The Strategic Portfolio Review: The Smartest Move a Major Gift Fundraiser Can Make
Summer is a natural moment to pause.
The year is half over. The fall push is coming. And if you're honest with yourself, there are probably donor relationships in your portfolio that you haven't moved — not because you've been lazy, but because the year got busy and the strategy got blurry.
This is exactly when a portfolio review changes everything.
Recently, I worked with a Director who is actively building the major gift program at her organization. She has the skills, the instincts, and the trust of leadership. What she wanted wasn't motivation or theory. She wanted clarity — and a way to make the work feel doable and strategic for the months ahead.
So we started where I often start: with her portfolio. But instead of just reviewing it, we worked it — together. Here's what that actually looked like.
Turning the Portfolio Into a Real Planning Tool
The first shift was deceptively simple.
We stopped treating the portfolio spreadsheet like a static list and started using it as a living planning document. As we talked, we built notes directly into the spreadsheet: next steps, key facts about each donor, possible introduction pathways, reminders to capture this information properly in the CRM.
Then we made sure every active prospect had a lightweight but real three-to-six step plan for the next twelve months. Not complicated. Not perfect. Just intentional.
Finally, we prioritized the list based on timing — people who could realistically close now, and people who need preparation for next quarter.
You could almost feel the pressure lift. Suddenly, she wasn't trying to move everyone at once. She knew exactly where to focus — and why.
Protecting Focused Fundraising Time
Next, we tackled something that quietly derails even the best strategies: time.
We talked through what was realistic in her role — not an idealized version of it.
Together, we identified dedicated fundraising blocks for deep work: protected time where no meetings, fewer interruptions, and no reactive tasks could crowd out the relational work that actually moves major gifts forward.
This wasn't about doing more hours. It was about creating protected space where major gift work could actually happen — thoughtfully and without constant context-switching. That alone can change the trajectory of a year.
A Simple Upgrade for Mid-Level and Major Donors
We also looked at how her organization communicates with donors who are already giving generously.
Instead of reinventing the wheel, we talked about upgrading one existing channel — creating a mid-level and major donor version of their direct mail with more room, more personal language, and a response device that felt more respectful of the gift level. Same message. Same timing. Just a more appropriate experience for donors giving at $2,000 or more.
This kind of refinement doesn't add workload. It adds alignment.
Walking Through Real Donors — Not Hypotheticals
The most powerful part of the review was working through specific donors together. Here are a few examples.
Donor A: Generous, inconsistent, and connected to a board member.
We talked about the importance of an influential introduction — not a cold reach-out. The best next step was a brief email from the board member to the donor, sharing their personal reason for serving and supporting the mission, and copying the staff member to create a warm handoff. This kind of introduction creates a transfer of trust — and often opens the door to a values-based conversation that staff alone can't initiate.
Donor B: A Giving Tuesday donor who hadn't given the following year.
Before assuming disinterest, we talked through due diligence: checking for recent personal loss, reviewing LinkedIn and local business news, understanding context before outreach. Then we identified a strategic opportunity — inviting this donor to be a matching gift partner for year-end, and asking simply, "Is it your intention to give this year?" Simple. Respectful. Direct.
Donor C: Highly engaged and generous, but under-cultivated.
This donor gives generously, responds to crisis appeals, but had never been formally cultivated. Here, the opportunity wasn't another Ask. It was deeper engagement — an invitation for coffee, stewardship of her most recent gift with real specificity, and a personal thank-you tied to a concrete story of impact. That kind of stewardship doesn't just say thank you. It says: we see you.
A Pattern Worth Noticing
One thing stood out across her portfolio: several donors who had been lapsed for years had recently re-engaged through a crisis appeal — with new gifts at mid or major levels.
We talked about what an opportunity this represents. Not just for the Ask, but for outreach, for stewardship, for reconnection. A simple engagement question — "Did you have a personal connection to what happened?" — can unlock values, stories, and insight that deepen a relationship far beyond the crisis moment.
Lapsed donors who respond to a crisis aren't gone. They're waiting to feel seen again.
What a Portfolio Review Is Really About
A portfolio review isn't about spreadsheets, CRM lists, important names, "gotta do that" tasks.
It's about reducing noise, restoring confidence, and creating a clear path forward — so a fundraiser feels grounded instead of overwhelmed. It's about making sure your best donor relationships are getting the attention and strategy they deserve, before another quarter slips by.
When that happens in summer, everything that follows becomes more intentional. The fall push. The year-end conversations. The Ask you've been building toward.
You don't need to move everyone. You need to know where to focus — and why.
Ready for This Kind of Clarity?
Portfolio Review + Action Plan
A focused, personalized session where we review your portfolio together and build a clear, realistic plan for the months ahead. This is where we identify your strongest opportunities, map the next moves for your key relationships, and make sure you walk away with both strategy and confidence.
This level of portfolio strategy — and ongoing support — is built into Major Gifts Catalyst, my group coaching experience for fundraisers who want confidence, clarity, and momentum in their major gift work all year long.
Q: What if my portfolio is a mess right now — would a review still be helpful?
Especially then. In fact, some of the most valuable portfolio reviews I do start with what feels like chaos — names that haven't been touched in years, giving histories that don't match the relationship, a spreadsheet that no longer reflects what's actually happening. That's not a problem. It's where we start.
The goal isn't a perfect portfolio. It's enough clarity to know who deserves your attention right now, what the next conversation should be, and what you can let go of — at least for this season. You walk away knowing your next move instead of feeling buried under everyone's name at once.
Q: How do I know which donors in my portfolio are actually ready to be cultivated toward a major gift?
Look for three things: affinity, access, and capacity — and you need at least two of the three to have a real prospect.
Affinity is the most important signal and the most overlooked. Has this person shown genuine connection to your mission — through giving history, volunteer involvement, event attendance, or personal conversation? Access means there's a pathway to a relationship, either directly or through a trusted introduction. Capacity means the financial ability exists.
A donor who has deep affinity and access but modest capacity is often a better prospect than someone with significant wealth and no demonstrated connection. Wealth capacity is not the same as relationship capacity. In a portfolio review, we look at all three — and we get honest about which donors belong in your active cultivation list and which ones need a different kind of attention.
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Beth Ann Locke is the founder of The Fundraiser Coach and has been an embedded fundraiser for 30+ years and focused on major gifts for 20 years. She coaches major gift fundraisers and nonprofit leaders to build genuine donor relationships and secure transformational gifts. Learn more at thefundraisercoach.com.
