Qualification: interest, capacity and deciding a portfolio is not a fit
A friendly conversation is useful context, but is not by itself a completed major-gift qualification.
Liking your concerts, enjoying a conversation or attending events can indicate interest in your work. Those signals alone do not establish the person’s capacity, philanthropic priorities or willingness to consider a major gift.
Relae’s practitioner criterion treats qualification as learning enough about capacity and affinity to decide whether a prospect belongs in a major-gift portfolio. Ask open questions about what matters to the person and how, if at all, they want to be involved. Keep unknowns separate from verified facts.
A clear decision that someone is not interested or is not a fit can be a completed qualification outcome. It is useful information, not automatically evidence that the fundraiser failed. Record the reason accurately and respect the person’s wishes; do not turn a clear refusal into a schedule of repeated asks.