For successful and sustainable nonprofit fundraising, your organization can’t rely only on major gifts from its top donors. Mid-level donors are an often-overlooked but critical donor segment that can provide your organization with the reliable revenue and loyalty it needs to succeed long-term.
This guide explores everything you need to know to build a powerful mid-level donor strategy for recruiting and retaining these dedicated donors. We’ll cover:
- Who are mid-level donors?
- Why are mid-level donors important to nonprofits?
- How can you identify mid-level donors?
- How to build a mid-level donor strategy
- Best practices for mid-level donor engagement and retention
Who are mid-level donors?
Mid-level donors in context
Mid-level donors are donors that fall right under your major donor tier. They don’t quite reach the highest giving levels but give significantly more than your average one-time donor.
What you consider a mid-level donor will be unique to your nonprofit, but many organizations consider gifts between $1,000 and $10,000 mid-level gifts.
Here’s where mid-level donors fall in the context of your donor pyramid:
- Major and planned/legacy donors
- Mid-level donors and annual/recurring donors
- Small donors and inconsistent donors
- Prospective donors
Mid-level donor profile
In a landmark study, Sea Change Strategies and Edge Research surveyed over 5,900 mid-level donors from 36 organizations. The study’s findings help paint a picture of who mid-level donors are and what they want from their relationships with nonprofits.
The report found that mid-level donors typically exhibit the following characteristics:
- Predominantly older, well-to-do white women (average age of 68)
- Highly engaged since young adulthood in the causes they give to
- Most (59%) give just once per year
- Most have been involved with the organization for 10 years or more, demonstrating loyalty
- Active with the mission in other ways besides donating—50% volunteer, 33% advocate, and 28% are in leadership roles
In addition, studies of donor resilience found that the most loyal donors exhibit these traits:
- Donors know multiple people at the nonprofit (staff members, board members, leaders, etc.)
- Donors are friends with fellow donors
- Donors view giving to the nonprofit as part of their identity—they feel part of a larger community
As you can see, one of the primary determinants of a mid-level donor is their level of connection to your cause. Donors tend to contribute reliably at this giving tier when they’re engaged with the mission in multiple ways and when they have personal connections to your organization’s staff or fellow donors.
Why are mid-level donors important to nonprofits?
Mid-level donors are necessary for every fundraising initiative, from major campaigns to annual fundraising. Here’s why:
Mid-level donors provide reliable funding
According to the Sea Change Strategies study, supporters giving between $1,000 and $10,000 annually represented only 1% of total donors but were responsible for more than 30% of income from individual donors.
Mid-level donors are loyal
The Sea Change Strategies study also noted that nearly 90% of surveyed donors say they are “very likely” to renew their gift to the participating organization. When they feel like members of your team, mid-level donors will stick by your organization, providing reliable funding for all initiatives.
Mid-level donors can become major donors
According to Nonprofit Pro, “Mid-level donors are often the loyal and committed backbone of your annual giving program… Two-thirds of major donors start in annual giving.”
With a strategic stewardship and engagement approach, your nonprofit can turn mid-level donors into major or planned donors down the line. Since these individuals already give at a relatively higher level, they may be willing to increase their involvement if they have the means and willingness to do so.
How can you identify mid-level donors?
Identifying mid-level donors starts with having the right technology on your side. You’ll primarily use donor data from your nonprofit’s CRM and predictive analytics tools that enable prospect identification. This process will look very similar to major donor identification, but you’ll focus on donors with the capacity and willingness to give at a slightly lower level.
Like major donor identification, you can use wealth and philanthropic screening to evaluate donors’ giving capacity and willingness. Here’s what those processes look like:
- In wealth screening, you assess donors’ wealth levels through indicators such as real-estate holdings, stock ownership, income information, and past donation amounts.
- Mid-level donors won’t exhibit the highest level of wealth like major donors will, but they’ll still have significant wealth. The Sea Change Strategies study found that a plurality of midlevel donors have a net worth between $1 million and $5 million.
- In philanthropic screening, you evaluate donors’ personal relationships with your nonprofit or its mission, history of donations to similar organizations, and past involvement as donors, volunteers, or advocates.
- As mentioned above, mid-level donors will exhibit a fairly active presence within your nonprofit, demonstrating a willingness to get heavily involved in all the activities that power your mission.
