Episode 188: How can you grow midlevel donors?

Summary

Summary of "Episode 188: How Can You Grow Midlevel Donors" – The Smart Communications Podcast

Released on June 11, 2025, by Big Duck, "The Smart Communications Podcast" is dedicated to empowering nonprofit leaders by enhancing their communication strategies to advance their missions. In Episode 188, titled "How Can You Grow Midlevel Donors," host Farrah engages in an insightful discussion with fundraising strategist Aliyah McKee to explore the pivotal role of midlevel donors in nonprofit sustainability and growth.

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1. Introduction to the Episode

Farrah, the co-director and worker owner at Big Duck, opens the episode by introducing her guest, Aliyah McKee. Aliyah is a seasoned fundraising strategist, market research expert, and leadership coach with nearly two decades of experience leading transformative growth strategies for mission-driven organizations. The episode focuses on understanding and nurturing midlevel donors—those who contribute significantly but not enough to be classified as major donors.

Farrah (00:16): "In today's episode, we're going to ask the question, how can you grow midlevel donors?"

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2. Defining Midlevel Donors

Aliyah McKee provides a comprehensive definition of midlevel donors, highlighting their financial contributions and organizational significance. She explains that midlevel donors typically contribute between $1,000 and $10,000 cumulatively over a 12-month period, though thresholds can vary based on organizational structures.

Aliyah McKee (02:19): "A midlevel donor is someone who gives a significant contribution to an organization—enough to stand out from grassroots or membership, but not quite enough to land in a major gift officer's portfolio."

Aliyah emphasizes the importance of defining donor levels that align with an organization’s specific donor base and structure, enabling personalized engagement at scale.

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3. The Significance of Midlevel Donors

Aliyah shares insights from a pivotal study conducted in 2008 by her firm, SeaChange Strategies, which revealed that 1% of high net worth individuals were contributing 34% of total revenue. However, these donors were often neglected because they didn’t fit neatly into major donor categories or grassroots memberships.

Aliyah McKee (04:04): "They were in this no person's land and really being ignored. And so since then we've really focused on how we can engage these donors, how we can reorganize our organization so that these donors get stewarded appropriately because they represent a major opportunity."

This revelation underscored the untapped potential of midlevel donors, prompting a strategic focus on engaging and nurturing this segment.

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4. Findings from the "Missing Across Vertical Study"

Farrah references the "Missing Across Vertical Study of Midlevel Donors" conducted by SeaChange Strategies, which surveyed over 6,000 midlevel donors across 36 nonprofit organizations. The study identified three distinct behavioral profiles among midlevel donors:

1. All Business Donors (41%)
2. Engagement Seekers (32%)
3. Hands-On Donors (27%)

a. All Business Donors

This group prefers a low-touch, transactional relationship with nonprofits. They tend to renew their gifts annually, often with minimal prompting, and prioritize organizational efficiency.

Aliyah McKee (04:49): "They are the oldest cohort in the sample."

Excessive stewardship may deter them, as they prefer their contributions to directly support programs rather than engagement activities.

b. Engagement Seekers

Engagement Seekers are highly interested in participating more deeply with the organization. They value virtual events, action opportunities, impact reports, and interactive content.

Aliyah McKee (06:03): "They want to feel connected and valued. And they're telling us that meaningful engagement is going to influence their long-term commitment."

This segment exhibits the greatest potential for deepened relationships and increased future contributions.

c. Hands-On Donors

Representing the most committed segment, Hands-On Donors are actively involved as volunteers, board members, or community ambassadors. They combine significant financial contributions with personal involvement.

Aliyah McKee (07:54): "Proximity and participation can be powerful drivers of generosity."

This group typically contributes the highest average gifts, nearing $20,000, and demonstrates a strong commitment through both time and financial support.

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5. Strategies for Engaging Midlevel Donors

Aliyah discusses actionable strategies nonprofits can implement to effectively engage midlevel donors, drawing on real-world examples such as Earthjustice’s "Harry Potter Midlevel Sorting Hat" initiative.

Aliyah McKee (10:30): "They're trying to invite donors to raise their hand by responding to any one of these seven pieces as an engagement seeker or a hands-on donor."

