CFRE STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027 QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Who should be involved in developing a cultivation plan - ✔✔- chief development
officer
- org's CEO
- Board of directors
- Community volunteers
- program leader
✔✔Giving USA reports that in 2007 individuals gave - ✔✔75% of all charitable funding
✔✔Who are the best givers - ✔✔retirees tend to be the most generous givers, and
volunteers give more than twice the percentage of income as those who contribute, but
don't volunteer
✔✔Reasons people give - ✔✔- give something back
- help care for others
- identify with a worthy cause or goal
- because they are involved
- gain immortality
- express deep emotion (grief, joy)
- respond to the person asking
- diminish negative feelings (guild, fear, anger)
- gain tax and/or financial planning benefits
✔✔Understanding motives for giving does these things - ✔✔- helps target strategies
and opportunities
- allows appropriate matches with meaningful opportunities
- today's technology allows selective targeting even of "small" donors
✔✔Personal visits aid in... - ✔✔- assessing the depth of the commitment
- understanding the assets the donor has to make the gift
- determining what the donor is trying to accomplish
- discovering specific areas of interest
✔✔Seven key steps for establishing, cultivating, and sustaining relationships with
organizations - ✔✔- research
- inquire / approach / involve
- develop request
- solicit the donation
- follow through after solicitation
- report to the funder
- repeat the process; continuously plan
,✔✔Key relationship strategies for Grants - ✔✔- avoid an "us vs. them" mentality
- make a personal contact within the org
- write a letter of inquiry whether or not required
✔✔Relationships in managing grants involve - ✔✔- aid in ensuring proper stewardship
and monitoring of funds
- provide regular reports to instill confidence and a sense of partnership
- keep grantor staff/board engaged in the project
✔✔Penelope Burk defines "donor-centered fundraising" as - ✔✔personalizing /
customizing the approach to the donor and taking each one along the continuum from
"interested" to "invested" in the org
✔✔Adrian Seargeant said retaining donors is - ✔✔about finding out how donors want to
receive information, and how often.
✔✔To optimize relationships with donors - ✔✔- create a philanthropic fundraising
environment
- balance community and org needs
- carefully cultivate potential donors, including staff and volunteers in the process
- individuals give for their own reasons; individual solicitation is most effective
- soliciting organizations also requires paying attention to relationships
✔✔Key software capabilities to consider - ✔✔- track restricted and unrestricted funds
- interface with donor files
- recognize different giving levels
- quick access to donor history and status
✔✔The board's role in fundraising - ✔✔- determine, authorize, and oversee the need for
funds
- determine the purpose for and justifications of funds used
- determine investment strategies and fund managers
- approve fund allocations
✔✔Effective major-gift solicitation is best handled by - ✔✔a team of two, typically a
volunteer and a senior staff member (often the CEO)
✔✔in a major gifts campaign the spokesperson should be - ✔✔the CEO - they are
ultimately responsible to the board for how solicited funds are used, and should
therefore be the key spokesperson for requesting the funds
✔✔volunteers asking for donation should receive an orientation with training in these
areas - ✔✔- introduction to the org and its history
- mission, vision, purpose
- org's functional areas
, - campaign plans and case statements
- extra training in soliciting gifts and campaign specifics
✔✔to ask for donations volunteers must know and do - ✔✔- their personal contributions;
if not already made, a deadline for it should be set
- their roles in the overall development program of the org
- an understanding of the individual/group being approached, including their motivations
and /or needs, values, and potential linkages to the org's case
- context in which the gift is being requested, e.g. how it will be used, what it will
accomplish or contribute to
- for potential donors: donor history, rating/assignment sheets, and how to use them
- techniques for asking for gifts, for negotiating/handling objections, and for making a
strong close.
- reporting mechanisms used by the org
- specific instructions about what they are to do, by when, with deadlines set for calls to
be completed
- time for discussion of each prospect and related materials
✔✔staff provides support to volunteers by - ✔✔- providing solid training
- preparing campaign materials
- teaming volunteers and prospects
- reporting successes
- information management and reporting
- preparing letters, etc.
- invitations to cultivation events
- gently applied pressure as needed
- offering help as needed
✔✔who stated the personal solicitation is 16 times more effective than mail solicitation -
✔✔James Greenfield
✔✔Gifts can be - ✔✔- spontaneous
- responsive
- deliberately planned
✔✔every donor when asked for a donation will ask - ✔✔- who is asking?
- for how much?
- why me?
- for what purpose?
- why now?
