The Essential Major Donor Toolkit: A Guide for Nonprofits Pursuing a Major Donor Strategy

When I was hired as Executive Director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV) in late 1996, I had never raised a dime. The board probably shouldn’t have hired me.

Yet, they did. And it became quickly apparent that fundraising was Job One. OLCV had just two permanent employees at the time (me and a half-time office assistant), along with one other employee on a short-term contract for the legislative session. In contrast, I had big ambitions for the group to become a force on beha...