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

By Jerry Huntsinger

So, relax. Get into group therapy, if necessary. Stop letting the fear factor make your decisions.

Upgrading is a significant “must.” Especially during this long donor bear market. How long will the decline last? Several more years? When will the pool of available donor names stop shrinking?

I remember back in the 1970s — don’t you just hate it when an old fart starts out like that? — when there were so many good donor names available that many charities simply didn’t have the money to mail to all of them. Donor attrition was not a problem, and we were prospecting at a comfortable profit.