“We need more donors before we focus on major gifts.”

I’ve heard some version of this statement for years. The logic usually goes something like this: If we just expand the pool—more events, more emails, more outreach—the major donors will eventually emerge on their own.

On the surface, that sounds reasonable.

But here’s what I’ve noticed.

When I receive mass emails from organizations I genuinely like, I’m conditioned to ignore them. Not because I don’t care—but because I already make too many decisions every day. When outreach doesn’t feel personal or intentional, it blends into the background noise of everything else competing for attention.

Major donors experience this at an entirely different scale.

Your next major donor is already overwhelmed. They receive more emails, more invitations, and more requests than they could ever respond to thoughtfully. Even when they care deeply, the path of least resistance is often to give smaller amounts to many organizations—enough to feel supportive without having to invest time, energy, or trust in any one place.

And that raises a different question.

What if the issue isn’t that you need more donors?

What if it’s that your attention is spread too thin?

What would change if, instead of inviting 100 people to an event or an annual campaign, you focused intentionally on just 10—people who already:

• Have a history of giving
  
  

• Have shown real engagement with your organization
  
  

• Have the capacity to make a major gift
  
  

It is our job to be persistent in pursuing support for our mission. But persistence without focus doesn’t build relationships. It sounds like someone shouting across a crowded room.

Don’t be the loud person at the party.

Be the one having meaningful conversations with a few—and watch those conversations turn into deep relationships, major gifts, and sustained support year after year.

In future posts, I’ll explore what focused major gift work actually looks like—and why it so often feels riskier than it is.

I’m curious: which approach does your organization default to right now?