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Your Next Major Gift Is Waiting.
Let’s Go Find It.

“Your Next Major Gift” is a live, interactive, small-group working session for nonprofit fundraisers and Executive Directors who want a clear path to their next major gift.

 Not a webinar. Not a course. This is 3 focused hours where you and I work through your actual portfolio together—and craft a concrete plan, in real time.

Bring your actual donor list.
Leave with a concrete plan for your next $10,000–$100,000+ gift.

SAY NO MORE—I'M IN!

LED BY BETH ANN LOCKE, THE FUNDRAISER COACH

Her clients have identified $770K in one 3-hour session, closed $1.45 million in a single program and raised $678,000 in a year, after starting from $130,000

The Uncomfortable Truth About Why Major Gifts Keep Getting Pushed Back

Here’s something I don’t hear talked about enough:

The confidence problem you think you have? It’s not actually a confidence problem.

It’s a strategy problem.

But I know that’s not how it feels from the inside.

From the inside, it feels like you’re short on TIME—because grant deadlines and board prep and thank-you letters keep crowding out the calls you know you should be making.

It feels like you need to build CONFIDENCE, because you’re not quite sure what to say when a good conversation needs to shift toward a gift.

It feels like you have to find the perfect TIMING, because there’s always a better moment just around the corner.

But underneath all of that?

The reason your job feels so hard is that you don’t have a clear system telling you:

“This is the person, this is the moment, this is what you say.”

And without that clarity, your brain does what brains do—it finds something more urgent to focus on instead.

So your results look something like this: 

  • A list of people you’ve been meaning to call or email for months 
  • Current donors who could be giving at a much higher level
  • Lapsed donors on their way to forgetting who you are 
  • Conversations that are more or less warm and friendly, but never quite get to the Ask. 
  • A major gifts program that feels reactive, sporadic, and—if we’re being honest—completely exhausting.

One of the fundraisers I work with recently put it like this:

“When it comes to other, perhaps more strategic, donors, I constantly feel like ‘I should really contact so-and-so’
 but then life gets away from me.”

👆That might be the most honest thing I’ve ever heard about this work.

And I’d be willing to bet it sounds familiar.

Here’s what I want you to know—

You are not behind because you’re not “good enough” at this.

You’re behind because no one has sat down with you, looked at your actual portfolio, and said: “Here are your top 3 major gift prospects, here’s exactly where they are, here’s what your next steps should be, this is what you say, and this is when you say it.”

That’s what this session does!

SECURE MY SPOT

Proof of what’s possible:

Historic Columbus needed to raise $585,000 in 5 months to complete a $4.8M capital campaign. The most they could identify on their own was $350,000. Their donor list felt exhausted. They couldn't see a path to their goal.

Then they did a Strategic Portfolio Review with me. In that single 3-hour session, we identified $770,000 in major gift opportunities hiding within their existing database—$185,000 more than their original goal, and $420,000 more than they'd found on their own. Not new donors. People who were already there.

But identifying those prospects was only Step 1...

The real work was cultivating those relationships—moving donors from $1,000 annual gifts to $100,000 campaign investments.

Using my 6-step B.R.I.D.G.E. framework and with ongoing strategic coaching, Historic Columbus closed $544,000 in just 4 months, reaching 93% of their goal with another $230,000 in outstanding requests.

As Executive Director Elizabeth Walden put it:

“It's now the end of June, and we're now at 93% of the goal! Thanks to your guidance, we've received an unexpected $100,000 gift from a former board member, $17,000 from Trustees and members, and other pledges totaling $50,000—and we still have $230,000 in outstanding requests.”

And that was just in the first 4 months,

Over the next 4 months, Historic Columbus went on to raise over $867,000, with my strategic support.

Let this story serve as evidence:

The funding your organization needs is not “somewhere out there”.

It’s already in your database. You just need the right lens to see who’s ready—and a plan for what to say when you pick up the phone.

This Is for the Fundraisers Who Are Ready to Stop


  • Telling yourself you’ll make those donor calls “next week”—and then watching next week quietly become next month
  • Freezing right when a good conversation needs to shift toward a gift, because you don’t know what to say or how to say it
  • Running a major gifts program that feels reactive and haphazard instead of focused and intentional
  • Losing sleep over upcoming donor conversations because you’re so worried you’re going to blow it and ruin the relationship
  • White-knuckling every major gift conversation because you don’t have a clear approach to lean on
  • Feeling like your major gifts potential is right there—but never quite getting the traction you know is possible
  • Being great at building relationships—but not knowing how to move them toward a gift  🙋

If you’re nodding along right now, you’re in exactly the right place.

