Are you in a campaign right now? If so, are you thinking about your next campaign? Probably not, but if you drain the resources of all your top donors and you need support ten years from now, who are you going to ask?

That’s part of the beauty of a mid-level giving program. Showing #DonorLove to donors giving between your annual and major gift levels is important in and of itself, but it also has the benefit of unlocking the giving potential of a whole new pool of donors.

I’m guessing that’s a program you want to build and strengthen. Am I right?

This is the final of three blog posts telling you all about how to build and strengthen your mid-level giving program.

In the first post, you identified mid-level donors and prepared for your first meeting with them. In Part Two, you met with the donor.

Now, you’ve asked them to support something exciting at your organization, and guess what?

THEY SAID YES!

1. 10.  Thank them!
   When they say “Yes, I will support this exciting project!” (yay!), say a big THANK YOU! Make them feel it again. Talk about them, not the organization. Thank them for what they are making happen at your organization.
   
   
2. 11.  Follow up.
   Talk about next steps in the meeting and then, as all good fundraisers do, take care of the follow-up in a professional fashion. Take good notes afterwards of what occurred in the meeting, track the next steps, and act on them.
   
   
3. 12.  Keep the #DonorLove going.
   Make sure you thank them again - by email or phone - within 48 hours after the meeting. When their tax receipt lands on your desk, thank them again with a handwritten note (and hand-addressed envelope) that you’ll mail with the receipt, and thank them many more times after that. Find a way to surprise them in the next year before you meet again, with an out of the blue phone call to report on the impact of their gift, or a note to tell them about something that made you think of them.
   
   
4. 13.  Repeat steps 1-12.
   Find a new, generous donor and start it all over again!

A mid-level giving program doesn’t require a big budget. It doesn’t require all sorts of fancy, detailed proposals, trips across the country, meetings with senior leaders at your organization, or big parties to celebrate the donor’s major gift.

Identifying, meeting, asking, and thanking mid-level donors is a quick and simple process that, done right, will lead to more money for your organization. Find your most loyal and generous annual donors, call them for a meeting, thank them in person, find out what makes them tick, get them excited about what their support can allow your organization to do, ask them, thank them again, and do it all over again every year.

Your high touch points with an audience that is surprised to hear from you will have a great impact now and especially in the future.

Dedicate some time and energy to it, and the sky's the limit in terms of what mid-level donors can do for your organization.

Are you ready? Time to meet your mid-level donors!

What are you doing with your mid-level giving program? What are you the most excited about implementing today?

Share in the comments!

And thanks for reading!

Maeve Strathy is a fundraiser. Full-stop. Right now she is focused on mid-level giving, and in the past she has worked in roles concentrated on young alumni giving and telefundraising. Maeve is passionate about enabling people to make a positive difference with their philanthropy. She's so passionate about it that she spends her spare time thinking about it, talking about it, and writing about it on her blog: www.whatgivesphilanthropy.com. Follow Maeve on Twitter @fundraisermaeve.