Author: Seize The Weekday

Let’s be honest, most fundraisers in nonprofits spend at least 60% of their week in meetings that have nothing to do with their portfolio. Event planning, committee work, campus tours, internal brainstorming sessions fill up your calendar. And while some of that has value, a lot of it pulls us away from the work that actually brings in the gifts.

The best predictor of a strong fundraising year? The number of major gift proposals you’re able to put in front of donors. But that won’t happen if we don’t have time to build relationships, write proposals, and actually make the ask.

So how do you protect your time without burning bridges?

Say No to Low-Yield Work

Not every invitation to join a meeting or help with a project needs a “yes.” If it’s not leading to donor engagement or a gift conversation, it may not be worth your time. But we all know relationships in your organization matter, so how you say no is just as important as that you say no.

Try these strategies:

Lead with appreciation: Acknowledge your colleague’s work and the importance of what they’re trying to do.

Keep it mission-focused: Explain that you’re focused on gift conversations because that’s where you can make the biggest impact.

Offer an alternative: Suggest someone else, a quicker way to contribute, or a follow-up that doesn’t take much time.

Use “not now” instead of “no”: Leave the door open for future collaboration when your calendar allows.

Let leadership take the blame: When needed, loop in your manager to reinforce priorities or explain why you’re pulling back.

Script Examples You Can Use

Script #1: The Respectful Decline

“Thanks for looping me in—I know this event is important to your team. Right now, I’m focused on moving donor proposals forward this quarter, so I’m limiting meetings that aren’t tied to gift work. Could we connect by email or have a colleague from our support team sit in instead?”

Script #2: The Delegation Approach

“Appreciate the invite! Our leadership team is asking us to stay tightly focused on major donor outreach right now, so I won’t be able to join. But I’m happy to share thoughts over email or connect you with someone who can help.”

Other Ways to Guard Your Time

1. Fundraising-First Calendar

Start by blocking time for what matters most: donor visits, proposal writing, and follow-ups. Then fit everything else around that.

Action Step: Review your calendar monthly. What meetings can you skip, cancel, or delegate?

2. Urgent vs. Important

Use this method to sort tasks and minimize distractions. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Urgent + Important → Do now
• Important + Not Urgent → Schedule it Urgent
• Not Important → Delegate or decline
• Neither → Skip entirely

Action Step: Take your to-do list and categorize each item using the framework above—then follow through based on how it’s labeled.

3. The 80/20 Rule

Spend 80% of your time on the 20% of donors who drive results. If 20 out of 100 prospects in your portfolio are the real movers, build your week around them.

Action Step: Reassess your portfolio quarterly. Focus high-touch efforts on your top donors. Move others to digital stewardship or hand off to partners where it makes sense.

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Final Thought

Your time is one of the most valuable fundraising assets your organization has. Guard it, protect it, and use it wisely, because you need to make more asks which will lead to successful year.

I know how overwhelming major gift fundraising can feel. You’re juggling dozens of prospects, trying to keep proposals moving, and still getting pulled into meetings that have nothing to do with closing gifts.

Whether you’re looking to tighten up your proposal strategy, build better systems, or just need a sounding board from someone who’s been there, I’d love to help. I’m offering a free one-hour consulting session—no strings attached.

This is for fundraisers, managers, and leaders who want practical advice and real solutions. If we find momentum, great—we can talk about more ways to partner. If not, I hope you walk away with a few good ideas you can use right away.

Sign up by emailing me directly at adamplatzer@gmail.com and let’s get something on the calendar. I’d love to hear what you’re working on.

One of the most valuable things we can do as fundraisers is learn from each other’s approaches—what’s working, what language is resonating, and how we’re making the case for giving.

I recently asked eight of our fundraisers who are great at closing gifts in our annual giving society to send me their go-to pitches. I wanted to see what themes and strategies they were using, and if there were patterns we could all learn from.

Once I had all their pitches, I dropped them into ChatGPT using the prompt below. The goal was to have the tool analyze them and pull out the most effective elements:

I have a collection of pitches written by various fundraisers for prospects to join our annual giving society. Please analyze all the pitches and identify the key themes, persuasive strategies, and most effective language across them. Then, create a single, high-impact pitch that combines the strongest elements from each one. The goal is to produce a compelling, donor-centered message that can be adapted for most major gift conversations.

Focus on:

Emotional and logical appeals used, how the mission or impact is described, common structure or storytelling techniques, The most motivating phrases or calls to action

Then provide:

A list of top 5 persuasive elements that appeared most frequently, a polished, best-in-class example pitch (1–2 paragraphs) Optional: a template that fundraisers can adapt for future use

The results were better than I expected. The analysis highlighted consistent themes, shared language, and smart strategies that came up again and again in our most successful pitches. ChatGPT pulled together:

A breakdown of the top persuasive elements A concise summary of common themes and structure A best-in-class pitch that blended the strongest parts of everyone’s language A simple, customizable template that can be adapted for most donor conversations

If you want to sharpen your own pitch or see how others are positioning Sentinel gifts, this is a great place to start.

Let me know if you want the full output — happy to share. My email is adamplatzer@gmail.com.

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Let’s face it—keeping board members fully engaged during meetings can be a challenge. These are successful individuals with packed calendars and countless competing priorities. So when they show up, your agenda better be worth their time.

Too often, nonprofit board meetings fall into the trap of talking at members rather than engaging them. That’s where this simple exercise comes in: the 2-Minute Lightning Round.

Here’s how it works: at the start of each meeting, every board or council member shares one quick personal or professional update. Just two minutes per person.

Sounds simple, right? It is. But the impact is big.

Here’s why it works:

• It taps into pride. High achievers love to share their wins, and this gives them a moment to shine.
• It builds connection. These small updates help your board feel more like a team—and less like a group of strangers around a table.
• It sparks conversations. You’ll be amazed how many great side conversations start because of a shared experience or mutual connection.
• It opens doors. Sometimes, a casual update leads to a business referral, a new partnership, or even a fundraising opportunity.

As a major gift fundraiser, you already know relationships are everything. Use this Lightning Round not just to energize your meetings—but to deepen board member engagement, foster peer-to-peer connections, and create the kind of board culture that drives generosity and shared ownership of your mission.

Do you want to schedule a free major gift consultation?
Meet with us to assess your current fundraising efforts and uncover untapped opportunities.

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Pathways to Philanthropy is a practical, story-driven guide for fundraisers who want to deepen relationships, secure transformational gifts, and grow with confidence. Follow the journey of Sarah Williams, a new major gift officer navigating the real challenges—and triumphs—of higher education fundraising. Packed with real-life scenarios, proven strategies, and actionable advice, this book is perfect for new and experienced fundraisers alike.

Want a free copy? Fill out the form below and we’ll send you a digital edition—because the future of fundraising belongs to those who are ready to lead it.