Key Strategies Include:

• Segmentation: Distinguishing between different types of midlevel donors to tailor communication and stewardship efforts appropriately.

• Personalization at Scale: Creating multi-channel qualification series to identify donor preferences and engagement levels.

• Customized Stewardship: Providing targeted touchpoints such as thank-you calls, leadership updates, and tailored event invitations based on donor profiles.

For All Business Donors, maintaining a consistent yet low-frequency communication ensures they remain engaged without feeling overwhelmed.

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6. Donor Retention and Upgrade Potential

The conversation delves into the loyalty and retention rates of midlevel donors, highlighting their stability compared to other donor categories.

Aliyah McKee (13:57): "Midlevel donors are incredibly loyal...multi-year retention rates of their midlevel donors above 60%. Some hit 70%."

However, Aliyah notes that the traditional view of midlevel donors as stepping stones to major giving is challenged by data showing only a small percentage plan to increase their donations significantly.

Aliyah McKee (16:15): "Only 10% of midlevel donors said that they plan to increase their donation and just 13% have ever given a gift of $10,000 or more."

Despite this, the legacy giving potential among midlevel donors is substantial, with over 30% having made or considering bequests. Aliyah identifies a prime age window (58-69) for targeted legacy engagement.

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7. Recommendations for Nonprofits

In closing, Aliyah offers two critical recommendations for nonprofits aiming to grow their midlevel donor base:

1. Stop Under-Resourcing Midlevel Programs:

   • Ensure midlevel programs have dedicated staff, clear ownership, strategic planning, and proper budgeting.

   Aliyah McKee (17:10): "Midlevel donor programs cannot be an afterthought."

2. Start Tracking Retention and Lifetime Value:

   • Shift focus from short-term return on investment (ROI) to long-term metrics such as donor retention and lifetime value.

   Aliyah McKee (17:30): "The case for investment really becomes undeniable."

These strategies advocate for a sustainable, relationship-focused approach to fundraising that recognizes the enduring value of midlevel donors.

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8. Concluding Remarks

Aliyah emphasizes the essence of fundraising as relationship building, urging nonprofits to invest in meaningful connections to rebuild donor trust and secure a resilient supporter base.

Aliyah McKee (18:44): "Fundraising is relationship building...we have to start building back trust with donors and securing a more resilient supporter base."

Farrah echoes this sentiment, underscoring the vital role of strategic communication in nurturing donor relationships.

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Key Takeaways

• Midlevel Donors are Crucial: They represent a significant portion of revenue and demonstrate high loyalty and retention rates.

• Segmentation is Essential: Understanding donor profiles enables personalized and effective engagement strategies.

• Long-Term Focus Over Immediate ROI: Investing in the lifetime value of donors fosters sustainable growth and deeper relationships.

• Legacy Giving Potential: There is immense opportunity in cultivating midlevel donors for legacy contributions, particularly within specific age demographics.

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For nonprofit leaders seeking to enhance their donor engagement strategies, this episode provides valuable insights and actionable recommendations to harness the full potential of midlevel donors.

Transcript

[Podcast Host]

This is the Smart Communications Smart Communications Smart Communications Podcast. Developing the voices Developing the voices of Determined nonprofits brought to you by Big Duck.

[Farrah]

Welcome to the Smart Communications Podcast. This is Farrah, trumpeter co director and worker owner at Big Duck. In today's episode, we're going to ask the question, how can you grow mid level donors? And I'm excited for Today's guest, Aliyah McKee, who I'll tell you more about in a moment. But Aaliyah is a blast from the past, actually my past. We worked together at a company called donor digital 20 years ago and have joyfully stayed in touch and I am happy to have her join us today. Let me tell you a little bit about Aaliyah. Alia uses she her pronouns and is a seasoned fundraising strategist, market research expert and leadership coach who has led SeaChange strategies for nearly 20 years. She guides mission driven organizations through transformative growth and relishes helping nonprofit leaders navigate the complex professional and personal challenges they face as change makers. Aaliyah, welcome to the show. And welcome back to working with me, briefly as it may be.

[Aaliyah McKee]

Thank you, Farrah. I'm so excited to be here. And yes, what a blast from the past. I always love when our paths cross though. It's wonderful.

