you want to align with their strategic priorities, and you want to clearly state impact, preferably with quantifiable data.
Use storytelling to connect community driven work to broader issues - Share compelling narratives of individuals or communities impacted by the work, paired with data to reinforce legitimacy (even if it is qualitative) and context that connects it to broader systems (e.g., racial justice, climate resilience). Emphasize impact in a simple and understandable way.
Emphasize that your organization is community-led and a trusted community resource – Explain that one of the things that sets your group apart is how nimble and connected it is, that you’re able to respond quickly to community needs in ways that centralized systems can’t and that you’re working on the frontlines, where solutions are closest to the need.
Appeal to emotion and use metrics – Especially, with High-Net-Worth Individuals, speak to values, as well as using data.
Frame an investment as catalytic - Explain how it will spark additional investment and interest and provide long-term impact for your organization.
Highlight leverage and innovation – Explain that your organization is using funding in an extremely efficient and innovative way that a large organization can’t do as successfully.
Avoid jargon, overly technical language, and acronyms. Also, the language or framing you use can be dynamic, as there are trends to philanthropic giving. You may be able to frame your mission and your work to emphasize your alignment with those trends, but do so authentically.
Educate without condescension— Potential donors, might need to be educated about the needs your organization serves, but be careful about making them feel guilty or naïve.
Position a funder to be a partner, but avoid savior framing - Don’t position them as bringing the solution, focus on how they're becoming involved and furthering a movement already in motion. Do ask the donor for input and ask them if they want more information.
Q. What are the most effective ways to message to source new supporters of our work? Particularly corporate or major donors and investors?
See answer above. Also, messaging that seeks to reach new corporate donors should:
Highlight mutual benefit (e.g., brand alignment, employee engagement).
Tell impact stories that provide clear and measurable outcomes. And when possible, include compelling photos.
Be clear on how a potential donor can engage—beyond writing a check.
Q. What’s a strategy you’ve seen work for organizations to increase their visibility with major funders?
Successful strategies organizations use to increase their visibility include:
Investing in thought leadership opportunities - op-eds, speaking engagements, panel participation.
Consistently sharing impact stories and data in places donors look—LinkedIn, funder newsletters, collaborative webinars, attendance at industry conferences.
Using insiders from your network to amplify your voice and make introductions – board, former colleagues, current partners.
Q. What’s something most funders wish organizations knew—but rarely say out loud?
If you have the opportunity, you should ask your own funders this question. That said, there are some common things funders wish organizations knew:
Organizations should come to meetings prepared – having reviewed publicly available information about the funder, prepared to answer questions, prepared with next steps.
Funders want to be kept apprised of what accomplishments and or success are being driven by their funding, even when no reporting is formally required.
Funders often wish nonprofits would be more candid—about risks, challenges, setbacks, or what the organization truly needs to succeed.
They appreciate when grantees act as thought partners, not just grant recipients and vice versa – when grantees treat them as more than a check.
They want organizations to show them a sustainability plan and how an investment today will continue to provide impact into the future.
Q. What’s the best way to position ourselves as a long-term partner, not just a one-time grantee?
Build the relationship through top-notch stewardship.
Offer engagement opportunities when possible.
Keep funders informed with progress updates, both in-person and in writing. Include learnings, delays, obstacles, not just wins.
Speak to funders in terms of shared outcomes and systemic change, not one-off projects.
Share your multi-year vision, showing how their support sustains long-term goals.
Q. How do you steward and engage anonymous donors?
Assuming the donor’s identity is known, I steward and engage them as I would any other donor—with personalized attention and relationship-building—while carefully honoring their preference for anonymity. The key is to clearly note their anonymity preference in the database and ensure they are not named or publicly recognized in communications, events, or materials.
I always ask about and document their specific preferences. Some anonymous donors may still want to attend events or receive program updates and impact stories, as long as their name and giving level are not disclosed publicly. Others may be comfortable with general acknowledgment (e.g., "Anonymous" at the correct giving level in an annual report) or may simply not want the donation amount shared.
Using “Anonymous” in public-facing materials is appropriate when it serves a purpose—such as meeting a challenge grant, catalyzing additional donations, or highlighting donor support broadly—provided it aligns with the donor’s wishes.
If the donor's identity is unknown, but correspondence can be sent via a third party (like a PR firm or donor-advised fund sponsor), I ensure that acknowledgments, reports, and impact updates are still delivered. For example, I once worked with a PR firm that facilitated a donation from an anonymous donor. I sent regular communications through the firm to ensure the donor remained informed and appreciated. Even after I learned the donor’s identity, I continued honoring their preferred communication channel to maintain trust and respect.
Q. How do you navigate the imbalance of time spent on stewardship and engagement of major donors vs. “small” or time-based donors?
As this question recognizes, stewardship and engagement are essential for all donors, regardless of gift size or type, because every contribution reflects a commitment to an organization’s mission. That said, in a resource-constrained environment, you have to prioritize stewardship efforts based on a combination of giving capacity, relationship potential, and engagement preferences—while being careful to avoid reinforcing savior narratives or inequitable power dynamics.
For lower-level or time-based donors, implement thoughtful but more automated systems—like personalized thank-you emails, regular impact updates, and curated newsletters. These touchpoints still reflect genuine appreciation and help donors stay connected to the mission without requiring intensive staff time.
For major donors (including institutional funders), invest more time in customized stewardship, including tailored impact reports, strategy updates, and deeper relationship-building. These donors often expect more personalized engagement, and their larger or ongoing support can require more involved conversations about alignment, expectations, and long-term goals.
That said, be mindful not to communicate that one donor is more “important” than another. Center the organization’s mission and community impact in all communications, framing donors as partners in the work rather than saviors.
When possible, create shared stewardship experiences—like storytelling spotlights, community events, or volunteer opportunities—that bring together supporters of all types to foster equity, transparency, and authentic connection to the cause.
Ultimately, it’s about being strategic with limited resources, while ensuring all donors feel respected, seen, and valued for their unique role in advancing our work.
Q. How much $ can we ask for volunteer opportunities (for corporations)?
This depends. An organization may agree in advance that a volunteer event is included as part of the benefits it is providing for a donation - usually part of the negotiation to secure a major donation. Otherwise, at a minimum you should ask for funds to completely cover your costs, including staff time (for preparation, coordination, execution, and follow-up); event costs including food, materials, equipment, transportation, safety supplies; event insurance; any communications costs; site costs, including permits; SWAG; your indirect rate; etc. If a company is asking you for an exclusive standalone event, unless it furthers your strategic mission, decline or ask for a donation plus event costs. You might also consider funneling volunteers from multiple donation sources into a non-exclusive event that is covered by sponsorships.
Q. How much can we charge for “lunch n learns” (for corporations)?
This depends on the purpose of the lunch n learn and whether it is part of a donation, part of a strategy to secure a donation, whether it is in-person, etc. It should be proactively considered when you are creating a sponsorship benefit chart – is this something you will include with a certain donation level? Is this something a lower-level donor can add on by covering your costs? Is this something you see as an investment to build your pipeline? If it isn’t part of your strategy and/or isn’t part of the benefits you are providing for a donation, decline the opportunity unless they give you a minimum donation and cover your costs.