A kinder, back-to-basics approach to donor relations amounted to a 30 percent increase in contributions for D.C.’s Heritage Foundation.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

Walter explains that, because donors are continually moving up the giving pyramid, it’s important that staffers in each of the fundraising sectors understand the dynamics of the other sectors. To underscore just why that’s important, he points to the fact that, in 2002, of the 280 gifts of $10,000 or more, 150 of those contributors started out as smaller direct-marketing donors.