What is a natural partner?
As a major gift officer, one of the best ways to expand your list of potential donors is to identify natural partners, or someone with an existing or natural relationship with a potential donor. This person could be a business partner, family friend, or a fellow church parishioner. A natural partner can help your organization build strategic relationships that are genuine and align with your organization’s values. You can learn more about the following in the Julep article, Major Gifts: Identifying Natural Partners.
According to The Artful Journey by William T. Sturtevant, a natural partner helps with the initial cultivation of a prospect in three ways:
- Creates a natural communication channel between a new prospect and the major gift officer.
- Builds the confidence of the prospective donor in the organization.
- Allows gift officers to learn more about a prospect and steer their cultivation conversations towards the prospect’s interests.
Identifying and linking natural partners has never been easier using Julep, a fresh and flexible CRM. Relationship links can be identified from donor’s profiles. Want to learn more? Check out Julep!