Here’s What Happens When Fundraisers Get the Right Plan:

“Beth Ann gave practical steps and language for our small team. I recently closed a gift for $437,000—one of the most substantial wins we’ve had with a funder I’d been pursuing for several years. When I finally did talk to her, I felt equipped to draw out her interest and connect her to our current needs. Beth Ann’s coaching was inspirational, supportive, and ultimately essential in our journey to connect more supporters with our mission.”

Craig Nason
Development & Communications Director
Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking
Denver, Colorado

“Beth Ann was instrumental in helping us secure our largest donation to date of $100,000, in addition to some smaller ones ranging from $20,000–$40,000. Previously our largest donors were those who donated between $250–$1,000. And this donor has since gone on to make her $100,000 gift annually!”

Cristina Fragale
Senior Director of Recruitment & Development
Preston High School
New York, New York

“Before we started working with Beth Ann, our fundraising efforts were defined by lots of chaos and frustration. Beth Ann provides great advice—she listens, and gives feedback you can use immediately. By working with Beth Ann, I was able to execute a request for funding that resulted in several additional gifts from donors at the $50,000 level. No matter where you are in your skill level, you’ll come away from her training feeling equipped to take your donors to new levels of giving.”

Lorie Fees
Director, Major Gifts
Children’s Hope Alliance
Statesville, North Carolina

Why the Courses and Workshops You’ve Taken Haven’t Stuck

Let me be honest with you about something —

You’ve probably already invested in training: A workshop, a course, a book or two.

And those things gave you frameworks.

They gave you inspiration.

You came back energized — and then real life intervened within two weeks.

Nothing stuck at the level of daily action.

But it’s not your fault. And it’s not because the training was bad.

It’s because there’s a big difference between learning about major gifts and getting help with your donors.

Most courses teach you frameworks in general. 

They’re not designed to help you figure out what to do with the specific names on your list, in your community, with your funding context, by Monday morning. 

That’s the gap this session fills.

SECURE MY SPOT

What you might be telling yourself about why this still feels hard:

“I Need to Build Confidence.”

You’re somewhat right, but here’s the truth: Confidence doesn’t come first. Clarity does.

When you know exactly who to call and what to say? Confidence follows.

You don’t build confidence by willing yourself to feel it.

You build it by having a system that tells you what to do next—and then actually doing it.

“I Just Need More Time.”

The great thing about major gifts is that they give your organization real momentum. And the even better thing about major gifts?

They don’t actually require more time than you already have—IF you’re able to cut out the hours you currently spend wondering where to start, stressing about what to say, procrastinating making the call and then never actually getting to the part where you invite them to make a gift.

When you DO know who to call and what to say, major gifts are one of the most efficient types of fundraising you can do.

The real issue isn’t bandwidth.

It’s not knowing which of those donors to prioritize—and what to do when you reach them.

“I Just Want Someone to Give Me a Script.”

I hear you, and I know having a script can help.

The right words matter enormously—but a generic script won’t save you if you don’t know where your donor actually is in the relationship.

That’s exactly what my 6-step B.R.I.D.G.E. Framework solves: It tells you where each donor is right now, so the language you use fits the moment.

When you understand the predictable phases of a fundraiser-donor relationship, you can use scripts much more effectively because you know what you’re actually aiming for with every donor touchpoint you have.

And when you pair the B.R.I.D.G.E. Framework with my strategic scripts? What you get isn’t a fill-in-the-blank template—it’s word-for-word guidance built from a real read of where your specific donor is and what they need to hear next.

“Beth Ann has the ability to really listen to your situation and to the way you’re describing it, and then give you language that says the same thing differently—but in a way that’s far more productive than what you were using before.

When I started writing down everything she said and trying it out with donors, it was like a light bulb went off for them as to why they should engage in the cause.

Every time I go to one of her sessions, I’m listening for that little nugget that helps me move faster.”

Lorie Fees
Director, Major Gifts
Children’s Hope Alliance
Statesville, North Carolina

INTRODUCING


A Live, Interactive Small-Group Working Session for Nonprofit Fundraisers and Executive Directors

Hosted by Beth Ann Locke

WITH 2 LIVE DATES TO CHOOSE FROM:

📅 Thursday, May 7th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET
📅 Tuesday, May 12th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET
đŸ‘„ Maximum 6 participants per session
💰 Investment: $250

SECURE MY SPOT

How You’ll Find Your Next Major Gift

In this small-group working session, we’ll work through your actual donor portfolio together, focusing on 10-20 individuals who are already in your portfolio, but who are giving below their capacity, or who’ve gone quiet and are ready to be re-engaged.