[Farrah]

Yeah. First initially in San Francisco and now here in Brooklyn.

[Aaliyah McKee]

That's how it goes.

[Farrah]

And of course virtually on the airwaves. So at Big Duck, we provide several fundraising related services, including donor communications plans, fundraising campaign identity and collateral branding of donor programs, and various workshops to build the skills and strengthen the connection between development and communications. Lately we've been talking to some of our clients about a growing section of their community, mid level donors. And at the same time, we don't want to only value people's engagement purely by the level of their financial contributions. So with that as the backdrop, let's start with the basics. Aliyah, what is a mid level donor? How do organizations define that? And what led you and your team to focus on engaging mid level donors?

[Aaliyah McKee]

Great questions. So typically a mid level donor is someone who gives a significant contribution to an organization enough to stand out from grassroots or membership, but not quite enough to land in a major gift officer's portfolio. So for most of the organizations I work with, a mid level donor contributes between $1,010,000 cumulatively over a 12 month period. But that being said, some organizations start their mid level floor at 500. Others set a ceiling as high as 15,000, 25,000, even $50,000 in some cases. The key is to define thresholds that reflect your donor base and organizational structure. So that way you're creating a one to many experience experience that delivers meaningful personalization at scale to a large pool of committed supporters. I like to think of major donors as one to one. Mid level is one to many. And of course membership grassroots is one to thousands or hundreds of thousands. To your second question about how I started looking at mid level and it started way back in 2008, right after we stopped working together. Nearly my firm was conducting a study of nearly 3,000 high net worth individuals and their digital habits. Because back then a lot of folks were like we shouldn't communicate with high net worth individuals online because it might minimize their engagement with us. And so we were looking to investigate that that while we were doing that, we stumbled on a really striking statistic that 1% of these donors were giving 34% of total revenue. And these donors who we were interviewing were contributing between $1,000 and $10,000 annually. Surprise, surprise. They wanted to be communicated with online and digitally and. And they were really frustrated because they were giving a significant contribution. But often they were being suppressed from any communications because they were being suppressed from grassroots membership communications and they didn't yet merit the attention of a major gift officer. So they were in this no person's land and really being ignored. And so since then we've really focused on how we can engage these donors, how we can reorganize or organization so that way these donors get stewarded appropriately because they represent a major opportunity.

[Farrah]

Yeah. As you were talking, I'm imagining them floating around in fundraising purgatory.

[Aaliyah McKee]

Exactly.

[Farrah]

Yeah. So in the spirit of getting them out of purgatory and hopefully moving into heaven, I don't know. This is going to be where I can end this metaphor in this conversation.

[Aaliyah McKee]

I like the metaphor. I like it.

[Farrah]

We'll go with it for now. Your team at SeaChange Strategies produced a report called the Missing A Cross Vertical Study of Mid Level Donors. We will be sure to link to that directly in the show [e-mail] insights but until folks get to download and read it, I would love to talk about it. That report, you studied 36 nonprofit organizations and there's just so much great stuff in it. My favorite are the findings related to psychographics with three profiles. And we've actually talked about donor profiles on the podcast before. We know that no group including mid level donors is a monolith. But I'm curious if you can share with our listeners what did you learn from that study about the motivations, the beliefs, the values of mid level donors. Based on these insights from 36 nonprofits.

[Aaliyah McKee]

