18 DEANS AND DEVELOPMENT response is favorable you might ask, “Would you be willing to consider supporting this need?” Most people are willing to consider supporting a project that interests them if the timing is right. Also, once you make an ask of any kind, let there be silence that the donor fills with their words. If you receive a negative response, know that no does not necessarily mean no for every request. Donors at first may say no and then call back in six months to reopen the conversation. While there is clearly an art and a science to fundraising, the magic is in bringing donor interests together with institutional needs. View fundraising as an exciting realm, full of possibilities. The outcome will be that you are helping people to do good things with their largess in support of a noble cause. Proposals and Gifts You can ask for a gift and the donor can say yes, but, you and the donor have not really reached an agreement until he or she sees a written proposal, agrees to it, and then signs the proposal to indicate acceptance. It is often appropriate to ask a prospect if they “will consider making a major gift to X aspect of the college or University, without naming an amount. If the prospect indicates a positive attitude, you can say that you’ll get the prospect a proposal. No matter how enthusiastic the verbal acceptance might be, getting the terms in writing is crucial. The written proposal is the means to do that. There are different strategies for proposals. Some development offices prefer long, elaborate proposals over which donors and development officers can negotiate at length. Once agreement is reached on the proposal, a pledge form or letter of gift seals the deal. I prefer proposals of no more than one or two pages that make the case for the impor- tance of the gift and name a specific amount and naming opportunity, for example, The Marilyn ’61 and Samuel ’60 Van Den Berg Fund for Faculty and Student Research. If the prospect agrees to the gift, he or she can sign the proposal indicating acceptance. The proposal is an excellent stage at which the donor finalizes his or her preferences on the amount, the activity she or he wishes to fund, restrictions on the gift, and the like. It is not a legal document, so this allows negotiations between the