The American Association of Fundraising Council reports that individuals are the most lucrative source of revenue for nonprofit organizations. Last year, individuals accounted for 83% of all contributions. By stark comparison, corporate and foundations accounted for nearly 15% of all contributions.

LAPA provides technical assistance for implementation of a 4-Step Individual Donor Giving System. In the 4-Step Individual Donor system, individual donors are:

1. Introduced to an organization, educated and inspired

2. Followed-up by phone one-on-one and involvement is explored

3. Asked for multi-year gifts (based on an organization’s Units of Service)

4. Re-involved through a detailed cultivation plan.

We work with the Board, administrative staff, program staff, volunteers and clients to develop a system in perpetuity that others will be able to learn, implement and adapt as necessary for future individual donor fundraising. This includes training on the 4-steps and its related components, including assistance on PR materials development, database management, donor prospecting, individual coaching, assistance with "Ask" event planning, and a detailed cultivation plan including an online cultivation strategy that complements offline efforts.

Our approach to individual donor giving is practitioner focused (not theoretical) and largely integrates the work of Terry Axelrod and Kim Klein. Terry Axelrod’s work around the 4-step system gives fundraisers a theoretical model for developing a system (with checks and balances). What we feel is missing from Terry’s 4-step model are the practitioner tools needed to introduce the system to an organization. Kim Klein’s work often offers these tools. Her work (and ours) gives fundraisers the practical "nuts and bolts" of cultivating individuals in the effort to make them life-long donors to an organization.