Building a major gifts program: practical strategies for independent newsrooms

On Thursday, October 8, BlueLena welcomed fundraising leaders from Montana Free Press and Fort Worth Report for a conversation about growing major gifts revenue, from identifying high-potential donors to building lasting relationships.

For nonprofit news organizations, major gifts offer a promising path to sustainable reader revenue yet many newsrooms face the same critical questions:

• How do we identify supporters capable of making larger contributions?
• When is the right time to ask?
• How do we build meaningful relationships when development teams are stretched thin?

These questions and others shaped our fifth and final end-of-year fundraising workshop, which featured Sarah Pennix, Director of Philanthropy at Montana Free Press and Eric Brown, Director of Development at the Fort Worth Report.

Megan Wofford, BlueLena’s Director of Products, moderated the conversation, which explored how two nonprofit newsrooms approach major donor identification, cultivation, stewardship and revenue forecasting.

Although their organizations differ in size, fundraising structures and donor demographics, both leaders emphasized a common principle: Successful major gifts fundraising depends less on finding wealthy individuals than on building intentional relationships with people who believe in independent journalism.

Defining major gifts around your organization’s goals

One of the first decisions any newsroom must make is how to define a major donor. No universal threshold exists, which is why organizations should set giving levels that reflect their donor base and fundraising capacity.

At the Fort Worth Report, Brown uses a $5,000 threshold. Rather than assigning donor relationships exclusively according to giving capacity, Brown and Chief Development Officer Sonya Wierzowiecki consider which team member has the strongest personal connection to each prospect.

Both approaches highlight a clear takeaway: establish ownership and accountability while supporting relationship development.

For smaller newsrooms formalizing major gifts fundraising, the lesson is straightforward: Start with a definition that reflects your current donor community, identify a manageable prospect portfolio, and assign responsibility for cultivating each relationship.

Finding major donors already in your database

Many newsrooms assume that growing major gifts revenue requires identifying entirely new prospects. But Pennix and Brown suggested that some of the strongest opportunities may already exist within an organization’s audience and donor database.

At Montana Free Press, Pennix looks beyond an individual’s past contributions to identify signals of additional giving capacity.

Contributions through donor-advised funds, gifts of appreciated stock and qualified charitable distributions from retirement accounts indicate that a supporter has experience with sophisticated charitable giving strategies. These indicators help development teams identify donors who may make larger contributions than their giving history suggests.

Pennix shared an example of a supporter who initially contributed $500. After a personal cultivation meeting, that donor ultimately made a stock contribution exceeding $12,000.

The takeaway is simple: previous giving amounts should inform, but not limit, a fundraiser’s assessment of a donor’s potential.

By cross-referencing information, his team uncovers shared relationships that create opportunities for warm introductions rather than relying on unsolicited outreach.

For newsrooms looking to strengthen prospect identification, tools like BlueLena’s BlueDepth donor scoring can help development teams segment supporters by giving potential and prioritize cultivation efforts.

However, data alone cannot determine whether someone will become a major donor. Capacity identifies who might give, while engagement, affinity and relationships determine who may actually want to give.

The most productive prospect research combines financial indicators with an understanding of what motivates individuals to support the newsroom’s mission.

Major gifts fundraising is a total team effort

A recurring theme throughout the conversation was the importance of involving people beyond the development department in major donor relationships.

At the Fort Worth Report, Brown regularly brings other members of the organization into cultivation conversations, including founding board co-chair Wes Turner and members of the editorial team.

These interactions give prospective donors a more direct understanding of the newsroom’s work and the people responsible for producing it.

For supporters interested in local journalism’s impact, speaking with reporters or organizational leaders can make the mission more tangible than a traditional fundraising presentation.

Pennix takes a similarly collaborative approach at Montana Free Press, tailoring board involvement to each member’s strengths and comfort level.

Some board members actively lead major donor outreach, while others join development staff to build confidence and experience. One board member initially hesitant about fundraising began joining Pennix for donor meetings, creating a more approachable path to greater participation. These calls reinforce the distinction between solicitation and stewardship, and not every donor interaction needs a request for money.