As part of the study, we surveyed over 6,000 mid level donors representing, as you said, 36 organizations. And what was so interesting is when we did a segmentation analysis of the respondents, examining their levels of involvement, information needs, and engagement preferences, three distinct behavioral profiles emerged. I'll name them and then I'll describe them in more detail. So the first is all business and 41% of the sample were all business. Engagement seekers were the next profile and 32% of the sample are engagement seekers. And then there's a profile we call hands on donors. And 27% of the sample were hands on donors. So just very quickly, all business folks, as the name implies, prefer a low touch experience. It's like what would my dad want, right When I think of an all business donor, they're the most transactional of the segments. They renew their gift annually, most likely at year end with very little prompting. They show limited interest in deeper engagement. For these donors, excessive stewardship, like extra phone calls or event invitations, may actually be off putting. They tend to prioritize organizational efficiency, and they prefer that a higher percentage of their gift goes directly to programs. And notably, they are the oldest cohort in the sample. In contrast, you have engagement seekers. And we believe they offer perhaps the greatest potential for deepened relationships because they express strong interest in participating in many of the engagements nonprofits can provide. Like virtual events. They want to take action, especially locally. They want to watch your videos. They want to consume and share impact reports. They want to look at the infographics. They want to take part in surveys and focus groups. They are the most likely of the three segments that say they plan on giving more in the coming year. And they are the most likely of the three segments to say that they've included an organization in their estate plan. So in contrast to all business, this group really wants to feel connected and valued. And they're telling us that meaningful engagement is going to influence their long term commitment. The third group are hands on donors. And these folks sit at the total end of the spectrum from all business folks because they are already deeply embedded in the life of the organizations they support. They are volunteers, they are board members, they are community ambassadors, and they see combining their personal involvement with their significant financial investment as their contributions. This group reports the highest, average, largest gift of any segment coming in just under $20,000. This group also skews more female than the overall sample and really remind us that proximity and participation can be powerful drivers of generosity. At SeaChange, we're like you at Big Duck. Our philosophy is that donors matter no matter how much they give, that their time and talent is also really, really important. And with hands on donors, time and talent is one of the big ways that they show their commitment.

[Farrah]

Yeah. Great. Yeah. And we also believe, you know, everyone matters, right? The volunteers, the people who just signed the pledge but haven't quite contributed yet. Those are all important to continue to engage. But it's definitely worth a deep dive on this. So given everything you just shared, how might a nonprofit use these insights to inform their communications with mid level donors? Can you maybe share any examples of how applying this data could work in practice?

[Aaliyah McKee]

One of the most actionable takeaways is the opportunities to segment out all business folks from those who want to participate more deeply. So I think it might be hard right now for groups to try to separate out engagement seekers from hands on, but those all business folks are pretty easy to identify. Earthjustice is a great example of an organization putting this into practice. I call what they're doing the Harry Potter mid level Sorting hat. Because what they've done is they've created a seven part multi channel qualification series for their justice partners, their mid level donors. And the goal is simple. They're trying to invite donors to raise their hand by responding to any one of these seven pieces as an engagement seeker or a hands on donor. Right? Those who respond are routed into a high touch portfolio managed by one of two mid level donor officers. These donors receive a steady cadence of that stewardship that engagement seekers and hands on donors say they want. They're getting thank you calls, they're getting forwarded updates from leadership about programmatic impact. They're getting extra thank yous at year end or additional zoom gatherings tailored to donor preferences. Meanwhile, if you don't respond to any one of these seven pieces of collateral, you are separated into the all business category. You still get touch points because you remain within the branded Justice Partner membership team. You just get a reduced frequency of solicitations while continuing to deliver the value promise of justice partners through the quarterly magazine, through some town hall invitations and a dedicated point of contact that they can reach out to if they want to.

[Farrah]

It's so great that you just mentioned I don't think we talked about this before recording this today, but I am two days after this podcast releases, I will be presenting at AFP New York City's fundraising day about branding your giving programs, like branding your mid level program with our client at the International Rescue Committee, but also someone from Earthjustice who's gonna talk about Justice Partners. So it all connects.

[Aaliyah McKee]

It does connect. It does connect. And yeah, the work that you all did with the IRC and that branding work is fantast. We're working with them on an Insight panel and I think the Rescue Collective ecosystem is brilliant.

[Farrah]

Thank you. Well, we did a webinar with Ishmam from IRC that we'll link to in the show notes if folks want to check that work out. Now coming back to this, both of our companies also believe that nurturing relationships is really at the heart of good, well, good communication generally, but particularly good donor communication and engagement. And with all of the nonprofits that you've worked with, how often do you see that they're able to upgrade mid level donors to major donors or legacy donors? What does retention look like for mid level versus other donor categories? I just want to dive a little more deeply into how these insights can impact how you might cultivate and steward these mid level donors.

