90 DEANS AND DEVELOPMENT At one of our institutions, the dean and the major gift officer were reminded by one of our larger donors that his current pledge was about to end, and that he wanted to discuss his next gift. We set to work to determine when and how we would make our next ask. We examined his prior levels of support, the frequency with which he made dona- tions, and how he had designated his gifts. In this instance, his primary areas of focus were Physics, his own undergraduate major, and Nursing, his wife’s area of concentration. Over a period of several years he had endowed a number of scholar- ships, and set up research and faculty support funds in both program areas. We consulted with the departments in ques- tion about their ongoing needs and worked to match those with our donor’s interests. We decided that we would ask this individual to become our first alumnus to give a seven-figure gift to the College, and identified a variety of funds his gift would support. In addition, we asked for funding to renovate an existing classroom where undergraduate physics would be taught in a new “active-learning” style, and provided a naming opportunity for the classroom. With our request near final form, we invited the donor to lunch specifically to discuss his next gift, and then carefully rehearsed our pitch to him. The lunch meeting went well, with the donor being particularly intrigued by the classroom renovation because, as he said, “he could see his money put to use more quickly.” Through subse- quent negotiation, discussion and modifications, we were successful in securing the College’s first million-dollar plus gift from one of our alumni. The million-dollar gift is unusual, but the same principles apply for those of a lesser amount: identify likely prospects, identify donor interest or passion, and estimate donor capacity. If you are working with a newer donor who is on the verge of her first major gift, it may be a bit more difficult to gauge what dollar amount to request, but you should be able to sense the donor’s comfort level as a result of