Developing and nurturing high value relationships

Many organisations dismiss “Major Giving” because they assume it is too expensive, believe they need connections to millionaires or worry about how to justify a ‘big ask’ of donors.

In this webinar, Mark Carrigan, MD Carrigan Consulting Ltd draws on his 20+ years of experience in facilitating high value relationships to show that achieving transformational results is attainable for organisations of any size. He outlines the process, provides straightforward frameworks for success, shares hard-truth realities, and offers strategies for avoiding the pitfalls.

Suitable for both beginners in successful high-value fundraising and seasoned individuals seeking tools to boost their results, this practical 1-hour session will help you to develop/improve your skills with top tips and Q&A.

Developing and Nurturing High Value Relationships

High value fundraising isn’t just about large donations—it’s about building long-term, meaningful relationships that deliver sustained impact.

Organisations of all sizes can unlock significant growth by focusing on relationships, not just transactions.

What Are High Value Relationships?

High value relationships go beyond one-off gifts. They focus on:

Long-term engagement
Shared goals and impact
Multiple forms of support (not just cash)

The real value lies in the relationship over time, rather than the size of a single donation.

Why High Value Fundraising Matters

High value fundraising can:

Deliver stronger return on investment
Build sustainable, long-term income
Reduce reliance on constant donor acquisition
Unlock transformational support

Many organisations miss opportunities by focusing too heavily on short-term, transactional fundraising.

Shifting from Transactions to Relationships

Traditional fundraising often focuses on:

One-off donations
Campaigns and events
Volume-based activity

High value fundraising takes a different approach:

Prioritising fewer, deeper relationships
Understanding donor motivations
Investing time in stewardship and engagement

This shift can significantly increase lifetime value of supporters.

Understanding Donor Motivations

High value supporters are often driven by:

Desire to make a meaningful difference
Personal connection to a cause
Values and identity
Recognition or legacy

The most effective approach is to listen first, then align opportunities with what matters to them.

The Importance of Stewardship

Strong relationships need consistent care.

Effective stewardship includes:

Regular updates and communication
Demonstrating impact
Personalised engagement
Recognising and valuing support

Poor engagement leads to high attrition—many donors are lost simply due to lack of ongoing connection.

Moving Beyond Cash

High value supporters can contribute in many ways:

Financial gifts over time
Strategic partnerships
Expertise and advice
Networks and introductions

Looking beyond cash helps organisations unlock greater overall value from relationships.

Building a High Value Approach

A simple framework:

1. Identify

Understand who your high value prospects are and where opportunity exists.

2. Qualify

Assess their interest, capacity and connection to your cause.

3. Engage

Build relationships through meaningful conversations and shared goals.

4. Ask

Make clear, tailored asks aligned to their motivations.

5. Steward

Maintain ongoing engagement and demonstrate impact.

Common Challenges

Organisations often struggle with:

Belief that high value fundraising requires wealthy contacts
Lack of time or capacity
Over-focus on short-term income
Limited internal alignment

In reality, high value fundraising is accessible to all organisations with the right mindset.

Practical Tips

Focus on relationships, not just income
Start with existing supporters—you may already have high value prospects
Personalise communication and engagement
Understand motivations before making an ask
Involve senior leaders and trustees in relationship building

Final Thought

High value fundraising is about unlocking potential—not just asking for bigger gifts, but building deeper partnerships that grow over time.

By investing in relationships, charities can achieve transformational results and long-term sustainability.

Webinar Speaker

Mark Carrigan, MD Carrigan Consulting Ltd

Q&A: Major Donors’ Voices – Busting the Myths

This Major Donors’ Voices webinar, drew more than 1,800 registrations, and far more questions than we could answer live. So, we brought fundraising consultants Louise Morris of Summit Fundraising and Davinia Batley of Champion Fundraising back, hosted by Ian Tate, to tackle the ones that came up most. From defining a major gift to making the ask, stewardship on a stretched budget and the rise of donor advised funds — here are their practical, myth-busting answers.

Major Donors’ Voices – Busting the Myths

Most fundraisers carry a mental picture of the major donor: wealthy, probably male, probably drawn to prestigious events. That picture shapes strategy and according to fundraising specialists Davinia Batley and Louise Morris, it's usually wrong. Drawing on more than 150 interviews with philanthropists and major donors, Davinia and Louise recently delivered a webinar that challenged seven of the most persistent assumptions in the sector. Over 1,700 fundraisers registered to hear it. Here’s the webinar recording and the insights that matter most.

What Companies Want from Charity Partnerships

In this webinar, fundraising expert Andy King and Chris Pitt explained what makes charity partnerships work. The webinar highlights that the strongest partnerships are built when charities understand what a company is trying to achieve and shape the relationship around that. In return for their support, companies are usually looking for clear impact, opportunities to engage their people, and ways to communicate the partnership externally.

webinar cover for trust and foundations insights article

The List Two Years On – Insights for Trusts & Foundations Fundraising

Jo Jeffrey, the fundraising consultant behind The List, has catalogued every pause, restructure, early closure and spend-out across UK trusts and foundations since 2024. In this webinar, she shares what the data is telling us, what it means for your portfolio, and seven practical principles for fundraising with more confidence in a harder landscape.

Charity Risk + Insurance Outlook 2026

Access Insurance presents the key risks for charities and insurance market changes to look out for in 2026.

Charity founders: stronger together

In a recent Benefact Group webinar, two founders - one from the charity sector, one from business - sat down to talk about the things that rarely make it into conference slides or annual reports. What emerged was honest, practical, and quietly powerful.

