Nonprofit Lowdown Episode #364: Giving Tuesday But Make It Major Gifts

Host: Rhea Wong
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

Rhea Wong delivers a focused and practical mini-training on reimagining Giving Tuesday—not as a day for small, annual gifts, but as a springboard for cultivating and closing major gifts before year-end. Dispelling common nonprofit tactics centered on rote email blasts and generic social media, Rhea walks listeners through her major gift “playbook.” The episode is designed for action-oriented fundraisers ready to segment and target their top prospects for transformational gifts during the most lucrative giving season.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Giving Tuesday: A Major Gifts Opportunity

• Most content about Giving Tuesday focuses on annual gifts and copywriting; this episode is about using the day for major gift discovery and closes.
• Major Gifts versus Annual Gifts:
  • Annual gifts (<$1,000) “keep the lights on”—but major gifts yield true transformation.
  • “One of the biggest mistakes that I see folks executing at the end of year is treating all donors like they're the same.” (03:05)

2. Real-World Wins and Self-Cultivation

• Student Success Stories:
  • Adam: Grew year-end gifts from $2,000 to $63,000 within months.
  • Stephanie: Closed a surprise $25,000 major gift within three months.
• Insight: Many major donors self-cultivate and self-solicit.
  • “How many of y'all have ever gotten just like a random five or six figure gift in the mail and you're like, whoa, I had no idea. Who were you people?” (04:09)
  • Lesson: “It is our job to put in as many signals and tripwires as possible in order for us to be intentional about bringing them into the fold.” (05:06)

3. Who Should Use This Strategy?

• Best For:
  • Fundraisers ready to act and sprint through year-end; authority to move quickly; not perfectionists.
  • Must have done stewardship and cultivation throughout the year.
• Not For:
  • Those focused on minute details, teams resistant to new approaches, or organizations with no prior donor engagement.
  • “If you don't try something new, you're not going to get a different result. So this approach may be a bit new to some of you. And so if you're willing to give it a whirl, if you're willing to lean in, then you'll probably see results.” (08:16)

4. The 3% Rule & Segmentation

• Key Concept: “3% of your Giving Tuesday audience can fund your next program. The reason they haven't is that you haven't asked them, you haven't identified them, you haven't approached them in the right way. But they do exist.” (09:00)
• Many nonprofits underutilize their existing list—major donors are “lurking,” watching, ready for the right ask.

Meetings > Mass Blasts

• "Your chances of landing a gift increase by a skill 70% when it is an in-person ask." (09:58)
• Instead of optimizing for more emails, optimize for meetings with the right people.

5. The 90/10 Rule vs. Grassroots

• “What we're seeing in major gift work is it's more like 90/10. So 10% of the donors are making up 90% of the overall.”
• Small-dollar campaigns can have their place, “but typically, grassroots campaigns will not move the deno [needle] ... likely you're losing money on the first gift. You're probably making money on successive gifts if they come back.” (11:04)
• Return on investment: Leadership gifts bring “about 5 cents on the dollar,” far more efficient than small gifts.

6. The Real Problem with Most Year-End Campaigns

• VIP donors get buried in mass emails.
• No follow-up or personal invitations for deeper engagement.
• “You're not offering any opportunities to meet with you. You have zero calendar blocks for hot leads.” (13:01)

Practical Playbook: Two-Lane System

Lane A: Annual Givers

• Who: Steady, predictable donors for mass emails and social posts.
• Tactics: Embed “signal taps” or tripwires in communication—if they click, move to Lane B.

Lane B: Major Gift Hot Prospects (Top 30)

• Who to Include:
  • Recent DAF/stock/QCD donors
  • Corporate sponsors/decision-makers
  • Board introductions
  • Lapsed $1,000+ donors with recent digital engagement
  • Long-term cultivation prospects “on the verge”
  • Individuals identified through wealth screening
• Who to Exclude:
  • Cold, unverified names (ex: “Don’t put Oprah on your list unless you’re for real, for real friends with Oprah.”)
  • Those paying existing pledges
  • Donors who’ve communicated a shift away from your org
• Key Metrics: Number of meetings and major gift conversion rates
• Process:
  • Rapid, custom briefings and personal asks (72-hour sprints)
  • "Speed wins here."

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Spontaneity of Major Gifts:
  “I love a random check, but it's also a little mystifying, like, who are these people? Where did they come from? What did I do in order to stimulate the gift or not?” – Rhea Wong (04:09)

• On Grassroots vs. Major Gifts:
  “Grassroots campaigns are typically not even going to keep the lights on because you expend money in order to get a donor.” (11:04)

• On Segmentation:
  “It does not do you a ton of good, because I’m sure y’all are out here with a bajillion things to do. You don’t need more meetings on your calendar, am I right? But I'm pretty sure you need more meetings with the right people.” (10:15)

• On Excluding Cold Prospects:
  “Keep Oprah off your list right now. Unless you’re for real, for real friends with Oprah.” (12:39)

Timestamps to Important Segments

• 03:05 – Treating all donors the same: framing the critical error in year-end giving
• 04:09 – Major donors and the phenomenon of self-cultivation
• 09:00 – The 3% rule: finding major gift potential within your own list
• 09:58 – Meetings over mass blasts; why in-person (or real) conversations matter
• 11:04 – ROIs: The disparity between grassroots and major gift strategies
• 13:01 – Problems in typical campaigns: missed signals, no meetings for hot prospects
• 12:39 – Excluding cold prospects: why not to waste time on “wish list” donors

Final Thoughts

Rhea’s approach flips the Giving Tuesday script: stop treating it as a non-stop mass campaign and start seeing it as your “major donor Discovery Day.” Her tactical, no-nonsense instructions press fundraisers to prioritize real relationships, segment wisely, move quickly, and stop leaving money on the table. Action and speed, not perfection, are the keys.

For further resources, Rhea Wong invites listeners to join her free webinar for the full playbook, tools, and templates.