By Janet Speers
"There can be no mistake, the quintessence of successful fund-raising is the careful and sometimes imaginative matching of askers to givers." In that one sentence Jerold Panas firmly combines two aspects of fund-raising that are often isolated from one another: those who do the research, and those who use the research.
Mega gifts: Who gives them, who gets them, by Jerold Panas (2nd ed. Revised ed. Medfield: Emerson & Church Publishers, 2005), is not primarily about prospect research. It is, however, as valuable for those of us who spend our days treasure hunting and preparing profiles as it is for those who make the asks.
Panas weaves stories of campaigns that received multimillion dollar gifts, with those that didn't even get off the ground. As part of the research for this book, Panas interviewed many mega gift donors, and asked them why they gave - and why they didn't give. The answers are not always what you expect.
Peppered throughout the book, Panas provides quotations from exceptional philanthropists that are quite telling. It is apparent that donors are unique in many ways: some prefer to be courted, some to be asked forthrightly, and others prefer to hear the story behind the project and the ask. That, of course, is why research is so vital, and why researchers need to be part of the fundraising team.
At the beginning of the final chapter in the book, Panas writes:
During the preparation of this book I combined all I heard from my donors and all I could read on the subject. I mixed this generously and openly with my own feelings and attitudes.
What has evolved are 62 factors that I am convinced guide, shape, and determine the success of securing the mega gifts.
And, if that's not enough to compel you to read Mega Gifts, then perhaps another one of his quotations will.
I leave you with the wisdom of Dr. Seuss (Oh, the Places You'll Go!): And will you succeed? Yes! Yes! You will indeed! (98 and 1/4 percent guaranteed.)