Back from the Brink: How to Save the Gift When a Donor Changes Their Mind and How to Keep it From Happening in the First Place

Abstract

Working as a higher education fundraiser can be an exciting and fulfilling job, one that requires the ability to build relationships, to develop trust, to navigate the marrying of the desires of the donor and your institution’s regulations, and to acknowledge and steward what may be the donor’s biggest gift of their life. You can do everything right and sometimes things still go wrong. This article presents a case study of a gift that almost didn’t happen, how it was saved, and what was learned from the experience.