# Major Donor Briefing

Builds a one-page briefing document on a major donor before a cultivation or solicitation meeting. Use it to prepare a board member, executive director, or development officer so they walk in informed and ready.

## Prompt

## Context
You are helping a development staff member at [ORGANIZATION NAME] prepare for a meeting with [DONOR NAME OR INITIALS]. The meeting is on [MEETING DATE] and the purpose is [MEETING PURPOSE: e.g., cultivation, initial ask, stewardship after a recent major gift]. The person attending from the organization is [ATTENDEE NAME AND ROLE].

## Task
Draft a one-page major donor briefing document using only the information I provide below. Structure it in these sections:
- Donor Overview: giving history, connection to the organization, and any known interests, drawn from [DONOR HISTORY AND RELATIONSHIP].
- Meeting Purpose and Goal: what we want from this meeting, drawn from [MEETING PURPOSE].
- Key Points to Make: two or three things about the organization's work most relevant to this donor, from [PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS AND FACTS].
- Questions to Ask: three to five open questions that will advance the relationship and surface the donor's interests.
- Logistics: date, time, location, and who is attending from each side, from [MEETING LOGISTICS].
- Notes on Approach: one or two sentences on tone, pacing, or relationship dynamics based on [RELATIONSHIP NOTES].

## Standards
- Under one page, approximately 400 words.
- Use only the donor history, program facts, and relationship notes I supply. Do not invent giving amounts, prior conversations, donor interests, wealth estimates, or program results.
- Do not fabricate a connection between the donor and any specific funder, program, or board member unless I stated it.
- Treat the donor's personal and financial information with discretion. The briefing is for internal use only.
- If key fields above are missing or vague, ask before drafting.

## Variables

- ORGANIZATION NAME
- DONOR NAME OR INITIALS
- MEETING DATE
- MEETING PURPOSE
- ATTENDEE NAME AND ROLE
- DONOR HISTORY AND RELATIONSHIP
- PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS AND FACTS
- MEETING LOGISTICS
- RELATIONSHIP NOTES

## Input checklist

- [ ] Giving history from your donor database, including dates and amounts, not from memory
- [ ] Notes from prior conversations or touchpoints, from your CRM or call logs
- [ ] The meeting purpose and what outcome you want from this specific conversation
- [ ] Two to three program highlights directly relevant to this donor's known interests
- [ ] Confidentiality: donor records contain personal and financial data. Use initials or a code name if pasting into an AI tool, or confirm the tool is approved under your organization's data policy before including real names and amounts

## Verification checklist

- [ ] Every giving figure in the briefing matches your donor database record. Verify digit by digit.
- [ ] No giving amounts, wealth estimates, or giving capacity figures appear that you did not supply
- [ ] No prior conversations are referenced that you did not describe in your input
- [ ] Program outcome figures match your verified program data, not AI-generated approximations
- [ ] The suggested questions are open-ended and do not assume answers or commitments the donor has not made
- [ ] The briefing contains no information that would embarrass your organization if the donor saw it
- [ ] Confirm the meeting logistics: date, time, and location are correct

## Sample output

Sample output. Generated by AI from sample inputs:

MAJOR DONOR BRIEFING
For internal use only

Donor: M.R.
Meeting: June 18, 2026, 10:00 a.m., Hartfield Foundation offices
From our side: Sandra Webb, Executive Director

Donor Overview
M.R. has given to Riverside Youth Coalition for four consecutive years. Total giving: $22,500. Most recent gift: $8,000 in November 2025, designated to the after-school tutoring program. First connected to the organization through a board member introduction in 2022. Known interests based on prior conversations: literacy, workforce outcomes for young people, and neighborhood-level data.

Meeting Purpose and Goal
Cultivation meeting ahead of a potential major gift ask later this year. Goal for this meeting: deepen the relationship, understand M.R.'s priorities for the coming year, and share the outcome data from the tutoring program's 2025-2026 cohort.

Key Points to Make
1. The tutoring program served 312 students last year. Eighty-one percent improved at least one grade level in reading or math based on teacher assessments.
2. We are planning to expand the program to a second site in fall 2026, pending funding.
3. We now track six-month outcomes for students who age out of the program.

Questions to Ask
1. What does success look like to you when you give to an education program?
2. Are there other organizations doing this work you have found compelling?
3. How are you thinking about your giving priorities for the rest of 2026?
4. Would seeing the program in action be useful to you, or do you prefer to go off the data?

Logistics
Date: June 18, 2026. Time: 10:00 a.m. Location: Hartfield Foundation, 400 Commerce St, Suite 1200. Parking validated in the building garage.

Notes on Approach
M.R. is direct and data-oriented. Lead with the outcome numbers before the story. Allow silence after the questions. This is not an ask meeting.

## Customization notes

For a solicitation meeting (as opposed to cultivation), add an Ask Recommendation section stating the specific amount and project, with a one-sentence rationale drawn from the donor's history. If you are preparing a board member rather than a staff member, add a one-paragraph role-of-the-board-member note explaining what they should and should not say about the gift. Update the briefing within 24 hours of the meeting with notes on what was said.

---

From The Nonprofit Grant & Fundraising Library at vetslearn.com/libraries/nonprofit