Storytelling: How to attract and nurture donors

We all love a good story! And our ability to tell compelling, powerful and engaging stories is arguably one of the most valuable tools in our fundraising armoury.

How to secure corporate funding and partnerships

Companies in the UK give roughly £2 billion to the charity sector a year - but they also give much more than money. They lend skills, social media channels and can even help solve the problems you exist to tackle.

Trusts and Foundations: How to write a winning application

Discover top tips on Trusts and Foundations fundraising in this insightful webinar with Layla Moosavi Rivers, a fundraising trainer, consultant and mentor with over 25 years of experience across the charitable sector and the arts. Layla is joined by Chris Pitt, Group Impact Director, Benefact Group and Helen Gray, Trust Director, Benefact Trust providing their insights from a funder’s perspective.

Maximising success: What’s hot in fundraising right now

Fundraising is a dynamic landscape. Keeping abreast of new trends and strategies is crucial for maximising impact. Our speakers share useful data, provide a picture of the current and emerging landscape and provide pointers on what to keep an eye on in the short to medium term.

FundrAIsing: How to improve fundraising opportunities with AI

AI continues to be a hot topic. In this session we will explore the potential opportunities and challenges that rapidly developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will bring for charities. We will look at how AI is already being used to help deliver charitable social missions in innovative new ways, and how the technology might radically alter the operating environment for charities in the future, by creating both new ways of working as well as new practical and ethical challenges.

How to ensure you are set up for fundraising success

DSC Associate Richard Sved, co-author of Fundraising Strategy and author of Charity Fundraising Templates brings his usual mix of inspiration, passion, and practical examples to this important topic. He brings with him the experience of leading fundraising teams at over ten national charities, and advising dozens of others, so get ready for a fast-paced session packed with detail.

Positive Teams: Recruitment, Retention and Wellbeing

Getting the right people and looking after them the right way means that staff stay with us, and stay happy with us. However, these things go beyond process, policies and procedures. They are about more than having written up documents on ‘things managers should do in the event of’. It is about our values and organisational culture, who we are being as managers and leaders, as well as what we are doing.

Digital Fundraising: Tools and Tactics

The developments in digital communications mean that digital fundraising is pretty much a must for all of us now.

Writing Winning Fundraising Applications Questions and Answers

In this recording Layla Moosavi, Associate Trainer, Directory of Social Change and Chris Pitt, Impact Direct, Benefact group delve into the questions posed following our ‘Writing Winning Funding Applications’ webinar, providing further insight into what makes a winning funding application, how to make your application stand out and how to secure those all-important funds.

Webinar, Writing Winning Funding Applications

Writing Winning Fundraising Applications

In this workshop Layla Moosavi, Associate Trainer, Directory of Social Change, looks at how our approach to funding applications has changed within the shifting funding landscape and shares some top tips for writing winning applications. This session is a useful reminder for those who have some experience – successful or otherwise, as well as those at the starting line.

Funding core costs: In principle and in practice

Asking funders for Core Costs is an eternal conundrum for fundraisers – funders often say they don’t fund these, but we know they’re essential for project development and management as well as the provision of day-to-day services. In this workshop style webinar, we talk about the need for securing essential costs and some practical ways to breakdown the costs, and frame that for funders and for funding applications.

A practical introduction to social impact measurement

Being able to demonstrate the impact of your work can improve your chances of funding. Join us for this introductory session on social impact measurement and discover simple and practical steps to begin or improve your impact reporting journey.

How to deliver successful fundraising challenge events

Events can provide a valuable source of funding. Join us for guidance on how to maximise income from your attendees and help your participants hit the ground running.. … or cycling, walking, skydiving, etc!

Pitch-perfect funding applications

With increasing demand on funders, applications have become very competitive. To maximise your chances of success it’s vital that any application is as close to perfection as possible.

Valuing volunteers

Volunteers are the life blood of the charitable sector. So how can we ensure we engage with and attract potential new volunteers, retain existing volunteers, and build volunteer advocacy?

Fundraising is friend-raising: Donor care and stewardship

Effective donor care and stewardship underpin successful fundraising efforts and is all about building long term relationships.

Cost of Living: Help and Hope

From increased demands on services to reduced donations, the current cost of living crisis is placing the charitable sector under significant pressure.

Social Media Fundraising

Over 4.7 billion people around the world use social media. It can be a fantastic way for charities to build their network, reach new audiences, share success stories and importantly, boost donations.

Legacy Fundraising 101

Legacies (or gifts in Wills) are the fastest growing source of income for charities. In this recorded webinar, we attempt to simplify legacy fundraising and cover why legacy giving is growing, why people leave legacies and when and why people make a Will.

Managing fundraising events

Expert insights on what the cost-of-living crisis means for fundraising events.

Corporate Partnerships

Working with the Directory of Social Change we brought together an expert panel who shared their tips on all things corporate fundraising.

Going digital

Many charities are keen to tap into digital opportunities both to raise money but also to maintain relationships with donors.

Your fundraising message in current times

Fundraising is ineffective when it’s a one-way process.

Digital Fundraising; More questions than answers?

Watch our recorded Q&A digital fundraising webinar where your questions are answered by an expert panel.

Funding Applications: A Practical Guide

Expert insights on increasing your chances of grant application success.

The fundraising sources

Support from individuals, corporates and grant-making bodies are just three key areas to source income for your charity.

The fundraising plan

A fundraising plan is a must to enable your organisation to have the confidence that it can generate income and run the services it provides.