MAJOR GIFTS COACHING & ADVISORY

Your donors are ready to give more: We make sure it happens.

The Giving Group works with nonprofit leaders who have built real donor relationships and are ready to see these bear the fruit of which they are capable. Most development work runs on instinct: is this the right time to ask? Is this the right move? Will it work? The Whens and the Hows… We replace that guesswork with a coach who has navigated in these rooms successfully for decades, a tested methodology, and a software system that puts you and your team in the driver's seat — so the clarity comes organically, and doesn't leave. The result: clearer strategy, more confident asks, and larger gifts, permanently.

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Most major gift relationships stall at the same place

Organizations build real donor relationships — years of meetings, events, careful cultivation— and still can close the gift they know is possible. The problem isn’t the relationship. It’s that most development work focuses on building connection and identifying capacity, while missing the one element that actually moves donors to transformational giving.

Donors give at this level when they understand the intersection between the right problems the organization is solving, and what their philanthropy can mean to solve that problem. That requires a different kind of conversation. Most organizations never have it.

THE PROBLEM WE SOLVE

The Coach

Jason is a current, active fundraiser with leadership responsibilities — not a former practitioner teaching from memory. He has conducted thousands of donor visits and raised over $50 million in philanthropic commitments. His specific expertise is translating what your organization does into the priorities that move principal-level donors to act. Coaching is practical, weekly, and built around your real donors — never a generic curriculum.

What you're getting

A coach and a database. The magic is both.

The Platform

Your existing CRM is a database of record — it tells you what happened. Ours is a database of action: it tells you what to do next, with whom, in what order, and why. Every donor gets a tier, a priority, and a twelve-month cultivation plan. Every move is logged and measured, so you always know what's working and where attention is needed. You can see the whole year, and the whole portfolio, at once.

Why we’re different?

Four honest answers to fair questions.

  • A practitioner, not a theorist

    Jason has conducted thousands of donor visits and personally raised over $50 million across education, healthcare, faith-based organizations, and international causes. When you bring him a real donor situation, he's been in that room.

  • A system, not just a strategy

    Every client works in a structured donor management platform built specifically for major gifts — a database of action, not record. It turns your portfolio into a twelve-month cultivation plan with tiered priorities, specific moves, and metrics that track more than dollars.

  • The pillar most development work misses

    Linkage and capacity get most of the attention. What actually moves donors to transformational giving is inclination — their readiness to act on what they care about most. We know how to build it deliberately, not hope it develops on its own.

  • We're selective about fit

    We work with a small number of clients at a time. If your organization isn't ready for this work, we'll tell you honestly — and we won't take your money until you are.

Our Expertise

Our Major Gifts coaching and consulting services offer an end-to-end, holistic approach designed to give you comprehensive support customized to your organization’s needs, ensuring that every aspect of your major donor strategy is optimized for maximum impact.

  • We work closely with your team to identify and effectively articulate the key philanthropic initiatives in a way that donors will listen, and that align with your mission and vision. Then we help you identify the right donors based on behavior, that can generate sustainable, multi-year support.

  • We develop compelling narratives and cases for support around each of these priorities, positioning them for maximum appeal to donor interests and values.

  • We evaluate your existing and prospective donors based on their linkage, ability, and inclination to give, creating a strategic roadmap for cultivation and solicitation.

  • We offer expert guidance in creating tailored gift contracts, including planned giving agreements, pledge forms, endowment agreements, and other revocable vehicles, ensuring a seamless and impactful giving experience for your donors.

  • We offer comprehensive training and ongoing support for your board of directors, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to be effective fundraising ambassadors and leaders.

  • We provide one-on-one coaching for your nonprofit's leadership team, helping them develop the skills and strategies needed to guide your organization to new levels of fundraising success and mission impact.

  • We assess your current fundraising operations and provide recommendations and hands-on support to strengthen your infrastructure, optimize your processes, and build your team's capacity for long-term success.

  • We help you identify, recruit, and onboard top fundraising talent, and provide ongoing training and support to ensure your team has the skills and resources they need to excel in their roles.

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What clients are saying

  • "Jason, you've been a tremendous help to us. From the moment you walked through the door, you've felt like one of us. There's a certain ethos you bring that really resonates with our team. Because of your guidance, we've been able to approach our work with more confidence and speed. Just yesterday, we had a brief but impactful call with <donor>, and it was clear that the strategies you're teaching us are already making a difference. We're seeing the results, and it's been a great experience working with you."

    - Jamie Johnson, CEO, Boy With A Ball

  • “Jason is an extraordinary leader with whom I have had the pleasure of working and knowing. I witnessed his unique talent, patience, knowledge, and strategic thinking firsthand. People who dealt with Jason, both clients and coaches, were treated to the highest level of professionalism and fundraising acumen. Always thinking of the next best method to improve my coaching, Jason has a unique blend of precision and understanding.”

    - Senior Vice President of Development, Chabad International

  • "This is exactly what we've been asking for. It's moving us from having large gifts of $50,000 to securing even larger gifts and endowments in the $2M+ range. This approach is transforming how we engage with donors, allowing those capable of giving $50,000 to consider contributing even more substantial amounts. It's a completely new way of thinking."

    -Ellie Rothstein, CEO, Multinational Mental Health Charity

  • "The world that Jason brought me to, I feel lifted my fundraising potential from being able to get donors to support my work, to being able to build a building and add more staff."

    - Chaim Reiss, CEO, Educational Institution in Cleveland Heights, OH

  • "Jason, your preconference day training was absolutely awesome, it was inspiring, provocative, and thoughtful, and really gave me so much food for thought and direction in terms of inspiring donors and my team as well."

    -Executive Director, New York City private school

  • “Jason is a strategic fundraiser, natural relationship builder, and really understands what his donors want to support philanthropically. In our time together, I appreciated his systems thinking approach, making sure to align internal resources and programs to match potential dollars in a portfolio and with prospects. He’s an astute listener, a curious conversationalist, and a super genuine and likeable human… he is one of those kind, smart colleagues who really does want to move an organization’s mission forward.”

    - AVP, Resource Development, CARE International

Jason Zwang, CFRE

About Jason

20 years in these rooms.

Jason has held senior fundraising roles at University of Connecticut, Habitat for Humanity International, Emory University, and Georgia Institute of Technology, and holds an Executive Nonprofit Management Certificate from Harvard's Kennedy School and has been a CFRE for 11 years. He has conducted thousands of donor visits and personally closed more than $50 million in philanthropic commitments.

The ALIGN™ method and the platform that powers it weren't built from a consulting framework. They were built from years of sitting across from donors — learning what moved them, what stalled them, and what finally made them act.

Jason lives in Atlanta with his family and writes regularly on major gifts strategy for NonprofitPRO.

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What if you could go from this…

  • Drowning in a sea of donor calls and grant applications

  • Constantly putting out fires and juggling endless tasks

  • Knowing you have untapped potential in your donor base but unable to access it

  • Constantly battling capacity issues, knowing that more funding is the solution but struggling to secure it

To this?

  • Strategically aligning your mission with donors' deepest passions

  • Laser-focusing on high-leverage activities that maximize impact and advance donor relationships

  • Mastering the art of turning transactional donors into mission partners

  • Ending each day knowing you're facilitating real, lasting change in the world

Your donors are out there, ready to share your vision and partner in your mission.

Will you join them?

Book Your Free Strategy Session