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

By Jerry Huntsinger

You already know that 10 percent of your donors give 80 percent of your money. That makes you nervous. Are you tempted to leave that 10 percent alone and not take any risks? That might be a good idea. You really shouldn’t ask a donor who gave $10,000 to give $20,000, $40,000 or $100,000. So, at that high level, go real easy with dollar amounts, but give those donors lots of stimuli, lots of information, personalized letters and good old-fashioned stroking.