How to effectively use LGL Goals

When it comes to managing your organization’s major donors and prospects, using LGL Goals can be a valuable asset. This article lays out why and how.

A seasoned program officer at a well-known foundation once told me, “When you’ve met one foundation, you’ve met one foundation.” His point was that no two foundations are alike, so each must have an individualized solicitation plan. Major donors/prospects are unique in the same way; each needs an individualized solicitation plan. LGL Goals are great at helping with this because they allow you to codify an individualized solicitation plan for each foundation or major donor as part of your fundraising plan. In other words, LGL Goals enable you to build a plan that meets the needs of multiple unique situations.

Two distinct approaches will typically be part of your fundraising plan:

• Solicitation of a group (en masse) of constituents, or
• Solicitation of a single (one-by-one) constituent, which LGL Goals are designed to track the phases of

Note: An LGL Goal should be used only for one-by-one type work; it should not be used for group work such as an appeal, even to track part of the work.

Managing one-by-one solicitation work

For one-by-one solicitation work, you will need to set up individualized solicitation plans and track the progress of each one. These plans might include: Requests for meetings, meeting notes, carefully written emails to just one person, proposals written specifically for one foundation, phone calls with one donor or one program officer, and so on. This one-by-one work is distinct from an email or letter you send to a group of constituents, in which the primary unique element is their name or perhaps an ask amount set for a group of constituents you plan to solicit.

When you have a solicitation plan in place and are looking at a prospective donor or foundation, you can record a goal in LGL to help make sure you’re on track with the plan as well as record progress against and make any needed adjustments to the plan.

Here are key elements to have in place before creating a goal:

• Identification of the staff/volunteer who will act on the plan (the Who)
• The amount you intend to ask for and an estimate of what you think you may receive (the What)
• Important steps such as meetings, letters of intent, proposals, correspondence, etc., including the timing of each (the How and When)

The above list assumes you already have your “Why” in place as part of your case for support.

The high value you can get from using goals in LGL comes when you have matched your staff/volunteer capacity with the management/workload required by the individualized solicitation plans (codified in LGL Goals). Great relationships with donors and prospects require regular attention, and the most important gifts (to both the donor and the organization) result from great relationships. When done well, goals in LGL show the good work being done by staff and track the wonderful gifts made by donors.

Note: It is best to keep only as many goals active in LGL as you and your team can review/act on each week or two. If no one has reviewed a goal in the past month or two, it is likely best to delete it (unless you are certain it is needed).

Conclusion

Keeping all the above guidance around LGL Goals and how to use them in mind, you should be ready to take advantage of the functionality they offer and increase and expand your success at fundraising with foundations and major gift donors.