Major Gift Development for Canadian Nonprofits
Build the structure, strategy, and momentum needed to raise more through major gifts.
“It was very, very helpful to have a third party come in and attest to what a shift can mean for the organization when you really start to focus on major gifts. It wasn’t just me telling the team, ‘the way you’re doing things is wrong.’ It was someone coming in with expertise saying, ‘this is a really great way to run your development program.’”
Major gifts success rarely starts with "more names". It starts with better data, sharper focus, and the right strategy.
At Global Philanthropic Canada, we help nonprofit leaders strengthen the strategy, systems, and donor pathways that lead to larger gifts and stronger long-term relationships. Whether you are building a major gifts program, refreshing a stalled approach, or trying to convert existing donor activity into deeper engagement, our senior consultants bring the experience to help you move forward with confidence.
This work is grounded in decades of fundraising experience, deep Canadian nonprofit expertise, and a proven track record of helping organizations strengthen revenue through more strategic donor engagement.
Our major gift development support is ideal for Canadian organizations looking to:
Provide clear line-of-sight for development of processes and procedures to guide strategy and operations.
Shift from heavily transactional fundraising toward more relationship-based revenue development.
Strategically identify where to focus first within your database, board, and communities.
Rebalance effort away from lower-yield activities such as events and toward higher-return fundraising.
Equip senior leaders to engage and cultivate major gift relationships with greater confidence.
Clarity on dashboard indicators measuring production and activity providing visibility on impact.
“The training I received through Global was truly career-defining. It transformed the way I engage with partners, enabling me to listen with new insight and ask more purposeful questions to align their interests even more meaningfully with our organization’s mission. With these new skills, I was able to guide a partner from a five-figure gift to a truly transformational seven-figure investment. This experience has been invaluable, and I am deeply grateful for the impact it has made on my career and our organization.”
Jennie Nadeau, Director of Development
Teen Challenge Canada
Case Study: 78% revenue increase in year one
Client: Teen Challenge Canada, London, Ontario. (2023 – 2024)
Objective: Define steps to build and create a relationship-based system for a major gift program.
Result: A sustainable major gifts framework, resulting in a 78% revenue increase in year one. The team gained momentum through shared wins, enhanced stewardship practices, and a more strategic, donor-centric approach—laying a strong foundation for long-term mission growth – our organization is saving Canadian’s lives! A multi-year commitment with a key partner is well underway, with Year Two funds dedicated to advancing a transformational seven-figure goal.
Global’s Role: Build a full mapping process to create and establish a moves management system, including training and implementation. Create a prospect management protocol: a comprehensive process that articulates Prospect Management Committee; LAI scoring; assignment protocols; etc. Create and deliver staff training sessions on major gift fundraising including solicitation best practices.
If you want greater confidence in which prospects to pursue, choose Global to help you prioritize and act.
For Canadian organizations seeking a more robust understanding of where major gift potential truly exists, Global Philanthropic Canada brings clarity, rigour, and depth. We are the only fundraising firm in Canada licensed to use the PLAID™ prospect development tool, which adds Propensity and Development to the traditional markers of Linkage, Ability, and Interest. The result is a complete and ranked view of who is ready for thoughtful engagement, not just who appears promising on paper.
And we do not stop at prospect insight alone. We also help fundraising staff, senior leaders, and board members build the confidence and skills needed to cultivate these relationships in a meaningful way. With our support, your team stays focused on the right activities, strengthens accountability, and monitors progress.
That is where insight, action, and accountability come together.
In fundraising has been collectively raised by our team of 40+ Senior Consultants
of our Senior Consultants have served as a volunteer on a Board of Directors, and over 76% currently volunteer their time with a nonprofit organization.
organizations large and small from coast to coast to coast, with over 61% returning as clients in 2025.
Major gift development success stories from our clients
“Taking that first step and being willing to hire Global to do the feasibility gave some third-party confidence that, yes, this is achievable and that number is not unrealistic.
By removing that existential threat and cash flow issue, and getting the expertise needed to build and run a campaign, we were able to move forward.
This process means the foundation has relationships. They know how to strategize around a major gift campaign… There’s a real interest in exploring what’s next. There’s an energy behind it.”
“Fundraising resources were a big challenge. Getting talent in our market right now – high quality talent – is everybody’s problem. They [Global Philanthropic Canada] created a fantastic strategic fundraising gift plan for our capital campaign. We were able to hit the ground running. Dora Boylen-Pabst really helped elevate our fund development function so that we could really take our fundraising to the next level. Dora has an ability to cut to the chase, keep things simple, make things really tangible and actionable.”
“It was very, very helpful to have a third party come in and attest to what a shift can mean for the organization when you really start to focus on major gifts. It wasn’t just me telling the team, ‘the way you’re doing things is wrong.’ It was someone coming in with expertise saying, ‘this is a really great way to run your development program.
Guy Mallabone’s confidence provided confidence to everyone here. That’s where working with an advisor is really helpful: they have such a wealth of experience that you can
benefit from.”
“I think what I really appreciated was the way in which the Global team really elegantly embedded themselves inside CARE, and really “cared” – if I can put it that way – about us! We had a group of consultants from Global Philanthropic Canada essentially embed themselves in the organization and grab ahold of our major gifts program and bring it home for the end of the year. They taught us a whole bunch of things informally along the way about best practices, standards and processes. And the formal assessment was fundamental to how we decided to move forward in reshaping the team and in reconfiguring it across the broader external facing elements of the organization. In every way, the engagement with Global Philanthropic was very positive and fruitful for us.”
