Thoughtful, well-executed upgrade campaigns will get the job done without scaring off your most loyal donors.

By Jerry Huntsinger

Of course, only a very, very small percentage of donors will become monthly donors. But that percentage is rather fixed. Statistically, those donors are out there and if you don’t enroll them into a monthly program, some other organization will.

If a donor has been sending you gifts of $20 and you enroll him in a $10-a-month giving program, then you’re going to get a lot more net income from that donor — and probably the donor will become more committed to your charity, because he or she will cut back on gifts to another charity. (That’s the way it works, folks. This is not the United Way, so there will be a winner and there will be a loser. You were hired to make your organization the winner.)