How to Secure and Steward Major Gifts of Stock, DAFs, and Other Non-Cash Assets
Scaling Major Gifts. Strategies, action steps, and ideas for scaling major gifts by Tammy Zonker, Major Gift Expert & Keynote Speaker.
Some of the largest gifts your donors will ever make won't come from their checking account. They'll come from appreciated stock, a donor-advised fund, a piece of real estate, or shares in a business they've spent decades building. If you lead major gifts, your job in 2026 is to make those conversations normal, not awkward, and to be ready to receive what donors are quietly thinking about giving.
This is for major gift officers, development directors, and nonprofit CEOs who want to grow major gift revenue without leaning harder on cash donors who are already stretched. After reading this, you'll be able to spot the donors most likely to give a non-cash asset, open the conversation in a way that respects them and their advisors, and steward the gift so well they want to do it again.
I had a coffee last month with a development director who looked exhausted. Her cash giving was flat. Her board kept asking for stretch goals. And she said something I hear often, "I know there are bigger gifts in our portfolio, I just don't know how to find them."
When I asked what she meant by "bigger gifts," she described a donor in her late seventies who had owned a small manufacturing company for forty years. The donor had given $5,000 in cash for the last decade. But she'd never had a conversation with him about anything other than cash. We talked through it, and within three weeks he'd transferred a block of appreciated stock that closed at $250,000. Same donor. Same relationship. Different conversation.
That's what this week is about. Asset-based and complex gifts are no longer a "wealth-screening tool only" idea. With tax rules shifting, donor-advised fund balances at record levels, and an enormous transfer of wealth underway, your donors are looking for ways to give that are smarter for their families and bigger for the missions they love. You just have to be ready to meet them there.
What to focus on next week
Get fluent on four asset types, at a high level. Appreciated securities, donor-advised funds, closely held business interests, and real estate. You don't have to be the technical expert. You have to be confident enough to bring it up and bring in help.
Pull a "candidate list." Look for donors who own a business, have given consistently for 7+ years, sold a company or property recently, are over 65, or have ever mentioned a DAF or a financial advisor.
Pick three conversation openers you can use this month. (I'll share mine below.)
Check your readiness internally. Do you have a brokerage account set up to receive stock? A written gift acceptance policy? A finance partner who can move quickly when a gift arrives?
Use AI to draft your follow-up emails to advisors and finance teams, so you can move faster the moment a donor says yes.
A Quick Story
A client of mine had a donor mention, almost as an aside, "My DAF is sitting on more than I'll ever need." The fundraiser smiled, said thank you, and moved on. We rehearsed a different response the next week. The next time the donor said something similar, she replied, "That's such a generous thing to share with me. Would it help to talk about how part of that could fund the program you've cared about for years?" Six weeks later, a $180,000 DAF grant arrived. The donor said it was the easiest gift she'd ever made because someone finally asked.
Try this next week
Choose 3 donors from your portfolio who fit the candidate signals above. Write one sentence next to each name about why they might benefit from a non-cash gift conversation.
Practice one conversation opener out loud. Mine sounds like, "Some of our most thoughtful donors are giving from places other than their checkbook these days. I'd love to walk you through a few options when it's helpful, no pressure."
Sit down for 30 minutes with your finance lead and ask two questions. How quickly can we receive a stock gift? What documentation do we send a donor and their advisor afterward?
Want to take a deeper dive?
In this week's episode of The Intentional Fundraiser Podcast, Beyond Cash: Unlocking Asset-Based Major Gifts, I walk you through the full conversation flow, the donor signals to watch for, and the stewardship moves that turn a one-time complex gift into a long-term partnership.
Listen to the full episode below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Who is this approach best suited for?
This approach is designed for major gift officers, development directors, and nonprofit CEOs who want to grow major gift revenue without burning out their cash donors. It works especially well if you already have a defined major gift portfolio, a brokerage account set up to receive stock, and a finance partner you can collaborate with.
Q2. How much time should I expect this to take each week?
Most fundraisers can get started with about 2 to 4 hours per week focused on identifying candidates, having one or two donor conversations, and tightening internal processes. The more important piece is consistency. Protect that time on your calendar so it doesn't get swallowed by event logistics or board prep.
Q3. What if my organization is small and I wear multiple hats?
The principles still apply. You may need to scale the tactics. Start with a lighter version. Identify 5 to 10 candidate donors instead of 40, have one complex gift conversation per month, and lean on a pro-bono CPA or planned giving consultant for technical support. Expand as you see results.
Q4. How do I know if it's working?
Look for early signals like donors mentioning their advisor, a DAF, or appreciated stock without prompting. Watch for more meetings on your calendar that include a spouse or financial professional. Over time, you should see this reflected in larger average gifts, more multi-year commitments, and a meaningful share of revenue coming from non-cash sources.
Q5. Where does AI fit into this, if at all?
AI is there to reduce friction, not replace your relationships. Use it to draft thank-you letters to advisors and trustees, summarize gift acceptance policies into plain language for your team, prepare donor briefs that pull together giving history and public business activity, and write follow-up emails that confirm gift details quickly. Keep the human work of listening, discernment, and relationship-building in your hands.
I’d love to hear from you
Connect with me on LinkedIn and share: What's the one part of asset-based giving that feels hardest right now? Is it spotting the donor, opening the conversation, or coordinating with your finance team?
You're not behind on this. You're early. The fundraisers who get comfortable with complex gifts in 2026 are the ones who will quietly outpace everyone else over the next three years. Start with one donor and one conversation this week. That's all it takes to begin.
Keep scaling,
Tammy Zonker
Author of Calling All Heroes
Founder + President of Fundraising Transformed
President of Modern Institute for Charitable Giving
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