In the case of many non-profits the much-vaunted “Fundraising Pyramid” too often resembles an hourglass.  Fat on the ends, skinny in the middle.

So I was particularly pleased to see Nicole Wallace over at the Chronicle of Philanthropy recently tackle the subject of middle donor or mid-level donor programs.

As the name implies, Mid-Level or Middle Donor Programs are fundraising efforts that fall between the mass, small gift efforts at the base of the Pyramid and the large, major gifts at the top.  Mid-Level giving ranges vary depending on how you want to define them, but usually they’re in the $500 to $5,000 + range.

Frankly, at a time when many groups are having acquisition and retention trouble at the base of the pyramid and uncertain economic times are creating delays or deferrals in giving at the top, the middle is where fundraisers need to focus.

This under-worked space is so painfully obvious that you have to wonder why Mid-Level Donor programs are the exception rather than the rule.  Mark Rovner over at Sea Change Strategies offers the most plausible explanation: the tension that exists between direct mail fundraisers and major gift fundraisers.

“They genuinely dislike one another,” Mark told Nicole Wallace at The Chronicle. “That’s not true everywhere, but it’s often true. The high-dollar people see the direct marketers as the used-car salesmen of fund raising, and the direct marketers see the high-dollar people as snobs who, if you’re not worth millions of dollars, you’re not worth my time.”

The result of this intra-mural pettiness?  Middle donors fall into a chasm of neglect.  Meanwhile the needs of the non-profit go unmet and fundraising opportunities unrealized.  Sad.

It sure doesn’t have to be that way. As The Chronicle piece points out:

• The ASPCA has nearly doubled its income from its $500 to $5000 donors by focusing on this mid-level group and encouraging them to give more often;

• Catholic Relief Services now raises 25% of its income from the 1% of its donors who fall into the mid-level donor category;

• And Mercy Corps has seen a 5% increase in the number of its mid-level donors by assigning part-time development officers to provide more personal attention through its program.

So, if the person in charge of development and fundraising at your organization permits or, worse still, encourages  competition between types of giving, or permits fundraising efforts to exist in silos she/he ought to be fired.  Or at least put under adult supervision.

Roger