Partnering with an executive director of development, I wrote this major gift proposal to align DU’s priorities with the specific opportunities a prospective donor had already expressed interest in funding. The ask centers on the university’s planned Innovation Hub, a 37,000-square-foot facility at the intersection of arts and technology that will become the new home for Media, Film & Journalism Studies, with three tailored naming opportunities.
Writing for a donor who had spent a lifetime in journalism meant leading with legacy rather than need: framing the gift as a way to carry forward the principles of integrity and fearless reporting that defined their career, and making the case for journalism itself as a cornerstone of democracy at a moment when that argument carries weight.
Proof points — program size, graduate outcomes, hands-on learning — support that narrative rather than stand in for it, and renderings of each named space let the donor picture exactly what their name would sit above. (This sample has been redacted to protect donor privacy.)