Almost every day I run into development directors and MGOs who are lamenting the fact that they don’t have enough major gift donors.  So, they start coming up with elaborate schemes to attract new ones.  They throw parties, strong-arm board members, try to poach donors from other non-profit events, even chase celebrities and wealthy people they hear about in the news.
The results are, most often, pretty dismal.
Yet, they keep doing it.  I think this is what frustrates Richard and me so much.  Why do they keep going down a track of failure when they know it’s going to fail?  It’s almost as if someone keeps telling them, “Hey, all those other times you did this and it didn’t work… it doesn’t matter, I REALLY think it’s going to work this time.”
And THEY believe it.
Okay, so I’m going to tell you something now that will blow your mind.  YOU already have major gift donors who have given you a gift, but are not a part of your major gift program.
Yes, you are not hearing things.  I just said that.
In every donor file we have reviewed, Richard and I find major donors who are not part of the organization’s major donor caseloads.  And yet, they aren’t hiding either.  YOU just have not made an effort to find them.
Where are all these donors?  Well, most of them are sitting in that range of giving most of us don’t know what do with – that MID-LEVEL donor area.  Yes, it’s that vast wasteland that we almost always ignore, yet, in many cases, is the life-blood of an organization.
Why do I say it’s a wasteland?  Because that is how YOU treat them.
Now, every organization’s mid-level is different.  For some it’s $100-$499 cume per year.  For others it’s $250-$999, and still others it could be $1,000-$9,9999 cume per year or even higher.  The point is that YOU have these donors and yet you don’t treat them any differently than a $25 cume per year donor.
I want to make this clear.  If you want to grow your major gift donor program, start working on your mid-level donor program now.  You would not believe the gold mine you have waiting for you that needs some extra attention and care.
I also want to make another point clear.  You will not “move the needle” on these donors by creating “high-end” pieces of mail only.  It will not make much of a difference,  so get that out of your head.  What you need is a comprehensive plan that, in many respects, mimics the major gift program.  Here are some high-level things to consider:

1. Do some analysis on your donor file – Just as you would with your major gift donors, I want you to identify your mid-level donors by finding out their giving behavior over the last four years.  You want to know attrition rates, average gift, gifts per donor and overall revenue.  Finally, you want to know, right now, how many of your mid-level donors are migrating into your major gift program.  All of this information is needed to create a baseline of performance. This will help you figure out how much you have to increase performance to justify spending MORE on them.
2. Assign 600-800 donors to a mid-level donor rep to cultivate, steward and lift – The mid-level donor rep’s work is all about using the phone, e-mail and touchpoints to do this.  Their objective is to not only thank donors personally for giving, but to proactively get to know them and understand their motivation for giving.
3. Tier the mid-level donor group – It’s absolutely critical to tier your mid-level group if you are going to be successful.  I use five tiers – A+ (those who are almost a major gift donor but really need attention), A (those who need more attention but may be a year or two away from a large gift), and then B-D.  The higher the tier, the more personal the attention that should be given.
4. Manage the process – Just like you would a major gift program and an MGO, you need to stay on top of the mid-level gift officer (MLGO).
5. Evaluation – You need to evaluate a mid-level program in three main areas: total revenue, retention rate, and the number of donors moving up and into a major gift program.  This is how you measure the success of the program and the MLGO.

Now, obviously there is a ton of detail behind all this.  But we are seeing tremendous success from organizations we are working with who are deploying this strategy for their mid-level donors.
Here are donors who, in some cases, have been in the file for many years.  All they have been receiving in that time is more mail and telemarketing, and that has worked up to a certain point.  But now, by introducing a MLGO, we are super-charging the relationship and moving donors up the donor pyramid and into major gift programs at a much faster rate.
So before you start hunting and chasing new major gift donors, put your resources and energy into YOUR CURRENT DONORS who already love your mission.  It will pay off big time in the long run.
Jeff
P.S. If you are interested in learning more about how we can help you start a mid-level gift program, please contact me at jschreifels@veritusgroup.com  and I will be glad to begin the conversation with you.