Work With UsAI Implementation1:1 partnershipIf Possible CohortsWaitlist openMission ReadySelf-paced vault · Coming soon
ResourcesThe If Possible PodcastSeason 1 · 10 episodesAll free resourcesPrompts, episodes, articles and kitsThe Art of the PossibleArticlesNewsletterWeekly emailAI Readiness Quiz3 minutes · FreeSupercharged PromptsFree to copyYour libraryEvery free kit, on any device
AboutContact
Work with us
Make the ask

A major gift proposal prompt that starts with the relationship

A 400 to 600 word proposal letter built around one donor: your relationship, their values, one clear ask and what that gift makes possible.

Basic prompt

156 words
Write a major gift proposal letter of 400 to 600 words for one donor. Open with our relationship or our last conversation, connect what they care about to this project, state the ask clearly with the specific impact of this gift, propose one next step and close warmly. Make it personal and confident, not transactional, with no guilt.

What you need to know:
- who this donor is and how we know them
- what they care about, in and beyond our work
- our last conversation
- the project and why it matters now
- the amount and what it makes possible
- how they'd like to be recognized, if at all
- the next step I want

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Use what you have. If you don't know something, ask me, one question at a time, and don't make anything up.

Supercharged prompt

447 words
You're helping me write a major gift proposal for one donor. I want to work the way If Possible (ifpossible.ai) teaches nonprofit teams to do real work AI first. Their guide for this kind of work is "Your next major donor may already be in your data" (https://ifpossible.ai/articles/ai-for-major-gift-prospects), and their full library of guides is at https://ifpossible.ai/articles. If you can read web pages, read that guide first and treat its method as our playbook.

The If Possible method, as we'll use it today:

1. Context before content. Before you draft anything, build a short brief of who we are: our mission, this project, what it will change and our voice. (If Possible calls this a Mission Brain: the memory AI reads before every task.) Use what you already know about us, and ask me for whatever is missing.

2. Talk it out instead of typing it out. I'll talk through this donor the way I'd brief a colleague before a visit. If I have a drive-home debrief or a meeting transcript, I'll give it to you. The detail that makes this personal usually isn't in our CRM, so pull it from my own words.

3. Ask before you assume. Ask me your questions one at a time, the most important first, and wait for each answer.

4. I'm in the director's chair. Give me two or three ways to frame the ask, like which of their values leads and how to state the amount, with your recommendation and a one-line reason. Don't hand me one finished answer to forward unread (If Possible calls that being a "meat proxy").

5. A letter I can react to. One proposal letter of 400 to 600 words, then a list of the personal details you used so I can confirm each one.

6. Check your own work. Don't invent anything about this donor. Mark every detail you inferred, and any line that could go to anyone.

7. Make it repeatable. When we finish, save the structure and the questions that worked, so the next proposal starts here.

What you need to know:
- who this donor is and how we know them
- what they care about, in and beyond our work
- our last conversation
- the project and why it matters now
- the amount and what it makes possible
- how they'd like to be recognized, if at all
- the next step I want

You may already know some of this from our past chats, my files or connected tools. Check there first and tell me what you found. For anything you don't know, ask me, one question at a time, the most important first. Start now.

Supercharge it

We’ll add the If Possible method to your prompt. More context in. A better output out.

  • Context before content
  • Talk it out
  • Questions first
  • Director’s chair
  • + 3 more
  1. Context before content: a short brief of who you are (a Mission Brain)
  2. Talk it out: the color your CRM misses comes from you
  3. Questions first, one at a time
  4. Director's chair: framings for the ask and a recommendation
  5. A letter, plus a list of details to confirm
  6. It marks everything it inferred about the donor
  7. It saves the structure for the next proposal

It points your AI to our free articles as its guide. Read every word before you use it.

What it’s for

It builds a personalized major gift proposal from your donor notes and campaign details, ready for your development director to customize and send. The letter opens with your relationship or last conversation, connects the donor’s values to the project, states the ask with specific impact, proposes a next step and closes warmly.

When to use it

  • You’ve had the conversations and you’re ready to put the ask in writing.
  • You need a proposal to send after a donor meeting or ahead of one.
  • Your case for support is set and you want a version for one person.

Before you use it

You know this donor and AI doesn’t. Read every line against what you actually know, and throw out anything that doesn’t sound like them. The tone to hold: personal, confident, not transactional, with no guilt language.

Try these next

All 33 prompts
The Possible Passport

There’s more in your free library

The Possible Passport is our free member library. Sign up once for the Prompt Vault PDF, an AI Readiness Assessment, an AI Policy Template and every other free kit, on any device. The Make the Case Kit is in there too, if you need a yes on AI training first.

Already signed up?

Free. No spam ever. Privacy Policy

Keep reading

From The Art of the Possible

All articles