We recommend working with a fundraising consultant to help navigate this process efficiently and effectively. Predictive AI tools, like BWF’s Donor AI, assess your nonprofit’s unique data set to help identify major and mid-level giving opportunities, allowing you to see which donors are ready to upgrade their giving amounts.
Learn more about BWF’s services in this video:
How to build a mid-level donor strategy
Now that you have a deeper understanding of mid-level donors and where they come from, you can start building a concrete plan for recruiting, engaging, and retaining these essential supporters. Follow these steps to create a thriving mid-level donor strategy that encourages ongoing supporter loyalty.
1. Identify and segment mid-level donors.
Building a mid-level donor engagement strategy starts with identifying these supporters within your existing donor base and grouping them into segments based on their unique needs and characteristics. Follow these steps to identify and segment mid-level donors:
- Use predictive analytics to identify mid-level donors based on the criteria described above. Conduct predictive analysis on an ongoing basis, such as once a month, to ensure donors aren’t falling through the cracks.
- Create donor personas or profiles to make it easier to understand mid-level donors. Your mid-level donors might not be exactly the same as those surveyed in the Sea Change study, so use your nonprofit’s unique dataset to craft your donor profiles. Study your donors’ specific giving patterns, demographics, and other ways they like to be involved in your mission.
- Segment mid-level donors based on specific interests. For example, you could create segments for donors who volunteer, hold leadership positions, or are interested in advocacy. You could also develop groups based on giving frequency, such as monthly, quarterly, and annually. These specifications let you start thinking about ways to personalize your outreach to make your messages as relevant as possible to every mid-level donor.
Here’s an example of what a mid-level donor persona might look like at your nonprofit:
This persona includes all key elements your nonprofit should consider for each donor segment, including:
- Personal information (demographics, income, job title, etc.)
- Giving motivations (programs they like to support, reasons for getting involved with your cause, etc.)
- Additional ways the donor likes to be involved in your mission (volunteering, advocacy, hosting fundraisers, etc.)
- Common pain points/desires (need for impact information, tailored communication strategies, etc.)
- Giving frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc.)
- How to meet the donors’ needs (personalized or more frequent communication, transparency into your nonprofit’s operations, opportunities for them to give feedback, etc.)
You can use this basic template to describe your nonprofit’s unique donor segments. We recommend creating around three donor personas for different segments within your mid-level donor tier.
2. Develop tailored and personalized communications.
Reference the information you gathered in the donor research and segmentation process to personalize your mid-level donor outreach. Start by taking these steps:
- Promote giving and involvement opportunities tailored to the donor’s interests. For example, send a calendar of upcoming volunteer opportunities to donors who like to volunteer and updates on your organization’s community outreach efforts to advocacy-minded donors.
- Personalize outreach with donors’ names and references to their past involvement. Use your CRM and marketing software to personalize every donor communication with the donor’s name rather than a generic greeting like “Dear Donor” or “Dear Friend.” In addition, populate your messages with specific references to donors’ past interactions with your organization. For instance, you could say, “Dear Janine, Thank you so much for helping design the t-shirts for our annual fundraising 5K. Here are two upcoming volunteer opportunities where we could use your talented designer’s eye.”
Current and prospective donors will appreciate your efforts to get to know them personally and connect with them in ways that spark their interest.
3. Provide impact updates.
According to our donor experience research, one of the top five reasons donors stop giving is because the organization never informed them about how the money was used. Donors should never be left in the dark about the impact of their donation or potential gift, so keep them in the loop by following these tips:
- Inform donors about the positive impact of their gifts on your mission. Depending on the type of gift the donor contributed, you can provide campaign-specific information or general annual fundraising progress updates. Let them know how much you still have to raise and how their gift got you closer to your overall goal.
- Be specific about donors’ impact. Highlight data such as how many people mid-level donors helped with their gifts. For example, you could send an email saying, “Dear Paul, Your $10,000 gift just covered this year’s room and board costs for a college student in need. We can’t thank you enough for this monumental contribution to student education!”
When donors see their precise impact on your mission, they’ll know their funds are being used wisely, making them more likely to continue giving.
4. Use technology to manage mid-level donors.
Managing mid-level donor data can quickly become complex as your organization scales its program. These technology solutions can help you stay organized and on task as you work toward your goals:
- Nonprofit CRM. Your nonprofit’s CRM allows you to track crucial donor data, including donors’ names, contact information, past gift amounts, interactions with your staff members, and other ways donors are involved with your organization. Plus, you can use this tool to log information about donors’ preferences and leverage that intel to enhance your outreach efforts. For example, you could send more direct mail communications to donors who expressed interest in traditional marketing methods.
