3 Steps to Managing Your Prospect Portfolio in 2024

Welcome to 2024! This article is about practice, not theory. It is a theory that must be put into practice. I work with The Salvation Army Indiana Division. My primary work focus is capital campaigns, corporate development, and individual principal and major gifts. Historically, I have had between 100 and 150 prospects in my portfolio. It is a new year, and I need to reset my portfolio. How should I reset and manage my portfolio for maximum effectiveness?

Prospect portfolios are important for any nonprofit to identify and assign major prospects to major gift officers, according to Graham Pelton. This focus allows nonprofits to intensively evaluate and create individual strategies for who can make significant institutional gifts.

A portfolio process should show ongoing movement of prospects on a continuum for total performance results. Effective portfolio management depends on real-time data and intensive prospect research analysis. You need to review your portfolio weekly to make sure each prospect is moved toward a scheduled solicitation.     

According to Foundant, nonprofit development is a complicated undertaking. A key to fundraising success is effective relationship management. Therefore, managing a prospect portfolio wisely is the key to your fundraising success. Here are three steps to manage your prospect portfolio this year.

1. Create or Review Your Prospect Portfolio 

If you have a current portfolio, review it in depth. Take the time to know each prospect in your portfolio. Regardless of it you are reviewing or creating a new prospect portfolio, ensure you have quality and quantity of data on each prospect, including:

• Prospect’s name.
• Address.
• Email addresses.
• Phone number.
• Giving history, such as number of gifts, years of giving and average gift. This also includes the total amount of gifts, latest gift dates, largest gift and date.
• How the gifts were made (check, cash, credit cards, stock or other means)
• Who makes the giving decision and where are gifts directed?

Also, seek to obtain a wealth analysis of each of your potential prospects. Through prospect research, see if your prospects serve on boards, volunteer and give to other nonprofits or political causes. Obtain real estate and asset information. Review how they have typically given to your nonprofit. See if individuals have a family foundation or donor-advised fund. 

You need to know significant information on each prospect, so you can determine a plan and know when to approach them with your plan. 

2. Manage Your Prospect Portfolio

To effectively manage your new portfolio, determine from where your prospects originated. Does each prospect need to be stewarded, cultivated or solicited? If they are newly identified, research them and create individual, 12-month strategies. Plan a 2024 calendar of moves, leading to a face-to-face visit. After all, stewardship must transition to cultivation and solicitation.  

With respect to the solicitation group, review their past giving and potential for future giving to decide how you should solicit them. Will you ask for a major, principal, planned or blended gift? A solicitation strategy should involve a time and place for the ask. And don’t forget to select the ask amount and its purpose. Quality materials that show impact, tell stories and evoke emotion can help here.

You can solicit alone or involve a variety of organizational representatives, such as administration, staff, volunteers, board members or other donors.     

3. Balance Your Prospect Portfolio   

Look at your total prospect portfolio of approximately 150 potential donors. Balance the portfolio with individuals, corporations, foundations, organizations and associations. Most of your portfolio should consist of individuals though. You can assume that your portfolio will consist primarily of existing major gift donors. Your goal is to see each prospect in your portfolio within 12 to 18 months, but remember to refresh your portfolio every 12 months with new prospects that can make significant gifts. 

Now use the prospect research and activities to tier your portfolio. Not all major and principal gift prospects have the same potential total gift value. Thus, you need to tier your prospects and manage them based upon tiers, labeled “A,” “B,” and “C,” but know most of the revenue will come from your A-level donors. 

At least 50% of your time needs to work with donors who produce the most net revenue for your organization. One fundraiser’s portfolio, for example, may have a 150-prospect caseload with 10 prospects in tier A, 40 prospects in tier B and 100 prospects in tier C. Tier A prospects have the potential to make six- to seven-figure gifts. The strategy with them is very personal and very strategic. With each prospect, once tiered, a determination must be made on moves strategy. 

Important Takeaways

It is important that you maintain and update your prospect portfolios on a consistent basis. Try to move each prospect from annual giving to major gifts, principal gifts, and planned gifts. Engage everyone on your staff in the research sharing process. In 2024, managing your portfolio is priority No. 1. Seek eventual personal visits, especially with prospect tiers A and B, this year. Through visits and contacts, determine individual fundraising strategies and amounts you will eventually seek from each prospect and for what purpose.   

I will join you with a newly minted portfolio in 2024. I am excited with the challenge it brings, with many evolving relationships in an incredibly challenging fundraising environment. Your portfolio will be in constant movement. Your challenge for 2024 is to increase the number of top-level donors and revenue each year. Target your fundraising portfolio development as your top priority for the new year. 

The preceding post was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.