Public Administration scholars have longstanding interest in the ways organizations, groups, individuals and processes influence governance. Dwindling state and federal government support for public universities have left them to rely on private contributors and this growing third-party influence on state government's delivery of higher education is fertile ground for research on the best way to fundraise. This study explores ways in which fundraising professionals convince people to make major gifts by interviewing major gift officers in the higher education setting responsible for securing contributions to their respective colleges and universities. The study exposes the routine fundraising strategies major gift officers deploy. This exploration of fundraising strategies, with its significant findings proposes a new model for major gift fundraising and provides a substantial addition to current philanthropy research in strategy development and execution, the use of natural partners in cultivation, and the personal and customized way major gift officers go about fundraising. This better understanding of the ways in which major gift officers convince people to make major gifts to colleges and universities provides as a platform for further critique and evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies, use of leadership, and how to overcome the reliance on personal visits in a world now mindful of how personal space is influenced by pandemic outbreaks. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]