- Predictive analytics solutions. As mentioned above, fundraising predictive analytics tools are essential for streamlining the mid-level donor identification process. These tools can even help you choose the best next actions, such as asking donors for an upgrade or sending non-donation requests to build relationships.
- Marketing tools. You’ll need multiple ways to stay in touch with mid-level donors to express your appreciation, send impact updates, and engage donors in other activities. Use email marketing software, social media scheduling tools, a website content management system (CMS), and a direct mail platform to conduct a multichannel outreach strategy. Offering multiple touchpoints between your organization and its donors helps you stay on donors’ radars and appeal to a broader range of communication preferences.
Before investing in new technologies, evaluate the systems your organization currently uses to see if there are ways to get more out of your investments. For example, are there filtering tools you could use to segment donors more effectively? Does your email marketing platform offer training resources that will allow you to send more compelling messages?
If you determine that you’ve outgrown your current solutions or that they no longer suit your needs, we recommend working with a consultant to help find the right tools for your donor engagement strategies. Partner with a CRM or digital marketing consultant who can lend their expertise to guide you in the right direction and find a solution that matches your needs and growth goals.
5. Provide exclusive opportunities.
As mentioned above, donors like the opportunity to get to know your nonprofit’s staff and their fellow donors on a personal level. To facilitate authentic connections, provide exclusive opportunities to mid-level donors. These opportunities could include:
- Event invites to experiences like social mixers, networking events, or tours of your nonprofit’s facilities.
- Special newsletters just for mid-level donors that highlight their unique impact on your mission.
- Discounts on merchandise like t-shirts, mugs, water bottles, and more from your nonprofit’s online store.
You could even create tiers for your mid-level and major giving programs, where each level offers increasingly comprehensive benefits. Here’s an example of what that could look like:
- Bronze tier ($1,000-$5,000): Access to a special monthly newsletter, merchandise discounts, and invites to your annual year-end gala.
- Silver tier ($5,000-$10,000): Access to all the Bronze tier benefits, plus the exclusive opportunity for an annual tour of your nonprofit’s facilities and a donor retreat.
- Gold tier ($10,000+): Access to all Silver and Bronze tier benefits, plus the opportunity to meet annually with your nonprofit’s executive director to provide feedback and learn about your organization’s upcoming goals and projects.
Giving to your organization should feel like joining a special community of like-minded individuals working toward shared goals. By incorporating unique opportunities and benefits into your program, you can help mid-level donors feel more connected to your organization’s staff and fellow donors.
6. Ask for feedback.
Show mid-level donors that you care about creating a better experience for them by asking for their input on your nonprofit. Their answers can help you improve your mid-level giving program and better personalize your outreach to every donor based on their preferences.
Send surveys via email or direct mail with questions like:
- What caused you to start giving to our organization?
- How did you choose your donation amount?
- Did we explain the impact of your gift well? Do you understand how your donation was used?
- Which platforms do you prefer to use to stay in touch?
- Are our communications (emails, social media posts, letters, etc.) relevant to your interests? How could we make them more relevant?
Identify patterns in responses to understand the areas where your nonprofit is doing well and where there’s room for improvement. Outline any specific strategy changes you plan to make in follow-up messages to respondents so they know their input made a difference for your program.
In addition, store donors’ personal preferences, such as communication platform and content preferences, in your organization’s CRM to reference in future outreach efforts.
7. Track metrics to evaluate the success of your mid-level donor program.
Tracking key metrics will help you determine whether your mid-level donor strategies work or need adjustments to engage supporters better. Track data points such as:
- Mid-level donor retention
- Donor upgrade rates from lower giving levels to mid-level
- Marketing engagement metrics
- Event participation
If you see any significant changes to these metrics, try to find the underlying reasons. Certain strategies you try may not pan out as you hoped, but that shouldn’t slow you down. Continue iterating your outreach and stewardship efforts until you find an approach that works for your team and its donors.
Keep in mind that some shifts may be outside of your control. For example, an economic downturn may cause donors to decrease their giving amounts, or an algorithm change could cause your social media content to see less engagement.
