I just returned from a planning meeting in Boston with a group of progressive fundraising professionals. One of the topics was how to make decisions related to the major gift pipeline.  The issues we were addressing are familiar to all of us.  Things like:

• Where does direct marketing stop and midlevel take over?  This is about donor selection criteria.
• Where does midlevel stop and major gifts take over?  Selection criteria again.
• Who owns what real estate?
• Who gets to decide what strategy will be used, especially in the overlap situations?
• What criteria will be used to measure success of migrating donors upward?
• Who gets credit for migrating donors?

These were the basic questions.  Sound familiar?
I wish I could give you the answers and operating principles you should use to answer each of these questions, as well as the other issues that arise out of mid and major donor pipeline management.  But the answers are not easy, and even if I shared the experience of one client with you, it most likely would not apply to your situation.
So here’s something I think will be helpful.  I’d like to share a process these good folks came up with which IS replicable and practical for use in any non-profit.
They created a Pipeline Working Group made up of representatives from:

• Mass or direct marketing.
• Midlevel
• Major Gifts
• Data Analysis & Forecasting
• Data Processing
• A major gift consultant – that would be me.

Next, they came up with a list of situations that need to be addressed and objectives to be reached.  Lastly, they created a preliminary list of Key Performance Indicator (KPI’s) categories for which they would establish measures for success.
Now, all of this sounds really technical, I know.  But this work is critical to accomplish if the donor in this non-profit is going to have a donor centered, seamless, and pleasant experience that makes sense economically to the organization.
I add this “economic make sense” piece because it is relatively easy to come up with some nice, wonderful things to do with donors as they migrate up and down the pipeline.  It’s quite another thing to do only those things that are cost effective.
As our little group does its work in the coming months I will report in on what we’re learning.  In the meantime, I suggest you try something like this in your organization with a view toward making sure you are managing donors up and down the pipeline in a manner that is cost effective and works for the donor.
And remember, there is one dynamic that you need to manage very carefully.  Often, the donors at the “top” of the direct marketing pyramid – those donors that are being passed off to mid-level, are treated poorly when they get to mid-level because they are at the bottom of the mid-level pyramid.
This same thing happens one level up.  The donors at the top of the mid-level pyramid that are passing off up into major donor status are often treated poorly because they are at the bottom of the major gift pool.  This valuing hierarchy can work within one pyramid, but not between them.
So, you need to watch this. And getting all the pyramid owners in one room to figure this out and create a seamless experience for the donor is what is needed.  Try it and let Jeff and me know how it goes.
Richard