Rethink the discovery process: Strategies to unlock support from your donors and prospects

No element of major gift officers’ work generates more unease than discovery.

Although most gift officers—and most institutions—recognize the importance of building their major gift pipelines, the discovery process can be difficult. GG+A surveys of major gift training and coaching participants have consistently found that they rank the difficulty of securing initial appointments as the most difficult and least satisfying part of their jobs. And fundraisers are too valuable a resource to have them participate in activities that yield limited results.

Given those challenges—and the current moment that we’re in—we believe it is time to rethink the discovery process. To help you take a fresh look at this crucial piece of the fundraising process, we have curated articles from the firm’s “Fundraising Redefined,” series that address many of the most pressing and consistent questions we are asked by our colleagues in Advancement.