For newsrooms with limited development capacity, involving board members, executives and journalists can expand the organization’s ability to build relationships without increasing fundraising staff.

The key is to give each participant a meaningful role that aligns with their strengths.

Personal outreach matters more than the number of touchpoints

Major gifts fundraising requires consistent communication, but consistency should not be confused with volume. Understanding what a donor cares about, how they prefer to communicate and what questions they have about the organization often provides more useful information than extensive background research.

Brown brought a different perspective from his corporate sales experience, where he might pursue a prospect through 11 or 12 touchpoints before redirecting his attention.

In nonprofit journalism fundraising, he takes a more selective approach.

Because potential supporters already encounter the newsroom’s journalism, newsletters, events and other communications, he may stop direct cultivation after three or four failed attempts.

That does not necessarily mean abandoning the relationship. Brown shared an example of a previously unresponsive prospect who unexpectedly re-engaged after expressing interest in an upcoming event.

Brown shared an example of a previously unresponsive prospect who unexpectedly re-engaged after expressing interest in an upcoming event.

This experience underscores the advantage news organizations have over many other nonprofit institutions: their core product creates ongoing opportunities for people to reconnect with the mission.

A supporter who is not ready for a major gift conversation today may become more receptive after attending an event, reading an impactful investigation or seeing the newsroom respond to an important community need.

The goal is to maintain a thoughtful presence without letting persistent solicitation undermine the relationship.

Knowing when to make “the ask”

Determining when to solicit a major gift is one of fundraising’s most challenging tasks.

Pennix described an approach that considers several indicators, including a donor’s engagement, responsiveness, giving history and willingness to participate in conversations.

These signals help her assess whether a relationship has progressed sufficiently to support a meaningful solicitation. Sometimes a donor responds more readily to a board member or organizational leader than to development staff. Knowing when to change the messenger can be as important as timing the request.

Brown also emphasized transparency in these conversations. Rather than treating fundraising as a transactional exercise, he encourages honest discussions about the organization’s financial requirements, strategic priorities and growth opportunities.

Major donors often want to understand the business realities behind the journalism they support. Explaining how a contribution advances the organization’s goals can create a stronger foundation for a meaningful partnership.

The key takeaway is that clear context helps donors understand where their support fits.

Building a forecast instead of chasing contributions

While relationship building dominated the conversation, Brown stressed that effective major gifts fundraising also requires operational discipline. At the Fort Worth Report, he has introduced a forecasting methodology that maps potential contributions against anticipated solicitation dates, donor readiness and expected gift amounts.

This approach helps the development team move beyond individual donor conversations to a more systematic understanding of its fundraising pipeline.

Forecasting also gives organizational leadership greater visibility into when major contributions might arrive and how those expectations relate to budgets and financial planning. The key takeaway is that forecasting makes major gifts easier to plan for.

Brown acknowledged that initial forecasts are rarely precise. The process becomes more useful as development teams gather information about donor behavior, cultivation timelines and conversion patterns.

Over time, forecasting creates a framework for evaluating progress and identifying potential revenue gaps before they become urgent problems. For small teams, establishing written workflows and fundraising playbooks can produce similar benefits.

Documenting how prospects are identified, assigned, cultivated, solicited and stewarded reduces the risk that important relationships rely entirely on one employee’s institutional knowledge. It also creates continuity when staffing changes occur.

The BlueLena CRM and moves management system supports this process by centralizing relationship histories, documenting interactions, tracking next steps and helping teams monitor their fundraising pipeline.

Recognizing when to reassess a donor relationship

Not every major gift prospect will develop into a meaningful fundraising opportunity. Pennix described the importance of periodically reviewing inactive or unresponsive relationships.

For example, a donor who previously contributed $300 to $500 but has not given for years may no longer belong in an actively managed major gifts portfolio.

Instead of continuing to devote intensive cultivation resources to that individual, the organization may find greater value in returning the supporter to its broader membership or annual giving program.

