Does major‑donor hunting feel like night driving without headlights?
Fundraising never ends—and as your organization (בּס״ד) grows, the appetite for larger gifts grows too. Pushing forward in the dark drains momentum, scatters focus, and rarely hits the mark.
Solution: switch on the floodlights—build a Dream Donor Avatar.
A donor avatar is a one‑page snapshot of your ideal major supporter. In my work with mosdos Torah, teams that use one often halve prospecting time and double major‑gift wins within a year.
Sketch Yours in Three Quick Lenses
(Add 1–2 custom questions of your own.)
1️⃣ Demographics
- Age band (30‑40, 50‑60, 70+)
- Gender
- Location
2️⃣ Profession & Capacity
- Industry / role
- Income or net‑worth band
- Top three other causes they support
3️⃣ Motivation & Connection
- Jewish background / affiliation
- What's important to them?
- First touchpoint with your mission (alumni, beneficiary, referral—by whom?)
- What sparks their gifts to you?
When you connect the dots, a living profile emerges—one that can steer every ask, meeting, and cultivation step.
Here’s what that clarity looks like in real life…
Avatar in Action
Jake’s $50 K STEM Check (Bais Yaakov of Birmingham)
You’re the ED at BYOB. You invite Jake, a secular—but respectful—tech entrepreneur in his 50s, to judge your robotics fair.
He’s captivated by the students, says the school mirrors values he admires, and soon agrees to learn Torah with you over coffee.
Months later, when you share the need to fund the next STEM semester, Jake smiles and writes a $50 K check on the spot.
Lesson: Mid‑career tech philanthropists who enjoy teaching and hands‑on impact become prime prospects when you blend learning, mentoring, and a mission they can see up close.
Josh’s $150 K Campus Couple (JLEB Kiruv Center)
Josh discovers Yiddishkeit in college, learns in Eretz Yisrael, then joins his family’s real‑estate firm. A decade ago, your friend Reb Yaakov, founder of JLEB, invited him to chip in $50 a month—just enough to keep the door open.
Their relationship grows over time. After a major deal, Josh decides he’s “ready to give back big.” Reb Yaakov asks him to underwrite a new campus couple. He writes $150 K—and rounds it up.
Lesson: Kiruv alumni hitting their first career windfall convert when the ask echoes their own journey and lets them pay it forward.
Your Turn - Draft a one‑page Dream Donor Avatar (one, maybe two) today.
Avraham
P.S. Five minutes of avatar work today can spare you many hours of blind prospecting next quarter. Flip on those floodlights.
Copyright © 2025 Avraham Lewis & Co.