How do I track major donors and sponsors?

Treat each big gift as an opportunity with stages, an owner and a next step. A sponsor can become a contract with yearly budget and reminders.

You track major donors and sponsors by treating each potential big gift as an opportunity that moves through clear stages, with an owner, a next step and a date. In WeGlow CRM this is a pipeline in the Major gifts section, and a sponsor who says yes can become a sponsorship contract with a yearly budget and renewal reminders. No more big gifts lost in somebody's inbox.

Why do major gifts need their own process?

A €20 online donation and a €5,000 sponsorship are different relationships. The big one takes months, several conversations and often a written proposal. It also depends on people: a board member who knows the contact, a director who calls, a colleague who sends the contract. Without a shared overview, nobody knows who promised what to whom.

What does a simple pipeline look like?

Call the stages whatever suits you, but keep them few. A common set looks like this (an example, not a rule):

Identified. A person or company that could give, with a reason why.
First conversation. You have met or spoken.
Proposal. You have sent a concrete request or sponsor offer.
Decision. They are thinking or negotiating.
Won or lost. Always record the outcome and the reason.

The reasons matter more than people think. After a year, "lost: budget frozen" and "lost: no fit with our cause" tell you very different things about where to look next time.

How does WeGlow CRM handle major gifts?

The Major gifts section is a board or list of opportunities: major donors, grants and sponsorships, moving through stages. According to the WeGlow feature overview it includes:

Goal progress. Set a target for the year and see how far the open and won opportunities get you, including a funding mix across donors, grants and sponsors.
A "this week" focus. The opportunities that need attention now, so urgent calls do not hide in a long list.
A dossier checklist with real files. Upload the proposal, the signed letter or the grant application to the opportunity itself.
Close and reopen with reasons. Nothing disappears; a lost opportunity can come back.
Tasks linked to an opportunity, with due dates, so every next step has an owner.

The module is on by default, and your organisation can switch it off in the CRM settings if you do not need it.

From prospect to sponsor contract

Sponsors are often a recurring relationship, not a single gift. In WeGlow, a sponsor can start as an opportunity and become a sponsorship contract once they say yes.

A contract holds the package they chose, the yearly budget and the period. The database computes the monthly spread of the amount for you, which helps when you plan cash flow or report to your board. The system can also remind you before a sponsorship is due to renew or when it has lapsed, and you can keep invoices per contract. If your sponsors already live in a spreadsheet, there is a separate spreadsheet import for them.

Keeping the relationship warm

Money follows trust. Some habits help whatever tool you use:

Thank within a day, and by phone for the biggest gifts.
Report back on what the gift achieved, with a number and a story.
Agree up front who the contact person is, and keep it stable.
Log every contact in the timeline, so a colleague can step in during holidays.

The contact dossier in WeGlow CRM stores notes, documents, gifts and pledges for each person, so the history of the relationship sits in one place.

Who may see this?

Major donor information is sensitive. WeGlow CRM gives team members a role (administrator, editor or viewer), enforced in the database. The GDPR asks for appropriate technical and organisational measures against unauthorised or unlawful processing. Give the pipeline to the few people who need it and let colleagues with other tasks see only what they need.

What does it cost?

WeGlow CRM starts from €29 per month (excl. VAT) for up to 1,000 contacts; €59 for up to 5,000; €89 for up to 10,000; €149 for up to 25,000. Check the current prices in your dashboard, then add your first three open opportunities.

A weekly rhythm that works

Schedule a fixed twenty-minute meeting. Go through the opportunities that need attention this week, agree the next step for each and assign an owner. Close whatever has been decided. That rhythm matters more than the tool: a pipeline nobody looks at is just an archive.

How many opportunities should a small team track?

Fewer than you think. Ten well-followed opportunities beat fifty forgotten ones. Review the pipeline in a short weekly meeting.

Can I track grants as well as sponsors?

Yes. Grants, major donors and sponsorships can all be opportunities in the same pipeline, which lets you see your funding mix.

What is the difference between an opportunity and a sponsorship?

An opportunity is a possible gift you are working on. A sponsorship is the agreed contract with a package, a budget and a period.

Sources

WeGlow CRM feature overview, major gifts and sponsorships (checked on 2 October 2026).
European Commission: principles of the GDPR: appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure data (checked on 3 October 2026).
WeGlow subscription prices as shown in the dashboard (checked on 2 October 2026).