Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map + Website: A New Framework for Fundraising

donor cultivation and the donor lifecycle map
A New Framework for Fundraising

Introducing a conceptual and useful framework for thinking about donor cultivation, Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map reveals that donor cultivation is a deliberative process requiring careful consideration and purposeful inclusion in a development plan.

Author Deborah Kaplan Polivy specifically addresses the topic of donor cultivation, which, when focused over the entire donor lifecycle, can become a logical and focused activity for obtaining increasingly large gifts. Defining the objectives of donor cultivation, Polivy presents the donor lifecycle map, illustrating how donor cultivation and the lifecycle map can help lead your nonprofit to more focused and strategic fundraising.

With a companion website featuring step-by-step guidance and practical tools that correspond with the donor lifecycle material presented, Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map explores:

• What donor cultivation means
• The donor lifecycle map and cultivation tools
• Donor cultivation’s relationship to the donor lifecycle map
• Using the donor lifecycle map to increase diversity in a fundraising portfolio
• Personal donor cultivation tools
• Applying nonpersonal donor cultivation tools
• The intersection of donor cultivation tools and the donor lifecycle map
• Determining priorities among donors

Read Donor Cultivation and the Donor Lifecycle Map for proven guidance on fundraising that doesn’t depend on a “donor pyramid.” Instead, discover how using a donor lifecycle map can lead to stellar results such as increased financial resources and a more stable bottom line for your nonprofit.

Deborah Kaplan Polivy, PhD, Fundraising Consultant

“Thank you for what I thought was the best donor cultivation presentation that I’ve ever heard. It was very clear that you had real-life examples from the wealth of experience you shared with us,” wrote one Jewish Federation president after listening to Deborah Kaplan Polivy.

Deborah began her professional career at Allied Jewish Community Services in Montreal, Quebec, and then helped establish two successful Jewish Federation foundations and also served as the Director of Total Financial Resource Development for the New Haven Federation. She was the Director of Development of Goodspeed Musicals, the originator of Annie. She has served as a research associate at Yale University’s Program on Nonprofit Organizations where she conducted studies on the United Way and corporate charitable payroll deduction programs. She has taught at McGill University, Smith and Trinity (Hartford) colleges, and has published numerous articles on fundraising and the nonprofit sector.

As a consultant, she has participated in several successful solicitations and trained many fundraising professionals on how to succeed in their positions, and she has led numerous workshops on the Role of the Board, particularly as it relates to fundraising. While she addresses all kinds of resource development, her specialty is endowment, and one of her favorite articles is “Annual Gift, Endowment Gift, or Both?,” which appeared in Planned Giving Today. She has consulted with numerous organizations representing various fields of service. Her doctoral degree is from The Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University, and her website is www.deborahpolivy.com.