How to find mid-level donors and launch a mid-level giving program

As donor acquisition gets harder and more expensive, now is the time to build deeper connections with potential mid-level donors. These donors are ready to engage with you more, and they're a critical funding source for growing organizations. The hard part is knowing where to start.

This article maps out a simple blueprint for launching your mid-level giving program and finding the mid-level donors and prospects already in your database. There's far more detail involved when you build out your engagement strategy in full. But this overview should spark a plan to get you growing this valuable part of your fundraising.

Dataro sits on top of your CRM as a predictive layer and tells you what to do for every donor: who to focus on and what to do next. For a mid-level program, that means ranking the donors most ready to move up, so you spend your time on the right people instead of guessing.

What do you mean by mid-level giving?

In this article, "mid-level" means a donor who gives more than $500 in total over a 12-month period. That could be lots of smaller gifts or one larger gift. Different organizations use different definitions and thresholds, but this is the closest to a consensus we've found.

How to build a mid-level giving program

Step 1. Find your existing mid-level donors

Start by understanding the mid-value donors already giving to your cause. Even without an official program, some of your donors probably meet the definition above. You can dig into your donor data yourself or with your data team, or you can use a tool like Dataro to get the answers quickly.

Once you've identified these donors, learn more about them. Who are they, and how long have they been giving to your cause?

Add existing mid-level donors to a new "Mid-Level" group with its own engagement plan. Depending on your CRM, use a tag or a constituent code to identify them. This matters more as the program grows.

How many mid-level gifts do you receive each year? We want this number to increase.

Step 2. Plan your "one-to-few" mid-level conversion journey

You'll know better than us which tactics work best with your donors, and there are plenty to choose from. Most build on your normal donor journey, with a few extra touch points along the way.

Here are some tactics we've seen work for the leading charities we work with:

• Special mail packs, add-ons or extra information

• Thank-you phone calls or personalized cards after an additional gift

• Invitations to a special tier or status level in the program

• Custom email journeys with extra opportunities or incentives

• Special event invitations and opportunities

These tactics share a few things. They all add value and connection for the donor through simple extra touch points, without a fully personalized, one-to-one approach.

What else could add value for your mid-level donors without overloading your team? Tactics should be scalable, so they don't require a relationship manager, and cost-effective for the charity. Decide up front when you'll increase ask amounts.

Tip: your mid-level conversion journey should run 6 to 12 months. You're predicting giving over $500 across a 12-month period, so you need enough time to build the connection before you make a mid-level ask later in the year.

How to build a mid-level list using Dataro's ranks in Raiser's Edge NXT

Step 3. Find the best mid-level prospects

This is where machine learning is your best approach. Dataro's Mid-Value Readiness model finds deep patterns in your data and ranks your donors from most likely to reach mid-value giving in the next year down to least likely. The ranks load straight into your CRM and update every week, so you can build a list of the top 200 to 300 mid-level prospects and know it's always current.

Tip: create a new tag or constituent code for your "Mid-Level Prospects." Use it to track who's already in your mid-level journey. Keep these prospects separate from your "Mid-Level" group, because they haven't yet given at the mid-level threshold. When a prospect converts, move them from "Mid-Level Prospects" to "Mid-Level" and engage them differently.

Step 4. Remove the donors you don't want in the mid-level journey

This step is important and easy. Think about which donors should not be in your mid-level pipeline, and remove them with your usual exclusion methods. For example, exclude anyone who has opted out of communications. Also exclude any donors already in your mid-level journey, using the "Mid-Level Prospects" tag from Step 3.

Once you've applied your exclusions, your query is ready. Build your list of new mid-level prospects, then save the query as a template. You'll reuse it every time you need the next best prospects for your journey.

Step 5. Add mid-level prospects to your journey and track the results

Add the next best prospects to your mid-level funnel on a regular basis. Monthly or quarterly is an easy cadence. That way you consistently feed new leads into the program and convert them into mid-level givers. Keep track of engagement levels and know when you'll increase ask amounts.

Step 6. Move prospects up to mid-level (or back down to standard value)

The whole point of this plan is to upgrade standard-level donors into mid-level donors. So what happens when a donor does or doesn't convert? This is why you set up separate "Mid-Level Prospects" and "Mid-Level" groups in your CRM. If a donor converts during the journey, move them into the Mid-Level group, where they keep receiving your higher-level engagement.

If the donor doesn't convert, remove them from the Mid-Level Prospects group and revert them to the standard donor journey. You avoid the ongoing cost of extra touch points for that donor, which keeps your program's costs in check.

Ready to use data-driven fundraising to upgrade mid-level donors?

Ready to get started with mid-level giving? Dataro's Mid-Value Readiness model is the fastest way to find potential mid-level donors in your database. With Dataro, you can track results and watch your program grow.

Book a 15-minute demo with our team to see how Dataro helps you focus on the right donors and upgrade them to mid-level.

Not ready to chat? Sign up for a free Dataro demo account to see how our predictive software works for yourself.