Stay flexible and create contingency plans for pivoting your mid-level donor strategy. One of the best ways to create resiliency in your program is to not rely on any single type of donor or marketing platform. With a diversified strategy, you can weather any downturns in one revenue stream with the other channels you’re currently using.
Best practices for mid-level donor engagement and retention
Donor engagement is the bridge between cultivation and retention. Creating a positive experience for donors is an ongoing process that requires consistent follow-up and stewardship. Keep these best practices in mind when carrying out your mid-level donor strategy.
Focus on building trust
Your relationships with mid-level donors should be built on trust. Trust in the nonprofit sector has been on shaky ground recently but is seeing some positive growth. An Independent Sector report found that after four years of decline, trust in nonprofits has rebounded by 5 points to 57%.
Consistency and transparency are the keys to building trust:
- Foster consistency by regularly reaching out to donors, maintaining a consistent tone of voice, and branding all outreach materials with your nonprofit’s logo, colors, and typography.
- Offer transparency by making financial information (like audits and your Form 990) and annual reports readily available on your website, being honest when your organization urgently needs help or is facing challenges, and sharing a robust data privacy policy on your website.
In a survey of 3,000 American adults, 73% of respondents reported that familiarity is key to building trust in a nonprofit. Mid-level donors who feel comfortable with your organization because of your consistent and transparent communication will be more likely to trust you and remain loyal long-term.
Don’t pressure mid-level donors to become major donors
The easiest way to scare off a mid-level donor is by pressuring them to increase their giving amounts when they’re perfectly happy at their current level.
The Sea Change Strategies report found that only 10% of mid-level donors intend to increase their donations in the coming year. Most (70%) say they are likely to give the same as in the past.
Use your prospect research and predictive analysis to ensure you’re confident that a donor is able and willing to upgrade before asking a mid-level donor to increase their giving amount.
Additionally, remember that even though a mid-level donor may not want to increase their giving amount now, it doesn’t mean they will never be inclined to. The Sea Change report found that 31% of mid-level donors have made a bequest to the participating organization, and another 23% say they plan to make one later. These donors may be perfect candidates for planned or legacy giving if you cultivate them intentionally and patiently.
Work with a fundraising consultant to perfect your mid-level donor strategy
Fundraising consultants have the experience and expertise to guide you through mid-level donor strategizing. They can get to know your nonprofit and its audience on a deeper level to build a unique program structure that suits your internal culture and goals.
We recommend working with a well-established partner with decades of experience working with all kinds of nonprofits, like BWF. BWF has served the charitable sector for over 40 years, charting the way for the use of innovative strategies and methodologies to deliver transformative results.
We offer several services geared toward getting your mid-level donor program up and running, including:
- Predictive analytics and donor prospecting. As mentioned, Donor AI is our bespoke predictive analytics tool for helping organizations create donor pipelines, anticipate donor behaviors, and take logical next steps to build genuine relationships. We offer several packages based on your needs, including pipeline development, campaign building, donor engagement, healthcare-specific models, and more.
- Mid-level giving strategy building and program implementation. Our program development guidance involves hands-on support and strategic guidance on everything from mid-level giving to annual giving, digital marketing, and communications.
- Donor relations and experience enhancements. We approach donor relationship building as an opportunity to carefully examine every stage of the donor journey and optimize every touchpoint between your organization and its supporters. From donor recognition to event planning and campaign stewardship, we offer customized strategies for all donor needs.
Learn more about our approach in this short video:
Final thoughts
Mid-level donors are the bread and butter of your donor pyramid. They provide a stable foundation to grow your mission while covering the daily costs associated with your projects and programs.
Once won, their loyalty and trust can benefit your mission long-term, so it’s worth developing a comprehensive mid-level donor strategy for engaging and retaining these supporters.
Looking for more donor engagement and fundraising information? Start with these resources:
- The Ultimate Guide to Driving Year-Round Donor Engagement. This guide dives deeper into what makes a great donor engagement strategy, offering actionable tips and best practices for building authentic relationships.
- AI Fundraising Use Cases: Ways to Propel Your Giving Efforts. Explore additional ways to leverage AI fundraising at your nonprofit to support your donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts.
- The Annual Fund: Expert Guide to Inspiring More Support. Mid-level donors are among the most influential contributors to your annual fund. Learn more strategies for building this fund with sustainable and resilient fundraising strategies.
Let’s Talk
Find out how BWF can support your mid-level donor strategy and engagement goals.
