Securing the Gift
What it covers
Securing the gift is the discipline of moving a qualified prospect to a completed commitment of the right size. The mechanics are unglamorous: a written pre-solicitation plan (who asks, for what purpose, how much, and in what order), a specific ask amount drawn from the prospect's rated range, and a deliberate pause after the ask so the donor can respond.
Concepts to know
Annual, major, planned, and campaign gifts each have their own rhythm and ask structure. Know the vehicles: outright cash; appreciated securities held more than one year (deductible at fair market value, capital gain avoided); multi-year pledges; bequests and beneficiary designations (revocable); charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts (irrevocable, income to the donor, remainder to charity); charitable lead trusts (payments to charity first); donor-advised funds (deduction on contribution, but the donor retains only advisory privileges over grants); and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, which must go directly to a public charity - not into a donor-advised fund or private foundation.
Traps
Mixing revocable with irrevocable gifts; booking verbal pledges as revenue; leaping to a number without a case for support; offering tax advice instead of describing options and referring the donor to their own advisor; and the "double ask," where a solicitor requests an annual gift and a major gift in one breath without framing.
Rule of thumb
Ask at the top of the prospect's rated range. A too-high ask can be negotiated downward; a too-low ask silently caps the gift. Then stop talking.
Worked example
A donor offers $100,000 of appreciated stock held eight months. Explain that the fair-market-value deduction and capital gains avoidance generally require a holding period of more than one year, offer to accept cash now and the shares once the period passes, and refer the donor to their own advisor.