[Aaliyah McKee]

Mid level donors are incredibly loyal, Farah. That's one of the clearest signals from our research and our experience in practice. Many organizations, and I'm sure you're seeing this, are seeing multi year retention rates of their mid level donors above 60%. Some hit 70%. That is exceptional compared to other donor categories. These donors are going to stick with you. In our research, they said they're going to stick with nonprofits they care about in times of political upheaval, in times of economic uncertainty uncertainty, and in times of global instability. So their loyalty and retention is through the charts. That said, as of now, this sample doesn't really look like a hot major donor prospect pool. Many of the organizations I work with like to think of their mid level programs as both a destination and a stepping stone into major giving. This study puts a little cold water on the stepping stone theory because only 10% of mid level donors said that they plan to increase their donation and just 13% have ever given a gift of 10,000 or more. Now we saw, as I mentioned, with those hands on donors that subsample has given higher gifts, right? So those folks who are volunteering on boards who are really kind of rolling up their sleeves with you, they might be better major donor prospects than the rest of the sample. This tells us that while mid level donors are deeply committed, they don't always follow that straight path up the traditional donor pyramid. On the legacy side though, the opportunity is huge. Our research showed that over 30% of the participants in the study have already made a bequest and 20% were considering one. So that is a strikingly high level of planned giving potential. Of course, as a side note, as anyone who leads planned giving work knows, the lack of children is the number one indicator of the likelihood of someone to make a bequest. But we also found an interesting finding that there appears to be a prime age window. Once a mid level donor hits 70, they've already made the decision about who they're leaving in their bequest. And when they start turning 58, 59, that's when they start thinking about making a bequest. So there appears to be this window of opportunity between 58 and 69 that organizations can take into account.

[Farrah]

Fascinating. Well, there is just so much to dig into. But before we go, I would love to ask you if there is one thing you wish nonprofits would stop doing and one thing you wish they would start doing as it relates to growing mid level donors, what would it be?

[Aaliyah McKee]

First, I wish they would stop under resourcing mid level programs. Too often they are short staffed, without a clear owner, without a clear strategy and without a clear budget. And for a mid level program to succeed, it cannot be an afterthought. And I wish more organizations would start tracking retention and lifetime value as their North Star metrics. Too many decisions about mid level programs are still being made based on short term roi. I'm sure you know you're hearing it Farah. Is this going to return investment in 12 months? Is this going to return investment in 18 months? Mid level is by nature a long game. When you look at this group through a lens of lifetime value, multi year giving and plan giving potential, the case for investment really becomes undeniable. But when you look at it in these short direct response windows, it can be easy to ignore the potential.

[Farrah]

That's really helpful. Wow. Again, so much to dig into here. Really encourage you to go to see changestrategies.com and look at the various reports they have produced, not just the ones we've talked about today. You can learn more about their work. You can also connect with Aaliyah on LinkedIn. Alia, thank you so much for joining us. But of course, before we go, anything else you'd like to share?

[Aaliyah McKee]

Well, because I'm on with you Farrah, I just want to end by saying fundraising is relationship building and we have to start thinking about that. It has to be the North Star. Even before the challenges of 2025 took hold, fundraising data from individuals was very sobering. Both Giving USA and the Fundraising Effectiveness Project show that 2024 was another year of stagn. Total dollars raised held steady, but the donor counts continued to fall down again after a 4.4% decline the year before. We have to start investing in meaningful relationships and recognizing the long term value of each donor, of each volunteer, of each action taker, of each website visitor so we can start building back trust with donors and securing a more resilient supporter base. Our causes need it.

[Farrah]

Yeah. And I would just add through communications.

[Aaliyah McKee]

Amen.

[Farrah]

Yes. Well Aaliyah, thank you again for joining us today. And everyone take a look at those donors with fresh eyes and have a great rest of your day.

[Podcast Host]

Are you a fan of this podcast or Big Duck's other resources on nonprofit communications? If you are, we'd love to hear from you. Please drop us a line by writing to helloigduck.com to tell us what you're working on and what topics you need help with. We also welcome getting your feedback via reviews. You can review this podcast wherever you listen. We'd love to hear from you. This is the Smart Communications Podcast, Developing the Voices of Determined Nonprofits brought to you by Big Duck. Big Duck is an agency that puts smart communications in the hands of nonprofits. We help our nonprofit clients develop strong brands, strong campaigns, and strong teams that advance their missions and achieve their goals.

[Aaliyah McKee]

Connect with us at bigduck. Com.