A Blast From the Past: The 'Up and Out' Fallacy (March 2006)

The dollar threshold might be different from organization to organization, but the underlying thinking is the same: Once donors reach a certain giving level, he or she needs to be “protected” from the regular direct-mail appeal program.

Unfortunately, the organization soon finds that revenue from these significant donors — who are now being “protected” — plummets. Moving direct-mail donors up and out of the program that acquired and nurtured them in their giving is a serious mistake. It reduces revenue and eventually causes the donor to question whether the organization values her participation.