Nonprofit Essentials: Major Gi

"Major gifts are at the heart of any coordinated, successful fundraising effort. Julie Walker shows you how to do it all— find the prospects, staff the program, and ask for the money. The sidebar stories and real-world examples sprinkled throughout the book are entertaining, yet still make a point. I would buy it for the advice and keep it for the anecdotes."
—Duris Holmes, Chairman of the Board Benjamin Franklin High School New Orleans, Louisiana

Part of the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series, Nonprofit Essentials: Major Gifts is a professional guide to major gift fundraising, concisely presented in a format that is accessible, lively, and easy-to-read. With in-depth advice from experienced fundraiser Julia Walker, this book takes the reader from the early stages of establishing a program through the core elements of all major gift programs: identifying and rating prospects; preparing the case; training volunteers; cultivating donors; making the ask; and providing recognition and stewardship for the gift. Its nuts-and-bolts presentation focuses on how to create a prospect-centered program that develops the capacity to engage and solicit donors, effectively based on their unique interests and needs.

Julia Ingraham Walker has been a fundraising professional for over twenty years in the Gulf South. Her professional background is in major gifts. During her tenure at Tulane University, she hired, supervised, and directed the activity of a large staff of major gift officers both in and out of campaigns for over ten years. As a consultant to numerous capital campaigns over the past six years, she has had significant experience developing strategy on major gift fundraising for a diverse group of non-profits. Her experience ranges from museums to secondary schools, arts organizations, community nonprofits, and institutions of higher education.