You’ll leave with a specific, practical Action Plan for your Top 3 major gift prospects—including who to approach first, how to frame the conversation, and what to invite them to do.

This is not theory!

This is not homework you take home and figure out later.

You’ll do the work during the session, with me, on your real donors.

The goal is to help you have conversations that inspire your donors upward in their giving—without ever feeling like you’re “asking for money.”

You’ll walk away from this live working session with:

  • The names of the Top 10 major gift prospects in your portfolio who are most ready to be approached for a larger gift right now
  • A specific, practical Action Plan for your Top 3 major gift prospects— including who to contact, what to say, and what to invite them to do
  • New language to help you move a warm conversation toward a gift without it feeling awkward or transactional
  • A new way of looking at your whole portfolio that you can keep using long after the session ends. So you never sit there thinking, “I don’t know what to do with these names” again. 
  • The confidence that comes from knowing you’ve already taken one real action toward one of your top 3 donors before the session wraps

“What’s the ROI?” The math is simple:

If even one of your top three donors responds and gives at the level they’re capable of – whether that’s $5,000, $10,000, or $25,000+ – this session has already paid for itself several times over.

You’re not just spending $250 on a “half-day workshop”.

You’re investing in access to a pipeline that was already there, just waiting for a plan.

“Beth Ann is a seasoned fundraiser with countless ideas and what seems like boundless creativity.

She is quick to share word-tracks based on situations described that can be used immediately following the coaching session.

Her creativity and solid understanding of people make her a brain-storming whiz, oftentimes suggesting as many as 3 or 4 (or more) different ways to tackle a particular challenge or possibilities for opening a particular door.

I find her positive and encouraging, but not shy to share ways that we can grow. My team and I have grown significantly through our association with Beth Ann!”

Todd Partin, VP of Philanthropy & Engagement
Methodist Retirement Communities, The Woodlands, Texas

What Happens when you sign up for “Your Next Major Gift”:

Step 1: See Your Portfolio Clearly

Before you can close gifts, you need to know where your real opportunities are.

We’ll start by looking at your portfolio through a fresh strategic lens—identifying the donors with the highest potential and the clearest path forward.

This isn’t about wealth screening. It’s about understanding where affinity and readiness already live within your list.

Step 2: Apply the B.R.I.D.G.E. Framework to Your Real Donors

The B.R.I.D.G.E. Framework is Beth Ann’s 6-step approach to moving a donor from first connection to committed gift: Build Connection → (Re)establish Rapport → Invite to Action → Deepen the Connection → Guide the Conversation → Engage them Further.

For each of your top 3 donors, we’ll use this framework to get specific:

  • Where is this donor right now?
  • What does the relationship actually look like? and
  • What’s the right next move?

You’ll leave with a concrete plan for each one, built from my proven framework—not just a worksheet and good intentions.

Step 3: Hot Seat Coaching—Your Donors, Your Language

This is the part the fundraisers I coach value most!

For approximately 15 minutes per person, I’ll work directly through your top three donors with you—live, on camera, in front of the small group.

You'll get personalized language for your specific conversations:

  • What to say to open the conversation
  • How to handle the shift toward a gift, and
  • What to do if a donor goes quiet or throws you for a loop (<< The more you can tell me about your specific donors, the more I can give you precise language and next steps!)

You’ll leave with personalized scripts you can use right away, not a template to fill in later by yourself.

A note if you’re nervous about being on camera in front of peers: The Hot Seat isn’t confrontational. It’s 10 to 15 minutes of me, by your side, working through your specific donor with you.

Every person in the room is there for exactly the same reason you are—and hearing other fundraisers give voice to the same challenges you have can make you feel more supported, not more exposed.

Step 4: Take One Real Action Before You Leave

This is what makes this session different from every course you’ve ever taken.

Before we wrap up, you’ll take one concrete step toward one of your Top 3 major gift prospects.

Meaning: You leave having done something—not just having learned something.

Step 5: Walk Out With Momentum—Not Just a Plan

The goal isn’t just for you to leave feeling inspired.

It’s for you to leave knowing exactly what you’re doing when you sit down at your desk. The next day, and the next, and the next.

That feeling—of having a clear next step AND the confidence to take it—is what this session is built to create.