✔✔steps to seeking grant support - ✔✔- establish a relationship with a program officer,
board member or employee
- send a letter of inquiry
- write the grant proposal
SOLUTIONS RATED A+
✔✔Who should be involved in developing a cultivation plan - ✔✔- chief development
officer
- org's CEO
- Board of directors
- Community volunteers
- program leader
✔✔Giving USA reports that in 2007 individuals gave - ✔✔75% of all charitable funding
✔✔Who are the best givers - ✔✔retirees tend to be the most generous givers, and
volunteers give more than twice the percentage of income as those who contribute, but
don't volunteer
✔✔Reasons people give - ✔✔- give something back
- help care for others
- identify with a worthy cause or goal
- because they are involved
- gain immortality
- express deep emotion (grief, joy)
- respond to the person asking
- diminish negative feelings (guild, fear, anger)
- gain tax and/or financial planning benefits
✔✔Understanding motives for giving does these things - ✔✔- helps target strategies
and opportunities
- allows appropriate matches with meaningful opportunities
- today's technology allows selective targeting even of "small" donors
✔✔Personal visits aid in... - ✔✔- assessing the depth of the commitment
- understanding the assets the donor has to make the gift
- determining what the donor is trying to accomplish
- discovering specific areas of interest
✔✔Seven key steps for establishing, cultivating, and sustaining relationships with
organizations - ✔✔- research
- inquire / approach / involve
- develop request
- solicit the donation
- follow through after solicitation
- report to the funder
- repeat the process; continuously plan
,✔✔Key relationship strategies for Grants - ✔✔- avoid an "us vs. them" mentality
- make a personal contact within the org
- write a letter of inquiry whether or not required
✔✔Relationships in managing grants involve - ✔✔- aid in ensuring proper stewardship
and monitoring of funds
- provide regular reports to instill confidence and a sense of partnership
- keep grantor staff/board engaged in the project
✔✔Penelope Burk defines "donor-centered fundraising" as - ✔✔personalizing /
customizing the approach to the donor and taking each one along the continuum from
"interested" to "invested" in the org
✔✔Adrian Seargeant said retaining donors is - ✔✔about finding out how donors want to
receive information, and how often.
✔✔To optimize relationships with donors - ✔✔- create a philanthropic fundraising
environment
- balance community and org needs
- carefully cultivate potential donors, including staff and volunteers in the process
- individuals give for their own reasons; individual solicitation is most effective
- soliciting organizations also requires paying attention to relationships
✔✔Key software capabilities to consider - ✔✔- track restricted and unrestricted funds
- interface with donor files
- recognize different giving levels
- quick access to donor history and status
✔✔The board's role in fundraising - ✔✔- determine, authorize, and oversee the need for
funds
- determine the purpose for and justifications of funds used
- determine investment strategies and fund managers
- approve fund allocations
✔✔Effective major-gift solicitation is best handled by - ✔✔a team of two, typically a
volunteer and a senior staff member (often the CEO)
✔✔in a major gifts campaign the spokesperson should be - ✔✔the CEO - they are
ultimately responsible to the board for how solicited funds are used, and should
therefore be the key spokesperson for requesting the funds
✔✔volunteers asking for donation should receive an orientation with training in these
areas - ✔✔- introduction to the org and its history
- mission, vision, purpose
- org's functional areas
, - campaign plans and case statements
- extra training in soliciting gifts and campaign specifics
✔✔to ask for donations volunteers must know and do - ✔✔- their personal contributions;
if not already made, a deadline for it should be set
- their roles in the overall development program of the org
- an understanding of the individual/group being approached, including their motivations
and /or needs, values, and potential linkages to the org's case
- context in which the gift is being requested, e.g. how it will be used, what it will
accomplish or contribute to
- for potential donors: donor history, rating/assignment sheets, and how to use them
- techniques for asking for gifts, for negotiating/handling objections, and for making a
strong close.
- reporting mechanisms used by the org
- specific instructions about what they are to do, by when, with deadlines set for calls to
be completed
- time for discussion of each prospect and related materials
✔✔staff provides support to volunteers by - ✔✔- providing solid training
- preparing campaign materials
- teaming volunteers and prospects
- reporting successes
- information management and reporting
- preparing letters, etc.
- invitations to cultivation events
- gently applied pressure as needed
- offering help as needed
✔✔who stated the personal solicitation is 16 times more effective than mail solicitation -
✔✔James Greenfield
✔✔Gifts can be - ✔✔- spontaneous
- responsive
- deliberately planned
✔✔every donor when asked for a donation will ask - ✔✔- who is asking?
- for how much?
- why me?
- for what purpose?
- why now?
✔✔steps to seeking grant support - ✔✔- establish a relationship with a program officer,
board member or employee
- send a letter of inquiry
- write the grant proposal
