Are you handling your mid-level donors in the best possible way? When you do, you can dramatically improve revenue, and you’ll also find “hidden” major donors. Here are some ways to get there, from the Veritus Group Blog, at Will the Real Mid-Level Program Please Stand Up?:
- A manageable caseload size. While major gifts programs are one-to-one (and a high-functioning major gift officer can handle a caseload of around 150 donors), mid-level programs are one-to-some: not up-close personal relationships, but relationships nonetheless. A mid-level gift officer should limit their caseloads to 500-700 donors.
- A communication plan based on key interest areas and reporting back. Find out what each mid-level donor cares about. Two ways: Ask them (try to reach them by phone, email, or mail) and send then appeals and see what they respond to.
- Meaningful and relevant touch points. Don’t exclude mid-level donors from your direct response program (unless they specifically ask you to), but also add relevant pieces about the impact they have.
- Relationship-based Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Don’t just track the money! Watch the relationship by tracking retention, upgrading their giving amounts, and how many move into major donor status.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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