Everything You Get when you Sign Up for “Your Next Major Gift”:

  • 3-Hour Live Working Session with Beth Ann Locke—small group of max. 6 participants, fully interactive, focused on your real donors in real time (not a lecture, not a recording)

  •  Streamlined Strategic Portfolio Review—Beth Ann works with you to identify which donors in your list are most ready to be approached right now, using the B.R.I.D.G.E. Framework

  •  Hot Seat Coaching on Your Top 3 Major Gift Prospects—Beth Ann works through your specific donors with you, live: where they are, what to say, and how to handle the conversation when it matters most

  •  Word-for-Word Language for Your Next Conversations—the exact phrases, conversation turns, and scripts for the moments that make most fundraisers freeze

  •  Concrete Action Plan for Your Top Three Donors—a specific, usable plan built from your Hot Seat: who to call, what to say, and what to invite them to do

  •  Live Action Interval—time during the session to take one real step toward one of your Top 3 major gift prospects, so you leave having already started on what you plan

  •  Small Group of No More Than 6 Participants—you won’t get lost in the crowd; Beth Ann will know your name, your org, and your top three donors before the session ends

  •  $250 Credit Toward Major Gifts Catalyst—if you decide to continue working with Beth Ann, your full investment comes with you.

Choose the session that works best for you:

📅 Thursday, May 7th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET
📅 Tuesday, May 12th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET
đŸ‘„ Maximum 6 participants per session
💰 Investment: $250

SECURE MY SPOT

One more thing worth knowing—

Near the end of the session, I’ll spend a few minutes introducing Major Gifts Catalyst—my 6-month group coaching program that includes a full Strategic Portfolio Review as well as 6-months of coaching very much like what we’ll do in this half-day working session.

If it feels like the right next step, your path is straightforward:

Book a Catalyst Chat before May 15th, or enroll directly before May 29th for a June 1st start. Your $250 investment comes with you as a full credit either way.

No pressure, no hard sell—just a clear next step for those who are ready for it.

Plus—2 Bonuses to Help You Keep the Momentum Going 🎁

Bonus #1:

Session Recording

After the session, you’ll receive the full recording so you can revisit any part of the portfolio review, the conversation framework, or your action plan whenever you need it.

Bonus #2:

Session Transcript

The specific language Beth Ann gives you—the phrases, the conversation turns, the exact wording for your donors—is worth having in writing. You’ll receive a full transcript of the session, including key takeaways, so momentum stays high as you put your plan into action.

✹ Both bonuses are yours automatically. Nothing extra to sign up for.

The Practical Plan Promise:

Because this is a live event with limited spots, I’m not able to offer refunds after registration.

What I can tell you is that every person in the Zoom room will get my full attention. We will work through your real donors together. And you will leave this session with a specific, concrete plan for your Top 3 major gift prospects.

Not a general framework. Not homework to finish later. A real, usable plan—who to approach, what to say, and what to invite them to do.

That’s the deliverable.

And that’s what I’m committed to making sure you walk away with.

Show up. Bring your donors. Do the work.

That’s all I ask—and that’s all it takes for this session to transform your major gifts program.

In case you need a reminder


I'M BETH ANN LOCKE

I’m Chief Spark at The Fundraiser Coach, and I spent over 30 years fundraising for nonprofits—raising over $75 million in major and mega gifts in the U.S. and Canada using a creative, Connection-Based Approach.

I didn’t fall into fundraising. I pursued it. At my very first job, I saw fundraisers in action and knew immediately it was what I was meant to do. 

When a director left to establish a fundraising office at Harborview Medical Center at the University of Washington, I applied—and got the job.

Just two months in, I attended my first fundraising conference. One of the keynote speakers was the late John Lewis, civil rights leader and U.S. Congressman. When he said, “Philanthropy fuels the change we need in the world,” I felt it in my core. I’ve never doubted this work for a single day since.

A few highlights from the past 30+ years:

  • Closed my first $1,000,000 gift in 2006—we went into the meeting hoping for $25,000. By listening and asking the right questions, I saw the opportunity and acted on it.
  • At United Way of King County in Seattle, I closed between $6 and $8 million in gifts annually.
  • Early in my career, at the Orthopaedic & Arthritic in Toronto, I increased fundraising revenues by 55% the first year and 30% the second year. While there, I noted a new $5,000 donor and cultivated him—within 4 months the O&A received one of the largest gifts to date, a $269,000 stock gift.

Now I’m sharing my expertise with fundraisers and executive directors through coaching, group programs, and working sessions like this one.

