Most nonprofits know they want a major gifts program, but not where to start. A brand and fundraising audit maps your gaps across our five-stage framework, so you know exactly where to focus first.
What we hear most often when organizations talk about major gifts fundraising is that they want to invest in getting started, but they don’t know where to start. So, they either put it off, or they think getting started means asking their Board for a list of wealthy contacts.
In our work with organizations, we start with an audit. And because it’s organized around our five-stage brand-led, relationship-based framework, it doesn’t just tell you what gaps exist, but also what stage they’re aligned to, so you know exactly where to focus your time, energy and resources.
For us, an audit replaces, “We need to figure out how to build our major gifts,” with a clear map that shows what’s already working, what needs attention, and what you could do next to start building major gifts momentum.
Table of Contents
What Is a Brand and Fundraising Audit?
The audit is an analysis of how well your brand and major gifts fundraising efforts are working (or not working) together, so you can move forward (or get started!) with confidence.
For our work with clients, we organize the audit into five sections, aligned to our brand-led, relationship-based framework for major gifts fundraising:
- Foundation: What are we building, and why does it matter?
- Architecture: How do we design the team and systems that will carry relationships forward?
- Conversation: How do we bring our story to the right people and make it stronger?
- Cultivation: How do we honor generosity and deepen relationships after a gift?
- Reach: How do we tell this story clearly and consistently at scale?
For each of these five stages, we analyze what we see/read with what we hear in our market research interviews. Then, we put it all together in a clear, organized report that covers your strengths, watch areas, and recommendations for what to do next.
Why Not Skip it?
The audit is intended to set a strong foundation from the start, so your organization can build a major gifts fundraising program that lasts.
In our experience, sustainable and effective major gifts fundraising is reliant on clarity and trust. And it’s our belief that clarity and trust are built through consistent and cohesive communication. If your donors hear one thing from you but experience another, trust erodes. If your team feels unsure about your message or brand identity, confidence fades.
So before you get started building up a major gifts program, it’s important to see exactly where there’s brand clarity, where your donor experience might fall short, or what small shifts can make a big impact. On the flip side, if you choose to skip an audit, major gifts fundraising efforts might still raise some money in the short term, but you’re still left with the same gaps afterward. You may even find yourself having to pause until those gaps are filled in.
By understanding where you are starting from, and addressing the ‘what areas’ from the start, you are able to lean into one of best fundraising strategies: momentum.
What to Audit
An audit can be a useful tool for any situation. For our work, we audit an organization’s readiness to invest in a major gifts fundraising program. Whether you’re starting from scratch or deepening your existing efforts, the criteria that we measure is specifically aligned to major gifts fundraising.
As mentioned already, we organize the audit into the five stages of our brand-led, relationship-based major gifts fundraising framework. Each stage has a handful of specific elements that we rank, one to three, with a total of 60 points possible.
Based on an organization’s score, we can then make specific recommendations and help guide next-right-steps.
Here are the 20 criteria that we measure against:
1. Foundation: What are we building, and why does it matter?
1. Clarity of transformation and goal
- 1: No clearly articulated change or end goal; goals are vague, internal, or activity-based. Donors are unclear on what success looks like.
- 3: Clear and compelling theory of change and measurable goal that donors can see themselves contributing toward; organization demonstrates readiness to deliver.
2. Purpose, mission, vision, and values alignment
- 1: Purpose, mission, vision, values exist but are inconsistently understood or disconnected from donor-facing communication.
- 3: Everyone (staff, board, volunteers) can articulate purpose, mission, vision, values consistently, and external messaging strongly reflects them.
3. Beneficiary motivations
- 1: No clear understanding of beneficiary motivations; programs designed around assumptions.
- 3: Beneficiary motivations are documented, tested, and consistently addressed in programming and donor communications.
4. Donor audience definition
- 1: Donor audiences are loosely defined; no research on needs, fears, or motivations.
- 3: Top donor audiences are clearly identified with documented pains/gains, shaping cultivation and communications strategies.
5. Brand differentiation
- 1: Organization struggles to explain how it differs from peers; donors see overlap or redundancy.
- 3: Differentiation is clear, compelling, and consistently communicated; donors and beneficiaries articulate it back with ease.
6. Unique model delivery
- 1: Programs are described by activities rather than outcomes; the model isn’t differentiated from peers, and there’s no evidence connecting it to results.
- 3: The model’s mechanism is distinct, backed by evidence or data, and donors/partners can clearly see why this approach produces results others can’t.
7. Brand personality and tone
- 1: No clear sense of brand personality; tone varies by communicator; organization blends into the landscape.
- 3: Brand personality is distinct, documented, and consistently applied across communications, creating recognition and emotional resonance.
