Resource 7: Interest

The Collaborative Approach to Major Gift Work  ·  Resource 7 of 11 Interest — Unlocking Values to Find Shared Ground
Practice the Framework — Resource 7

Interest — Unlocking Values to Find Shared Ground

CDRF Phase 2  ·  Interest
Where do our interests genuinely intersect?

Awareness tells you what a donor has given. Interest tells you why — and why is the most useful thing you can know. The Interest phase is about the story underneath the label.

Donor outcome: The donor feels their personal values are understood and honored.
Institutional outcome: You uncover how their values connect to their desire to create a legacy.

The Distinction That Matters

“Environmental” means something different to every donor. “Student success” means something different to every donor. The label isn’t the value — it’s the door to the value. Your job is to understand what’s behind the door.

You’re not trying to find out which initiative to pitch. You’re trying to understand what animates this particular human being — and what they’re hoping their giving will make possible in the world.

The Five Paths in This Phase

Relator
Wisdom:Connects quickly — builds the comfort that makes this conversation possible
Watch for:May not probe deeply enough. After a donor names a value, always ask at least one more question before moving on.
Critical Thinker
Wisdom:Asks thorough follow-up questions — gets to the real meaning
Watch for:May analyze rather than listen emotionally; questions can feel like an interrogation. Reflect back what you’re hearing before asking the next question.
Visionary
Wisdom:Gets excited about the big picture the donor’s values could unlock
Watch for:May jump to vision before values are truly understood. Complete the narrowing process before sharing any institutional connection.
Warrior
Wisdom:Follows through — will execute the process with discipline
Watch for:May rush the values conversation to get to the ask. Build it into your meeting plan as a non-negotiable step.

The Values Discovery Protocol

This is a facilitated dialogue, not a questionnaire. Use it as a scaffold — adapt freely based on how the conversation unfolds.

1
Starter question
Open with a broad question that invites reflection on their philanthropic history.
“What first drew you to giving to causes like this one?” or “When you think about the impact you want your philanthropy to have — what comes to mind?”
2
Narrow to 7
Listen for the values the donor names or implies. Gently reflect them back.
Build a shared list of 6–8 values. “It sounds like access matters a lot to you — would you say that’s one of the things driving your giving?”
3
Narrow to 5
Invite the donor to identify their most central values.
“If you had to pick the five that feel most central to why you give, which would they be?” Don’t rush. Silence is the donor thinking, not disengaging.
4
Follow-up questions
For each of the top 5, ask at least one follow-up question that gets beneath the label.
See the question bank below for starting points by value type.

Follow-Up Question Bank

Adapt these — they’re starting points, not scripts.

Impact / outcomes
What would tell you that this gift really worked? What does success look like to you — not for the institution, but for the people your gift is meant to help?
Access / equity
When you say access, what’s the gap you most want to close? Who isn’t at the table right now that you’d most want to see there?
Innovation / change
What kind of change are you most excited to fund — incremental or transformational? Where do you think the old ways of doing this have broken down?
People / relationships
Is there a specific person or group whose life you’re hoping to change? When you imagine the impact of your giving, whose face do you see?
Legacy / continuation
What do you hope people will say about what you made possible — 20 years from now? Is this connected to something or someone from earlier in your life?
Excellence / quality
What would “the best version” of this initiative look like to you? Where do you see the biggest gap between where things are and where they should be?

Practice — Craft your follow-up questions

Below is a donor profile. Read it, then write three follow-up questions you’d ask to go deeper on their values. Your questions should get beneath the label — not gather more data, but reveal the story.

Simulated donor profile
Name
Sasha K.
Background
PharmD. Works in oncology clinical trials management.
What she said
“I give because I want to see more students from underrepresented backgrounds make it into healthcare careers. There are people who never get the chance because the path is too hard and no one is showing them the way.”
Values named
Access, representation, mentorship
Follow-up question 1
Capture your question in your own notes — write something that gets beneath the label ‘access.’
Follow-up question 2
Capture your question in your own notes — write something that gets beneath the label ‘representation.’
Follow-up question 3
Capture your question in your own notes — write something that gets beneath the label ‘mentorship.’
Onboarding note — Days 31–60
Once initial Awareness is established, the Interest phase becomes your primary focus. The Interview Meeting Guide is your vehicle — but use it as a scaffold for dialogue, not a data-collection checklist.
Resource 7 complete
Keep the facilitation guide as a reference for your next values conversation. Return to the question bank whenever you’re preparing for an Interest-phase meeting.
PreviousAwareness NextConnection