The donor pool is shrinking faster than a wool sweater in hot water. According to GivingUSA, two-thirds of households contributed to nonprofits 20 years ago. Today, less than half do—and individual giving as a percentage of disposable income has hit a 20-year low. It’s like your potential donor pool decided to go on a crash diet just when you needed to feed a growing mission.
Here’s how to adapt to this “more-with-less” fundraising nightmare:
1. Double Down on Major Donor Pipeline Development
With fewer donors overall, your major gift program needs to work harder than a one-armed juggler. You can no longer afford to coast on volume – you need to implement a systematic approach to identify, cultivate, and elevate mid-level donors into major gift prospects. Think of it as donor farming when the arable land keeps disappearing.
2. Maximize Every Major Donor Conversation
When you secure that rare meeting with a qualified donor candidate, you need to be more prepared than a Boy Scout with an Excel spreadsheet. Research shows most organizations either ask for so much the donor needs smelling salts, or so little they essentially leave a pile of cash with a “please don’t take me” sign on the table.
3. Build Confidence Through Data-Driven Asks
Gift officers who can point to methodical, objective reasoning behind their ask amounts have the confidence of a cat on a keyboard. Donors respond positively to this assurance – much like we all prefer the surgeon who explains exactly why a procedure is necessary versus the one who says, “I’ve got a good feeling about this!”
In today’s challenging fundraising environment, you need every advantage short of a money-printing machine. Donor AbacusTM subscribers consistently secure major gifts that are optimal and predictable compared to those guided by traditional wealth screening alone, providing critical revenue when every dollar counts more than a calculator at a math competition.
To fundraising resilience (and fewer cold sweats about meeting goal).
Larry Raff, Founder, Donor Abacus (The guy who thinks your donors can give more if you just know how to ask)