For nonprofits, mid-level donors often represent a huge opportunity for growth. With the right approach, they can give more and become major donors.
However, many organizations focus more on acquiring new donors than nurturing the ones they already have. Upgrading mid-level donors requires a clear plan, relationship-building, and strategic communication.
In this guide, we will look at simple steps your team can leverage to engage the right supporters. These steps will help mid-level donors become major supporters.
1. Understand What Drives Your Mid-Level Donors
Before upgrading a mid-level donor, it's important to understand their motivations. Why have they supported your organization? What are their interests and passions?
Donor data helps guide your approach with existing supporters. Wealth screening tools show who has the potential to give more, while your CRM can highlight key donors to focus on. Use data points like giving history, donation frequency, and campaign engagement to create a personalized approach and deepen relationships.
Your CRM is a powerful tool for donor prospecting. By analyzing donor behavior—such as consistent giving patterns or engagement with specific campaigns—you can identify mid-level donors who are ready for an upgrade. Look for those who have increased their giving over time or have shown a high level of interest in your programs. These are the individuals most likely to respond to a personalized ask.
Wealth screening and prospect research complement CRM data, offering deeper insights into financial capacity and philanthropic interests. As explained in the AFP guide, these tools help nonprofits identify donors who are most likely to contribute at higher levels.
By using data-driven strategies within your CRM, you can pinpoint mid-level donors who are primed to give more and create tailored strategies to cultivate their support.
2. Build Genuine Relationships
The key to upgrading donors to higher levels of giving is building genuine, personal relationships. It’s about valuing your donors, understanding what makes them tick, and showing them how their contributions directly impact your mission.
Take time to connect with them beyond fundraising. Set up lunch at a restaurant that suits their preferences or invite them for coffee at their favorite spot. During these meetings, make it personal—ask about their family, learn about life milestones like their child going off to college or a grandchild being born. Recognizing these moments shows you see them as more than just donors.
When you thank them, get specific. Reference their previous gifts and share exactly how their support helped your organization. Maybe their donation funded a new project, created scholarships, or allowed you to expand services—showcase the impact and tie it directly to their generosity. This demonstrates that their involvement truly makes a difference.
In these conversations, explore why they give to your organization. What part of your mission excites them? And if they could make an even bigger impact, what do they think that would look like? Understanding their vision for their philanthropy can help you tailor future asks and show how they could create even more change.
Use moves management to keep track of these conversations and personal details. Organized donor data will allow you to follow up at the right moments—whether it’s sending a thoughtful note on their wedding anniversary or congratulating them on retirement. By consistently nurturing these relationships, you’ll build trust, loyalty, and make it easier to engage them in deeper, more meaningful ways.
3. Offer Unique Ways to Recognize Donors
Recognition plays a huge role in keeping donors engaged. By offering tiered recognition opportunities, you can incentivize mid-level donors to upgrade their gifts. This could include invitations to exclusive events, behind-the-scenes tours, or personalized thank-you messages from senior staff.
Donors want to see that others appreciate and value their support. When you offer them special opportunities to connect with your organization, they feel included. This makes them more likely to become committed.
Additionally, showcasing donor stories or testimonials can motivate others to upgrade their gifts. When mid-level donors see their peers' recognition, they may feel inspired to join them.
For more creative donor appreciation ideas, you can explore resources such as Amy Eisenstein's 21 Ways to Thank Major Gift Donors: A Round-Up of Strategies to see how innovative recognition strategies can deepen donor engagement.
4. Create a Pathway for Donor Upgrades
Your donors need a clear path to move from mid-level to major donor status. This could involve offering them unique engagement opportunities or showing them how a larger gift can make an even bigger impact.
Provide personalized stewardship, and connect them with senior leaders who can share how their increased support will drive your mission forward. Customized asks can also be helpful—rather than sending generic appeals, present specific projects or initiatives that align with their passions.
Another option is offering planned giving opportunities for donors who may not be able to make a large gift right away. This allows them to leave a legacy while increasing their involvement with your organization.
For insights on how nonprofits are staying ahead of trends, Fundraising Report Card released these valuable insights on donor upgrades.
5. Use Technology to Personalize Engagement
Technology can be a powerful tool for creating personalized communication strategies that align with your donors’ interests and preferences. A good CRM allows you to track donor giving patterns, interactions, and engagement, enabling you to tailor your outreach more effectively.
Moves management plays a critical role in this process, helping nonprofits guide donors through intuitive journeys that reflect the natural progression from mid-level to major donor status. By creating unique donor journey's for the donor upgrade process, you can manage personalized donor relationships seamlessly. Lifecycle boards ensure that nothing slips through the cracks, allowing you to nurture each donor at the right time with the right message.
With access to key donor data, you can send targeted emails, invitations, and updates that resonate on a personal level. For example, if a donor is passionate about your education programs, they should receive content and engagement opportunities that reflect that interest. This level of personalization shows donors that you understand their priorities and strengthens their connection to your mission.
6. Communicate Impact Regularly
Donors need to see the difference their support is making. Regular updates on the impact of their giving are essential for encouraging larger gifts. Share success stories, progress reports, and behind-the-scenes looks at how their contributions are driving change.
When donors can see the tangible outcomes of their support, they are more likely to feel a deeper connection to your cause and consider increasing their gifts. Make sure these updates are specific to the projects they’ve funded or areas they’re most interested in. Personalized impact reports can go a long way in cultivating major gifts.
Don’t just focus on what you have done; share your future goals and explain how their larger gift can help you achieve them.
7. Engage Data Analytics and IT Teams
Upgrading donors isn’t just the responsibility of the development team. Your prospect research and data analytics teams play a critical role in maximizing the value of your donor portfolio. These teams assess how much donors can give and look at their giving habits. They help you focus on the donors who are most likely to increase their contributions.
By collaborating with your prospect researchers, you can analyze the current value of your portfolio and identify mid-level donors who have the potential to become major contributors. These teams leverage wealth screening and donor behavior analysis to highlight upgrade opportunities, making strategic space in your portfolio for growth.
The prospect research team can also model past successful donor upgrades, identifying the key factors that contributed to those increases in giving. By analyzing donor engagement patterns, giving history, and other relevant data, you can develop a roadmap to replicate those successes with similar donors.
Your data analytics team plays a vital role in using predictive analytics to determine the right timing and approach for larger asks. They can help you spot trends that reveal when donors are most receptive to increased involvement, allowing you to craft personalized outreach strategies that align with those insights.
With the combined efforts of your prospect research, data analytics, and development teams, you can build a data-driven upgrade strategy that maximizes donor potential, ensures no opportunities are missed, and strengthens long-term relationships.
Conclusion
Upgrading mid-level donors to major donors is a critical part of sustaining your nonprofit’s long-term growth. It requires a thoughtful approach that involves building relationships, leveraging technology, and providing clear pathways for donors to increase their giving.
By implementing these strategies, your organization can nurture mid-level donors and encourage them to become major contributors to your mission. Keep in mind that personalization and communication are key. Show your donors how their support makes a difference, and they’ll be more likely to take the next step.
For more resources on donor strategies and nonprofit intelligence, explore the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2024 trends: Trends in Philanthropy.