Relaunch Your Major Gift Program
Or Build One That Actually Works. Live. In 4 Hours. With Mary Petersen.
The Small Table Intensive is the live working session where you plan your first intimate donor dinner, build your $1,000 match circle, and map your complete 90-day relaunch, using the proven three-step system from Mary's new book Small Table Big Philanthropy.
Virtual · Limited to 30 Seats · $997
9:00am to 1:00pm PST
Five couples gave 90% of the money at your last gala. The other 295 came for the wine. You spent six months planning an event that produced results you could have gotten from one dinner. You're exhausted, you're scattered, and somewhere in the back of your mind, you know there has to be a better way. There is.
The CEO, the new hospital and the $1.2 million lunch
He had a parish list, a conference room, and six couples who believed in the mission. No PowerPoint. No gala committee. No venue deposit. He called them personally, gathered them around one table, and let the conversation do the work. By the time the plates were cleared, $1.2 million was committed. What he had wasn't a bigger donor list, it was the right system, the right people, and the confidence to ask. That's the whole model.
Emma's farmhouse
Emma didn't have a ballroom. She had a dining room, a sunny afternoon, and a few extra chairs borrowed from the neighbors. The table wasn't fancy. The ask was. She hosted one small dinner, followed up with intention, and raised $325,000 from people who left feeling like they'd been invited into something real, because they had. You don't need a venue. You need a seat at the right table.
Sara from Kentucky
Sara had just stepped into her first Executive Director role. No major gift experience. No existing donor relationships built on years of cultivation. She went through the three-step system, hosted her first intimate dinner, and raised $900,000. Not eventually. Her first time. If you've been waiting until you feel ready, Sara's story is your permission slip.
The Curriculum
Module Breakdown
The Small Table Advantage
- •Major Gift Depth
- •The Three Pillar System
- •The Staircase to Major Gifts
Setting The Table
- •Finding Your Perfect Host
- •Building the Guest List & Invitations
- •Designing the Conversation
- •48-Hour Follow-Up Strategies & Tactics
Match Magic
- •The Match Mechanism
- •Recruiting & Deploying Your Matchmakers
- •The 7 Stewardship Tactics
The Moment of Truth
- •Reading the Signals: How to Know When Someone Is Ready
- •The Upgrade Conversation, Word for Word
- •What to Do When They Say Yes, No, and Maybe
Your 90-Day Launch Plan
- •Your First Small Table
- •Your Guest List, Built Today, Ready to Send Monday
- •Your Matchmaker
- •Your 90-Day Commitment
- •Hot Seat: Live Feedback from Mary
What You'll Leave With
Your first (or next) intimate dinner fully planned, host identified, guest list curated, conversation designed, follow-up mapped
Your $1,000 match circle strategy, who to recruit, how to frame it, how to steward donors so they stay and climb
Your complete 90-day action plan, specific moves, specific dates, ready to execute Monday morning
The exact language for every conversation, the dinner invitation, the soft close, the upgrade ask, and the follow-up call
About Mary
Mary Petersen spent 25 years as a working major gift officer before she started coaching. She's raised millions from living rooms, boardroom lunches, and farmhouse tables, using the same three-step system she's teaching in this Intensive.
She is the author of What to Say (International Impact Award Winner) and Small Table Big Philanthropy, and the founder of Hey Fundraiser. This is someone who did the work, not someone who studied it.
The Implementation Promise
Four hours is not always enough, and I would rather you finished than felt polite about it.
Come to the whole session, camera on, and do the work in it. If you leave without your table planned, your guest list drafted and your match strategy mapped, email me. We will get on a call and finish it.
No extra fee, and no need to explain yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Secure Your Seat
$997 · 9:00am to 1:00pm PST