Season 3 | Ep 16 Louise Morris on building a major donor programme from scratch

Why isn't major donor fundraising working for your charity? According to Louise Morris, it's rarely the cause, and it's almost never a lack of contacts. Louise is the founder of Summit Fundraising, a consultancy and training company specialising in major donor fundraising. She began her career in sales and marketing at Unilever, moved into the charity sector in her mid-twenties and held fundraising roles at Tommy's, Samaritans and RNID before becoming a Director of Fundraising. Ten years ago, she set up Summit and now works with charities of every size, from small local organisations to household names. In this episode, Louise shares: Why losing her Dad prompted her to leave Unilever and look for more meaningful work How corporate negotiation training gave her confidence with donors Why she stepped away from a director role, and what a missed after-school football club taught her about flexible working The fear and "lumpy cashflow" of going it alone, and how Summit grew from there We then dig into how small and medium-sized charities can start or grow a major donor programme: Why it won't grow unless someone has protected time to lead it, even if that's just three hours a week Why trustees hold back on introductions, and why they don't need to ask anyone for money Why doing major donor fundraising badly can be worse than not doing it at all Where to find your first potential major donors (they're probably already involved with you) Why being a smaller charity can be a real strength The most common mistakes; impatience, skipping the building blocks and nobody owning it How long a board should realistically wait, and the milestones to track besides income Louise closes with a reflection that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt stuck - leadership is not your job title. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and introduction 00:40 Quick-fire questions 03:30 From Unilever to the charity sector 09:40 Leaving the director role and starting Summit 17:20 What Summit does today 20:57 Where to start with major donor fundraising 28:13 Making the case to your board 30:34 The skills and support you need 33:09 Common mistakes charities make 36:21 How long before you see returns? 41:21 Leadership is not your job title Resources mentioned The Summit 3 Essentials guide and other free resources: https://summitfundraising.co.uk/free-... Join the free Summit major donor community: https://summitfundraising.co.uk/join/ Find out more about the Major Donor Fundraising from Scratch programme: https://summitfundraising.co.uk/from-... Connect with   / louise-morrisminstf   (Louise Morris, Summit Fundraising) or visit https://www.summitfundraising.co.uk