Individual Giving Services
Contracts are customized for you and strategically include a mixture of our services:
Complementary service
Donor Research
At Mission Forward, we combine in-depth research with actionable strategies to strengthen your donor base—enhancing engagement, increasing retention, and driving growth.
Strategic Research:
We begin with a thorough audit of your current and lapsed supporters, benchmark against industry peers, and identify new opportunities aligned with your mission. This comprehensive analysis highlights key donor segments, annual fund and major gift prospects, and areas with the highest potential for growth.
Donor Segmentation & Revenue Projections:
Our research results in a tailored Donor Index—organizing qualified prospects based on giving history, philanthropic and programmatic interests, financial capacity, and relational connections. We use these insights, along with current donor trends and market conditions, to help you set clear, ambitious, and achievable goals for your individual giving strategy.
Tools & Deliverables:
Custom Donor Index
Revenue Projections & Donor Segmentation Insights
Strategy
Using insights from the Donor Index, we’ll craft a tailored 12-month Donor Cultivation Calendar and Stewardship Tracker. These tools are designed to support consistent, meaningful engagement around your programming—strengthening donor relationships, optimizing revenue opportunities, and improving retention over time.
Tools & Deliverables:
Donor Cultivation Calendar
Donor Stewardship Tracker
Execution
Mission Forward Fundraising will collaborate with you to strengthen, streamline, and scale your individual giving strategy. Our partnership may include managing donor cultivation and stewardship efforts, planning and executing fundraising campaigns, and supporting major gift solicitations, peer-to-peer fundraising, and overall philanthropic visibility.
This phase is available in two tiers, tailored to meet both your immediate priorities and long-term goals:
Essentials: A focused package emphasizing priority donor cultivation and high-impact campaign execution.
Advanced: A full-service package providing the bandwidth and support to fully implement your donor engagement and fundraising strategy.
Activities & Deliverables:
Calendar Management: Bi-weekly meetings and ongoing communication to keep efforts on track—prioritizing tasks, prepping materials, sending reminders, managing deadlines, and assigning action items.
Development Communications & Templates: Clear, compelling talking points, solicitation materials, and communications copy that reflect your case for support—plus customizable templates for use by Board and staff leadership.
Gift Management & Donor Recognition: Coordinated tracking of gifts and pledges, tax acknowledgment preparation, and meaningful donor gratitude touchpoints.
individual giving lead consultantMeet Dan Balkin
Dan Balkin is a dynamic nonprofit leader with over 20 years of experience driving organizational growth through strategic fundraising, donor engagement, creative producing, and special events management. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant with Mission Forward Fundraising, where he partners with mission-driven organizations to build sustainable development strategies and deepen community impact.
Before joining Mission Forward, Dan led fundraising efforts at leading arts and culture organizations in New York City, including Ars Nova, The Civilians, and Theatre Communications Group. As a trusted consultant, he has supported dozens of clients across the country—such as Edmonds Center for the Arts, Inheritance Theater Project, Strand Arts, On the Boards, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York Theatre Workshop, New York Youth Symphony, Washington School-Based Health Alliance, and others—helping them strengthen development infrastructure, navigate industry challenges, launch successful campaigns, and embrace opportunities for strategic growth.