Special Report: Fundraising 101 Direct Mail

Many organizations have midlevel donor clubs and major-donor societies, each with a series of tiered giving levels with different recognition benefits associated with them. Donors who give frequently — say three or more times a year — might be invited to join a monthly donor club.

There’s an old saying that a donor isn’t a donor until he’s made his second gift. The first gift shows interest, but the second gift really indicates commitment. For this reason, we’ll create “prelapsing” strategies, with conversion packages that try to get the donor to make that second gift within a 12-month time frame. LYBUNTS (donors who gave “last year but not this year”) can receive a special message, and lapsed donors who haven’t given in perhaps 24 months or more can receive a customized “win-back” package that says “we miss you, we need you — and we want you back.”