The Allegiant Direct Blogs
Where’s the Panic Button ? Our Numbers are DOWN!
By Mark Jacobson
Senior Consultant
Where’s the Panic Button ? Our Numbers are DOWN!
With raising the bar so difficult in 2025 and with costs rising in every way, how can I maximize my donor file?
In the post-Covid world, maintaining and growing donor relationships in on and offline direct response has become increasingly difficult – and expensive. Predictable and repetitive strategies work only with predictable and repetitive donors. And none of us have enough of these in 2025!
The good news is that we have the data available to us to execute informed tests and solid, competent decisions. And available external data overlays and models available to us can enhance our ability to make even more informed decisions on prudent next steps.
Every donor file has its own giving histories, trends, challenges, and opportunities. All are driven by what we have done – and not done -- in the past in managing donor relationships.
Mid-Level Donor Upgrade Strategies
First, among those who continue to renew their support, where are we simply not maximizing donor relationships?
Only one course of action here. Get some answers from your donor file!
Step ONE: First, identify what strategies have been utilized to get your Mary Q Sample $100 donor to the engagement level she has with you today.
How well have you identified her donor need?
What programs has she been most responsive to?
How clearly have you stated the challenges, opportunities, threats?
And have you defined how her support will have a direct impact?
Have you done anything unconsciously to reinforce one-time-a-year giving vs. ongoing support?
When you ask for her next gift, has your appeal properly “transitioned” from the point of last contact, or has she simply been included in the standard, sequential mail mix?
With John C. Donor, what has caused him to give multiple times a year? Shouldn’t you be prompting monthly giving to him?
Step TWO: Review your “friend-raising” with Mary Q. Sample.
In between gifts, how have you cultivated the relationship? In direct mail? Digitally? Website? Events? Social media support?
How have you acknowledged her exemplary giving?
Have you updated her on subsequent progress achieved in ways other than another appeal?
Step THREE: Define your “Mid-Level Program” plan.
What are the goals? Higher overall retention? Upgrades in gift size? Frequency?
Why should a donor give more?
What are the tangible and intangible donor benefits to give more?
Step FOUR: Assuming your appeals are prioritizing donor need, chances are good that the more frequently you solicit the support of your predictable and higher-end renewal donors, the less likely you will achieve it – upgraded or otherwise.
Conversely, frequency of asks for the lower-end of the files is almost always directly connected to increasing overall annual retention. All 0–12-month donors are not the same. Discover your “dividing line” between different data sets and set your strategies for maximized results.
Step FIVE: How will your Mid-Level Program strategy vary from your ongoing renewal? In direct mail packages? Appeal cadence? Integration of mail with digital? Should you create giving recognition levels to elevate affinity?
Step SIX: Who in the renewal file are the best candidates for migration to mid-level strategies?
Some mid-level prospects could be donors who have made recent gifts of $100+…perhaps supplemented by those who have a history of frequent giving in increments of $50+.
Or, if your program is mature, the strategy migration might better be recent donors of $500+ or with weighted gift frequencies of $100+.
BOOK A CALL TO DISCUSS YOUR PROGRAM WITH ALLEGIANT DIRECT
© 2025 Allegiant Direct, Inc.
Frequently asked questions
What kind of copy gets the best response for healthcare fundraising?
Mainly, copy that’s relevant, focused on the donor and non-institutional. Our experience is that it needs to be something related to heart or cancer and perhaps technology that does something better, keeps you out of the hospital and/or is less costly and less invasive. For children’s hospitals and hospices, patient stories usually work best, but appeals for new technology, equipment or programs can also work well.
Which is best - a window or closed face envelope?
We use both depending on the situation. A closed face envelope is a little more expensive. However, the #10 window envelope has been a workhorse for us for many decades. For hospital grateful patients, we think it may work because it approximates the look of a hospital bill. You can split test window vs. closed face, and sometimes you’ll find that a window does better, and sometimes a closed face works better. A closed face envelope has a more professionally looking business correspondence feel to it.
What about using a teaser on the outside envelope?
We usually come down on the side of not using teasers. The reason - if you put something on the envelope that gives the recipient an idea of what's inside, and they're not interested – like if they can tell it's a fundraising letter - then the trash can is always nearby. The problem with teasers is that most people who write teasers do not know how to tease properly. A teaser has to have some mystery to it. So, when you see it, you say, “What's this all about?” Having no teaser is its own mystery because you're wondering “why are these people writing me?” Then you want to find out and you open the envelope. We’ve used teasers in the past and tested them. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. More often than not, they don't work. So, unless you've got a superb teaser, you may want to not use one at all.
Which lists work best for healthcare fundraising?
Most of our hospital clients solicit former patients, and they mostly work well. But if you’re a hospice, you have few numbers of bereaved individuals to solicit. By the same token, if you’re a children’s hospital, you have a minimum number of patients to contact. Parents of children’s hospital patients (the guarantors) are too young to be good philanthropic prospects. As a result, what we've found is that rented lists of donors to healthcare causes in your area often work better than patients. With hospices and children’s homes, you almost have no choice but to use rented names to build your donor base. Perhaps surprisingly, rented names tend to outperform hospital grateful patients. But why would a person who hasn't been in your hospital perform better than someone who has? With patients, we really only know two things about them. We know they're the correct age because we can select them based on age or date of birth from the patient record. We also know they've been in the hospital. But that’s it. We don't know anything else about them. But with a rented name, we know they're the right age because they've given to other nonprofit organizations. They’re definitely philanthropic. They’ve also given through the mail and are responsive to mail appeals. We also know they like to give, and particularly to healthcare causes. So that gives them an edge on former patients.
Book A Call
(FREE 30 minute phone consult)
To make your FREE phone consult appointment, select a date and click submit,
then you will be taken to a page to select the time. We look forward to chatting
with you! (If our calendar is not available, please refresh your page.)
Contact Us for More Information
For general inquiries or to receive additional information about our services, please write or call us.
Allegiant Direct, Inc.
278 Franklin Road, Suite 290
Brentwood, TN 37027
Still have questions?
Allegiant Direct, Inc.
278 Franklin Road, Suite 290
Brentwood, TN 37027
Marketing Systems Built By Be Known
We make no income or earnings claims - your results may vary.
We present testimonials and insights about other people’s experiences with our website for purposes of illustration only. The testimonials and examples used are of actual clients. They are not intended to represent or guarantee that current or future clients will achieve the same or similar results; rather, these testimonials represent what is possible for illustrative purposes only.
This site is not a part of the Google or Facebook website or Google/Facebook/Meta Inc. Additionally, this site is NOT endorsed by or affiliated with Google or Facebook in any way. GOOGLE and FACEBOOK are trademarks of GOOGLE, Inc. and FACEBOOK, Inc or Meta, Inc.
