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

By Jerry Huntsinger

What statistical data do you use to determine the upgrade amount that you’re going to put in your letter and/or reply form?

This is an assignment where you need someone good at manipulating statistics — and that’s obviously not a guy like me. Some organizations base the upgrade amount on the highest previous gift in the donor’s history. This can cause interesting problems if, say, a donor sent you a special, once-in-a-lifetime $500 gift and you keep sending letters that say, “Please send $500, $750 or $1,000.” You need to flag gifts of unusual amounts compared to the donor’s average gifts.