Principal Gift Strategies LLC
Principal gifts aren’t random.
They require a system.
Even the strongest institutions do not automatically have a principal gift engine.
They may have extraordinary donors, ambitious leaders, and notable gifts — but still lack the conditions that produce $5M–$100M gifts consistently.
Principal Gift Strategies LLC helps institutions build those conditions.
Led by Ben Porter, author of The Principal Gift Checklist: How to Cultivate and De-Risk Gifts of $5M-$100M+ © CASE 2019
Principal gift fundraising is human-to-human trust.
And the best relationship wins.
Eight-figure fundraising requires two aligned pipelines:
How institutions work with us
Focused counsel for institutions pursuing campaign-defining gifts.
Development officer and academic leader trainings and coaching can be built into these focused engagements once we understand your institutional context.
Build The System
Repeatable $5M and $10M Gifts
A focused review of the principal system behind your largest gifts — from research and assignment to relationship strategy, proposal development, gift closure, and stewardship.
Using the 4 x 90 Lens™, data, and confidential interviews, we identify where important donors are being left out, as well as barriers to closing the largest gifts.
It's always the same goal: can we double the principal gift count in 24 months? Most engagements take 1-3 weeks, depending on organization size and complexity.
Optimize Your ProgramInvent the Future
Transformational $50M and $100M Gifts
Deep strategy for the opportunities that could change everything.
A transformational gift has the power to transform the program, the institution, the community — and even the donor.
Using The Turn™, we clarify what is real, what is missing, and how the institution can support the trust, timing, and meaning behind the largest gift possible.
Review Your Top FivePowered by data. Grounded in practice.
Campaign Optimization
Optimize your principal gift program.
Principal gifts are rarely lost because an institution lacks good donors. They are lost when the institution cannot sustain focus at the scale required to produce repeatable results.
Campaign Optimization is a focused review of your principal gift program — from research and assignment to relationship strategy, leadership engagement, proposal development, gift closure, and stewardship.
We use the 4 x 90 Lens, institutional data, confidential interviews, and direct experience inside nine- and ten-figure campaigns to identify where important donors may be underdeveloped, where opportunities are slowing down, and where money is being left on the table.
We focus just as much on your pipeline of ideas as your pipeline of donors. Is the scale of institutional ambition equal to the scale of the gift you seek? Are your strongest ideas positioned clearly enough to compete in a competitive philanthropic marketplace? Are your best relationship-builders on the field or on the sidelines?
The work is analytical, but the purpose is human: to help the system support trust, timing, judgment, leadership, and the relationship itself. The ultimate goal is to produce more principal gifts — better, faster, more predictably, and which your donors and president will love.
This work is typically structured over three weeks. Week 1: surveys, exhaustive data review, and understanding of your specific context. Week 2: on-site interviews and materials review. An officer training and a deans' session is usually built in. Week 3: detailed reporting, recommendations, and a practical path toward a stronger principal gift system.
Request a Confidential ConversationTransformational Gifts
Even strong teams benefit from an outside check.
Your five most important donor families will set the bar for your entire campaign. They are irreplaceable, and require your highest and best work.
Donors ultimately have a lot of choice. Have you built the strongest relationship possible, and provided the most differentiated offering? Using data, field experience, and judgement, we help answer these questions and strengthen whatever is missing.
We work with you and your team to focus on the five relationships that matter most, drawing out your team's full creativity without the usual distractions. Leave with five pressure-tested family strategies and confidence that you are doing everything in your power.
Whether you are working toward an ask in the next three months, or at the end of the donor's current pledge, we help map all the steps required to get there.
This work is typically done over one week. The first day (remote) is materials review, followed by three days on campus where we leave no stone unturned. Lastly, one day of detailed prospect mapping and follow-up.
Request a Confidential Conversation
Research-driven. Field-tested.
Ben Porter, Creator of The Principal Gift Checklist
Ben Porter is the founder of Principal Gift Strategies LLC. Over 23 years in higher education, he has held senior advancement roles at Northwestern University, Kellogg, and Dartmouth College, and began his advancement career at the Harvard Kennedy School. He received his A.B. from Princeton University.
What advancement leaders say
“Ben Porter is one of the most creative fundraisers in our field.”
“Ben Porter’s insights and teachings are foundational to our principal gifts work.”
Build the principal gift system behind your largest campaign.
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