Courting the Mid-Level Donor
By George Whelan
Do you need to move a stalled fundraising program? Is your support base split between small donors and major donors, with a big gap in between? Maybe it's time to give a serious look at what you could be doing to develop a mid-level program.
A mid-level program can mean many different things to different organizations. For some organizations, mid-level donors are those giving $1,000 or more. For others, a mid-level donor may be someone who will contribute $250 or $500. Whatever the level, it's important to realize that these individuals demonstrate a greater affinity to your organization, donate for different reasons than basic members, and can thrive with more personalized and communicative recognition from your organization.
Loyal donors at this level tend to be among the most valuable members on an organization's file. While only representing 5% to 10% of an organization’s membership, the mid-level file can represent 40% to 50% of the total revenue. And, when properly cultivated, they are a tremendous resource for upgrading into major gifts.
Personalize Your Appeals
The bottom line of successful mid-level donor development is the organization's enhanced and personalized communication with the donor. Every communication, whether it's an ask, a thank you, fulfillment notice, or an invitation, should reflect that this donor has a direct, active relationship with your mission and your people. Trinket premiums are out. Special, high-level events are in. These individuals give because they believe in your mission and want to be involved. What they look for in return is that you acknowledge their support and continue to reinforce their belief in your mission. They may not give as frequently as small donors, but they have a deeper sense of loyalty and a greater commitment to the long-haul.
At Thirteen WNET New York, the New York public-television station where I served as Deputy Director of Membership before joining Carl Bloom Associates, Inc., I focused much of my tenure on the 60,000 donors who gave from $100 to $1,499. Much of the work in this area was to identify the donors' interests and then find ways to make them feel invested in our mission.
As reported in the Chronicle of Philanthropy last year, mid-level gift appeals were not significantly more costly, and yet yielded $6.5 million from mid-level donors annually. We were able to grow this segment by 26 percent over a four-year period, at a time when total gifts remained flat. Best of all, an average of about 180 mid-level donors per year went on to become major donors to the station by giving at least $1,500 in a year.
Here are some pointers:
- Study giving history. Although base-level donors are often-times one-up givers,
you may be able to develop some mid-level donors among them by studying giving history for multi-year
donors who tend to increase giving amounts. Consider testing a stretch appeal to these individuals with
a special offer that emphasizes recognition, as described in the next point.
- Plan your mid-level offers carefully. These donors will want meaningful opportunities to participate in your mission, including invitations to special events, lectures, and behind-the-scenes meetings with staff. And they want to feel that they are “insiders” in your organization. They need to feel a connection that a basic donor would not have.
- Be prepared to go the extra mile in your mid-level campaign. Direct mail appeals should be personalized and should reflect the prestige standing of this donation level. Telemarketing services should be of the highest caliber, even if that level of performance comes at a higher price.
- These people don’t want to hear about T-shirts and umbrellas. They want to talk about your mission, and why they care about it. Be prepared to give them regular outlets for this, including on-line blogs, email communications access, telephoned thank you’s from key staff members (depending on the gift level), and forums where they can meet like-minded donors.
- Consider hiring an experienced and gifted fundraiser to manage your mid-level program. This should not just be an add-on to your base-level staff’s jobs.
- Test, test, test! Continually evaluate and refine all of the components of your development and retention offerings and communications.
George Whelan is former Vice President, Marketing and Business Development at Carl Bloom Associates, Inc. George is now Manager, Special Membership Projects at Consumers Union, Yonkers, New York.
