The Major Gift Leadership Cohort is designed primarily for Executive Directors, CEOs, Founders, Presidents, and Heads of School who are responsible for fundraising and want to build a stronger major gift program. Development Directors who work closely with their Executive Director and lead donor engagement will also find tremendous value in the experience.

No. While you'll watch selected video lessons between sessions, the heart of the experience is the weekly live coaching, interactive discussions, practical assignments, peer accountability, and personalized feedback. This is a coaching-intensive experience designed to help you implement relationship fundraising—not just learn about it.

You're exactly the kind of leader this cohort was designed for. You don't need prior major gift experience. We'll help you build confidence, strengthen your donor conversations, overcome ask anxiety, and develop a practical relationship fundraising strategy you can begin using immediately.

Experienced fundraisers often join because they want to strengthen their major gift strategy, build a more intentional relationship fundraising system, and receive coaching on real-world fundraising challenges. The cohort focuses not only on techniques, but on leadership, donor relationships, board engagement, stewardship, and creating a sustainable fundraising culture.

Plan on approximately 2–3 hours each week. That includes watching the weekly video lessons, participating in the 75-minute live coaching session, completing practical assignments, and applying what you've learned with your own donors. Everything you do is designed to move your organization's fundraising forward.

Yes. Every participant receives individual coaching throughout the cohort as well as a private 30-minute one-on-one coaching session with Mark Duncan. This dedicated session gives you the opportunity to discuss your organization's specific fundraising challenges, donor relationships, board engagement, or upcoming major gift opportunities and receive personalized guidance tailored to your situation.

This isn't a webinar or a lecture-based course. It's a highly interactive coaching experience.

Limiting the cohort to 15 participants ensures everyone has the opportunity to participate in discussions, receive personalized coaching, practice donor conversations, ask questions, and benefit from meaningful interaction with both Mark and the other nonprofit leaders in the cohort.

Absolutely. In fact, this cohort was designed with small and mid-sized nonprofits in mind.

One of the biggest myths in fundraising is that major gifts are only for large organizations with wealthy boards, sophisticated development teams, or multi-million dollar budgets. That's simply not true.

Relationship fundraising is about building authentic connections with people who believe in your mission—not the size of your organization.

Whether your annual budget is $250,000 or $5 million, donors invest in organizations they trust, leaders they believe in, and missions they care about.

Throughout the cohort, you'll learn practical strategies that can be implemented regardless of your organization's size. The coaching, assignments, and your personalized Relationship Fundraising Blueprint will be tailored to your unique situation, helping you build a sustainable major gift program with the resources you already have.

By the end of the cohort, you'll have much more than knowledge. You'll leave with a personalized Relationship Fundraising Blueprint that includes your Top 25 donor strategy, board engagement plan, donor relationship map, stewardship plan, fundraising rhythm, and a practical 90-day implementation plan tailored to your organization.

You might say something like this:

"This isn't simply professional development. It's an investment in building our organization's long-term fundraising capacity. I'll leave with a customized major gift strategy, practical systems we can implement immediately, and a clear plan for strengthening donor relationships, engaging our board, and increasing philanthropic support. One new or upgraded major gift could easily cover the cost of the program."

Consider saying:

"This cohort focuses on building a relationship fundraising culture—not just improving fundraising techniques. I'll learn practical strategies for cultivating major donors, engaging our board more effectively, strengthening stewardship, and building a sustainable fundraising system that directly supports our organization's mission and goals."

You might say something like this:

You'll receive an invitation to register one full week before registration opens to the public. During that exclusive Priority Registration period, you'll also receive a 10% Early Registration Discount, reducing your investment from $1,497 to $1,347.30. Because enrollment is limited to just 15 participants, joining the Priority Registration List gives you the best opportunity to secure your seat before the cohort opens to everyone else.

While you'll get the greatest value by participating live, we understand that schedules can change. Each live coaching session will be recorded and made available to cohort participants. You'll still be able to watch the session, complete the assignments, and continue progressing through the program.