My coaching isn’t about following a rigid formula—it’s about helping you hone your own approach, so you can feel confident, natural, and effective in every donor conversation.

As Lorie Fees, one of my long-time clients, put it:

“Beth Ann listens first. She thinks about your specific situation, asks a couple of questions if she needs to, and then—10 times out of 10—she has a great strategy for exactly where you should go next. With Beth Ann, it’s not general advice. She takes you individually, learns your organization, and helps you apply things in a way that actually works for you.”

My clients don’t just get coaching. They get a partner in their success.

More Wins from Fundraisers Like You

“The coaching sessions with Beth Ann help me close gifts or take the donor and their giving to the next level. I used to feel that donors were rejecting me—I’ve gotten over those feelings, and it has helped me navigate a large volume of donors at the major gift and principal gift level. I recently felt comfortable closing a gift from a new donor for $750,000. I have so much more confidence and success.”

Barbara Mari
Senior Philanthropic Advisor, Principal Gifts
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
MiAMI, FLORIA

“The time I’ve spent with Beth Ann has been beyond helpful and pushed me to really start thinking about major gifts—and that I AM the right person for this job. Having a think tank of peers with shared challenges has been a driving force for me to move forward in planning and work without second-guessing or waiting for an answer from my boss. Very empowering!”

Niki Harrison
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT & OUTREACH
CHEYENNE ANIMAL SHELTER
Cheyenne, Wyoming

“We not only met but exceeded our fundraising goal for 2023! This achievement is particularly noteworthy, considering we were not on track for such success at the beginning of our time working together. Beth Ann became a valuable ally with keen instincts and an impactful communication style.”

Meredith Thomas
DIRECTOR OF PHILANTHROPY
Thank You Life
Austin, Texas

This Session Is for You If


  •  You’re a Director of Development, Major Gift Officer, or solo fundraiser doing active development work—and your major gifts results feel unpredictable or inconsistent

  •  You’re an Executive Director wearing the fundraising hat, and you need a clear, practical plan—not another course to add to your to-do list

  •  You have donors in your database you know could be giving more—you’re just not sure who to approach first, what to say, or how to make the shift from relationship to invitation

  •  You’ve been meaning to make a major gift call for weeks (or months) and keep pushing it because it feels high-stakes

  •  You’re done consuming content about major gifts and ready to do the actual work—with real support, in real time, on your real donors

  •  You want to walk away with a concrete, written plan you can use this week—not inspiration that fades by Thursday

This Session Is Not for You If...

❌ You’re brand new to fundraising and looking for a foundational introduction—this session works best when you already have donors to bring

❌ You’re looking for a self-paced course with pre-recorded content—this is a live, interactive working session

❌ You’re not ready to bring your real donor list and do actual work during the session—the value comes from doing, not watching

❌ You’re not currently in an active fundraising role—this session is for people with donors in their portfolio right now

Accomplish more in these 3 hours than you have in months of “good intentions”

Everything You Get when you Sign Up for “Your Next Major Gift”:

  • 3-hour live working session with Beth Ann Locke
  • Streamlined Strategic Portfolio Review of your real donors
  • Concrete Action Plan for your Top 3 major gift prospects
  • Live conversation framework—what to say, when to say it, how to shift from relationship to invitation
  • Live action interval—you’ll take one real step before the session ends
  • Small group of no more than 6 participants
  • $250 credit toward Major Gifts Catalyst

Choose the session that works best for you:

📅 Thursday, May 7th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET
📅 Tuesday, May 12th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET

đŸ‘„ Maximum 6 participants per session
💰 Investment: $250

SECURE MY SPOT

Each Session is capped at 6 spots so we have time to go deep. When they’re gone, they’re gone.

Your Questions, Answered

Imagine Opening Your Calendar on Monday Morning


3 donors identified. 3 calls planned.
The exact words you need, already ready to go.

That’s what these 3 hours can help you achieve.

The donors are already there. The gifts are already possible.

The only thing standing between you and your next major gift is a clear plan—and 3 hours with the right person to help you build it.

2 DATES. 12 SPOTS. Will one be yours?

Save your seat on the date of your choice:

📅 Thursday, May 7th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET
📅 Tuesday, May 12th from 9am–12pm PT / 12pm–3pm ET

đŸ‘„ Maximum 6 participants per session
💰 Investment: $250

SECURE MY SPOT

There are 6 seats in each session so I can give focused attention to all who attend. When they’re gone, they’re gone. Don’t wait—sign up now.

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