8. Visual identity consistency
- 1: Visual identity is inconsistent, outdated, or lacks guidelines.
- 3: Visual identity is professional, distinct, documented (brand guide), and consistently applied across all platforms.
2. Architecture: How do we design the team and systems that will carry relationships forward?
9. Leadership and staff alignment
- 1: Leadership and staff use inconsistent language and do not appear unified on identity or fundraising priorities.
- 3: Leadership and staff independently describe the mission, priorities, and brand the same way, without needing a script in front of them.
10. Committee/board structure and engagement
- 1: No defined committee structure or roles; board engagement is inconsistent, and few members are equipped or willing to support fundraising.
- 3: Committees have clear roles, defined expectations, and active participation; board is trained and engaged in cultivation and solicitation.
11. Donor engagement journey map
- 1: No documented path exists from first donor touchpoint to major gift; movement happens informally or by chance.
- 3: A clear, documented donor journey exists, mapping how relationships are intentionally deepened from awareness to major giving.
12. Donor prospecting and segmentation
- 1: No system for identifying or prioritizing prospects; cultivation happens ad hoc.
- 3: Prospects are segmented with clear cultivation strategies, tracked, and regularly reviewed as part of a pipeline.
3. Conversation: How do we bring our story to the right people and make it stronger?
13. Core message framework and consistency
- 1: Messaging is inconsistent and changes depending on who speaks; no documented through-line, and the story relies on one spokesperson.
- 3: A documented message framework exists and is the source every touchpoint pulls from.
14. Case statement
- 1: No case statement exists, or it lacks a clear connection between need, goal, and ask.
- 3: A compelling case statement exists that clearly connects need, goal, and ask, and is used consistently in fundraising conversations.
4. Cultivation: How do we honor generosity and deepen relationships after a gift?
15. Donor retention plan
- 1: No intentional plan for retention; stewardship is irregular or reactive.
- 3: Donor retention is tracked, with a documented plan and intentional touchpoints that deepen relationships.
16. Donor recognition system
- 1: No formal recognition process; acknowledgment is inconsistent or generic.
- 3: A tiered recognition matrix and plan exist and are consistently applied, making donors feel seen at every giving level.
17. Relational solicitation readiness
- 1: Solicitation depends on one or two individuals and isn’t yet supported by a system that connects board or staff relationships to donor cultivation; asks happen in spite of structure, not because of it.
- 3: A system exists that connects staff and board relationships to donor cultivation, so that when an ask happens, it grows naturally out of an existing relationship rather than requiring someone to overcome discomfort or push past an absent connection.
18. Major donor insight-gathering
- 1: Organization has never directly asked donors what they value; assumptions drive stewardship decisions.
- 3: Organization regularly asks donors what they value and uses those insights to shape cultivation and stewardship.
5. Reach: How do we tell this story clearly and consistently at scale?
19. Communications plan
- 1: No documented communications plan; channels used inconsistently.
- 3: Communications plan is updated, resourced, and prioritizes channels aligned to donor engagement goals.
20. Channel performance and KPIs
- 1: Channel performance is not tracked, or data exists but is not used to inform decisions.
- 3: KPIs are tracked across channels and actively used to refine communications and engagement strategy.
What It Looks Like in Practice
An audit may seem like a daunting activity, but it doesn’t have to be too overwhelming. Whether you work with us or conduct one yourself, audits typically go through these steps:
- Report Back: We compile clear insights and prioritize recommendations for your organization, aligned to the five stages of our framework.
- Gather Materials: You collect your background information and we review what you have in place. Think mission statement, past appeals, case statements, website, social posts, visuals, and donor communications.
- Ask Thoughtful Questions: Our audit questionnaire helps us understand what you want the experience to be, so we can compare that to what’s actually being communicated.
- Listen Deeply: We interview a few people inside and outside your organization to surface honest feedback you may not hear every day.
- Analyze and Align: We compare what you say you stand for with what people see and experience when they engage with your organization.
Bringing Clarity to Getting Started
Getting started with major gifts fundraising doesn’t have to feel like you’re staring up at a tall mountain. By first completing an audit, you’re scaling that mountain down to a small hill and closing the gap of wanting to get starting and knowing what to do next.
While it won’t hand you a donor list or write your case statement for you, it will show you, stage by stage, where you have solid footing, and where you need some work before you climb even further. So instead of guessing where to focus, or defaulting to the same ask-the-Board approach, an audit helps you prioritize, so you can confidently see where your next step needs to go.
Kelly is a passionate brand strategist and designer who loves supporting nonprofits on their mission to do more good work in this world. She’s seen firsthand the power of creating a consistent and cohesive brand – from building better connections with your audience to streamlining marketing and fundraising efforts.