This does not mean the relationship has ended. It acknowledges that different supporters require different levels of attention at different stages. Brown emphasized the importance of recognizing when additional direct outreach is unlikely to produce immediate results.

For development teams with limited resources, portfolio management is fundamentally a prioritization exercise. Maintaining an accurate understanding of each donor’s engagement, potential and next steps lets staff focus efforts where they are most likely to build meaningful relationships and sustainable revenue.

One of Pennix’s top recommendations for fundraisers starting a major gifts program was to develop a working knowledge of tax-smart charitable giving.

Donor-advised funds, appreciated securities and qualified charitable distributions can provide supporters with alternatives to traditional cash contributions.

Fundraisers should not provide individualized tax advice, but understanding these mechanisms lets them recognize opportunities and connect donors with appropriate resources. Pennix highlighted the value of relationships with organizations such as the Montana Community Foundation, which can help newsrooms navigate more complex giving arrangements.

This knowledge changes the nature of the donor conversation.

Instead of focusing exclusively on how much an individual might contribute, development professionals can help supporters understand the ways they can make a meaningful investment in journalism. The result is a more collaborative approach to philanthropy, grounded in the donor’s circumstances and the organization’s long-term needs.

Turning major gifts strategy into a repeatable process

For nonprofit newsrooms looking to launch or expand a major gifts program, the panel offered several practical priorities.

• Start with the donors you already know. Review giving histories, engagement patterns and wealth indicators before investing heavily in new prospect acquisition.
• Create a clear relationship management structure. Define major gift thresholds, assign portfolio ownership and establish expectations for cultivation and stewardship.
• Bring the newsroom into the conversation. Involve board members, executives and journalists in ways that help supporters understand the value and impact of the organization’s work.
• Document the fundraising pipeline. Use a CRM to track conversations, relationships, prospective gift amounts, next steps and anticipated solicitation dates.
• Build a realistic revenue forecast. Establish a process for estimating future contributions and refining projections as new information becomes available.
• Invest in personalized stewardship. Make donor appreciation, thoughtful follow-up and meaningful engagement part of the regular development workflow.
• Know when to redirect resources. Reassess inactive prospects and maintain appropriate engagement through broader membership and annual giving programs.
• Become a resource for donors. Understand charitable giving vehicles and develop partnerships that help supporters explore ways to contribute.

None of these practices requires a large development department. They do require a commitment to consistent processes, reliable data and intentional relationship management.

Building sustainable revenues through strong relationships

The experiences shared by Montana Free Press and the Fort Worth Report demonstrate that successful major gifts fundraising combines the art of relationship building with the discipline of data-informed management.

Technology can help identify promising prospects, reveal connections, organize donor histories and forecast revenue. But the most important work still happens through personal conversations, thoughtful stewardship and a shared commitment to independent journalism.

For newsrooms seeking to diversify revenue and reduce dependence on annual fundraising campaigns, developing a structured major gifts program represents an opportunity to build deeper, longer-lasting relationships with their most committed supporters.

At BlueLena, we help independent and nonprofit news organizations put these strategies into practice through integrated CRM and moves management technology, BlueDepth donor intelligence and specialized fundraising support through BlueLena Advisory.

Our work focuses on helping publishers connect audience insights with actionable fundraising strategies, strengthen donor relationships and build the systems necessary for sustained revenue growth.

Interested in building or strengthening your major gifts program? Connect with the BlueLena team to learn how our technology and advisory services can support your organization’s fundraising goals.

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About BlueLena

BlueLena is the journalism industry’s leading strategy consulting, audience and revenue development solution provider, helping more than 300 independent news organizations across North America build sustainable business models.

Founded in 2020 by publishers, journalists, and media technology professionals, BlueLena combines purpose-built technology with embedded strategic consulting and execution support to help publishers grow audiences, strengthen reader relationships, and diversify revenue through subscriptions, memberships, donations, advertising, sponsorships, and major gifts.

Its integrated platform includes audience engagement tools, CRM and moves management, donor intelligence, marketing automation, and analytics, enabling news organizations of all sizes to operate with the capabilities of a much larger organization while remaining focused on serving their communities.