Major Gifts and Planned Giving
BUSA-41024
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Regular small donations can minimally sustain an organization for a while, but frequently development professionals must develop a plan to meet annual budget or capital needs for future growth. In this course students will learn to identify, cultivate, engage, solicit and steward major donors. Additionally, students will learn the basic planned giving concepts and how to discuss different gift vehicles with donors, whether to share with a donor how to leverage an asset to maximize their giving or to overcome objections. Students will learn how to create a major gift plan that will incorporate all elements of major and planned giving that will be useful for an organization at any stage and any size.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will:
- Define and develop successful strategies to secure major gifts
- Research and identify potential donors
- Practice, conduct, and document interactions with prospects
- Identify conversation cues when speaking with donors and share the basics of planned giving
- Understand the basic concepts of planned giving
- Market planned gifts and Incorporate a planned giving program into their organization
Full participation in Major Gifts and Planned Giving is applicable for 20 points in Category 1.B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
Course Information
This course can be taken on a stand-alone basis or counted towards the Professional Certificate in Fundraising and Development.
Click here for more information about the financial resources available.
Course sessions
Section ID:
Class type:
This course is entirely web-based and to be completed asynchronously between the published course start and end dates. Synchronous attendance is NOT required.
You will have access to your online course on the published start date OR 1 business day after your enrollment is confirmed if you enroll on or after the published start date.
Textbooks:
All course materials are included unless otherwise stated.
Policies:
- No refunds after: 10/21/2025
Schedule:
Instructor:
Danielle Dawson
Currently the Chief Advancement Officer at Promises2Kids, Dani is a visionary leader dedicated to fostering a culture of philanthropy. Most recently, as the Vice President of Institutional Advancement at California Western School of Law, Dani undertook a multifaceted approach to fundraising that yielded remarkable results. In her first six months as the VPIA, Dani's impact was immediately evident as she more than doubled the amount of philanthropic gifts raised for the law school. Her relentless dedication and strategic acumen have been instrumental in propelling the institution’s philanthropic efforts to new heights. Within her first 18 months in this pivotal role, Dani achieved a groundbreaking milestone by securing a remarkable $3,000,000 gift. This landmark donation stands as the largest in the law school’s history, a testament to her ability to connect donors with a compelling vision.
Before her tenure at California Western School of Law, Dani served as the Executive Director of Gift Planning at UC San Diego, where she led a team that achieved extraordinary success by raising over $86,000,000 in just one year, developed a model for fundraisers to work more collaboratively across the institution, and lead an effort to compile and publish stories from philanthropic women in San Diego titled She Who Inspires. Her remarkable achievements at UC San Diego underscore her ability to drive philanthropic initiatives to unprecedented levels of excellence. Dani possesses a genuine passion for helping individuals realize their philanthropic aspirations through creative and thoughtful planning and she uses this passion to maximize philanthropic success.
Dani’s educational background includes a JD from Chapman University School of Law and an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Dani is a Past President of AFP San Diego, a member of Women Give San Diego, and a volunteer for Casa Cornelia. When not talking about philanthropy, Dani enjoys spending time with her teenage children, Dawson and Riley.
