Don’t give up on your lapsed donors. With the right strategy, you can bring them back into the fold — and it’s easier than trying to win new ones.

By Cary Castle

Nancy Somma, associate director of development at Consumers Union, the largest independent tester of consumer products in the United States and publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, created a package that informed lapsed donors of how long it had been since their last gift. Research shows donors tend to not remember such things.