Where do you find major donors? At golf courses, yacht clubs, and ritzy to-dos?
Not so much. Most of them are sitting at home reading their direct mail. Like all the donors. So if you need more major donors, take a look at your general direct mail donors. There are some potential mega-donors there!
The Analytical Ones blog shows how important it is to look among your donors for potential major donors, at Major Donors – In the Beginning.
Looking where the major donors to an organization came from -- that is, where people who became donors of $1,000 or gave their first-ever gift
Here are the key findings:
55% of the major donors first gave through direct mail acquisition campaigns.Another 23% gave their first gifts online.
Which tells us two important things:
- Poor old, trashy, unpopular, "dying" direct mail is where the largest share of major donors come from. Are you doing enough direct mail to keep that vital pipeline flowing?
- Online giving is also extremely important for future major donors. They give online at a much higher rate than others. Is your online giving experience a good one?