For much of the year, many fundraisers and nonprofit leaders have been holding their breath. Economic uncertainty, looming cuts, stock market swings — it’s enough to make anyone dizzy.  

If 2025 has taught us anything, it’s that there are no sure things. Once-reliable sources of income, such as government grants, can disappear in a snap. Major gifts are harder to come by when the stock market drops. Even small monthly donors start pulling back when times get tough. 

This is when a solid base of mid-level donors becomes critical, as they’re less swayed by stock market shifts and more committed to your cause. The people in the middle tier of your donor pyramid can be easy to overlook because of their steadiness, but their sturdy support is precisely what you need to meet this moment head-on.  

We’re sharing five strategies that will help you build a robust mid-level giving program. 

Why Mid-Level Giving Matters 

Mid-level donors are the unsung heroes of your organization. Bold statement? We don’t think so.  

It’s this group, which typically gives $1,000 to $10,000 annually, that keeps your lights on, pays your salaries, and funds your programs. These recurring donors are the calm amid uncertainty, offering consistent, reliable support to keep your mission alive.   

Such reliability is more valuable than ever. Data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project shows that the number of donors fell by 4.5% year-over-year (YOY) in 2024. This is the fourth consecutive year that donor counts have decreased. Moreover, the donor retention rate declined for the fifth straight year, dropping 2.6 percentage points to 42.9%.  

Mid-level donors can bridge the gap. Not only do they give 3–10 times more than entry-level donors, but they’re also primed for upgrade. With the right cultivation, many will become your next major donors. In fact, two-thirds of major donors started in mid-level giving. 

This group can account for 40–50% of your revenue and often gives more than a third of the money you raise, despite representing only 1% of your donors. They typically support an organization for at least five years, giving them a significant lifetime value — and making them essential for your nonprofit’s long-term health. 

5 Steps to a Strong Mid-Level Giving Program 

Building a strong mid-level giving program requires deliberate steps. Through intentional segmentation, personalized messaging, and thoughtful recognition, you can strengthen donor relationships and create a solid base of support with long-term giving potential. 

1. Use Data to Segment and Prioritize

There’s no need to seek out donors for a mid-level giving program — you likely have plenty of candidates in your donor file already. An advanced platform like GivingDNA can help you identify and prioritize existing donors with mid-level potential.

First, you must calculate your mid-level giving range. Multiply your average direct marketing gift by three, then multiply that number by 12 to determine the entry point. For example, if your average direct marketing gift is $60, multiply that by three to get $180. Then, multiply that by 12, which means your mid-level program starts at $2,160 a year. The top end of the mid-level group could be your major gift threshold.

Those who fit into your established giving range would be considered mid-level donors. You can also take the top 5% of your mass-market donors who don’t hit the major gift minimum.

With your mid-level file in place, segment it into tiers based on giving history, engagement level, and capacity. Then, tailor your cultivation, stewardship, and outreach efforts accordingly. Those on the lower end of the mid-level spectrum might be best targeted for small, incremental increases in their donations. Meanwhile, those donating larger annual amounts are excellent candidates for an upgrade to major giving.

2. Personalize Donor Engagement

Not all mid-level donors want the same experience. And depending on the size of your mid-level file, your team may not be able to deliver the same experience to all donors. Not to mention, segmenting engagement opportunities and experiences by giving amounts will incentivize donors to give more.

Remember, there’s a significant difference between annual donations of $1,000 and $10,000. Those who give $833 a month likely have very different expectations from those giving $83 a month.

You might customize:

• Thank-you notes to reference past impact
• Exclusive content offering behind-the-scenes insights
• Leadership engagement opportunities, like webinars or intimate donor briefings

Use what you know about these donors to create experiences that cater to their specific interests. You might also give them exclusive opportunities to attend an event or fund a new program.

3. Create a Tiered Mid-Level Giving Strategy

Developing structured tiers within your mid-level giving program further enables you to deliver more personalized communications. For instance:

• Emerging Mid-Level Donors ($1,000–$2,499): Focus on welcoming touches and demonstrate their impact.
• Core Mid-Level Donors ($2,500–$4,999): Offer more personalized updates and engagement opportunities.
• Accelerating Mid-Level Donors ($5,000+): Invite donors to strategy discussions, insider events, and other occasions for one-on-one relationship building.

By breaking your mid-level program into tiers, you can easily see who’s on the cusp of moving up to the next level so you can target them accordingly. Each tier should have its own engagement cadence, stewardship plan, and upgrade pathway.

Most mid-level donors will be in the entry-level tier. Enhanced email and direct mail outreach will be sufficient for this group. The middle tier is where your team should focus its cultivation efforts, while those in the top tier should be passed along to your major gifts team.

4. Steward and Recognize Donors

Mid-level donors tend to be the most loyal, but you can deepen their commitment to your organization through stewardship and recognition. Examples include:

• Tailored impact reports that align with donor interests
• Personal milestone recognitions, such as for giving anniversaries or birthdays
• Public acknowledgment in donor communications when appropriate

Stewardship doesn’t have to be costly or time-consuming. Even small touches, such as higher-quality paper or special thank-you notes, can have a significant impact. In addition, select perks that donors will appreciate over meaningless merch like coffee mugs or tote bags. Think quarterly reports from your executive director or invitations to special events.

You might also ask volunteers to call mid-level donors once or twice a year to express gratitude. If your group is too large for this, focus on the middle and upper tiers, which have more upgrade potential.

5. Invest in Technology

When developed effectively, your mid-level program can grow into a robust recurring giving machine of loyal donors who will sustain your nonprofit for years to come. But as the program expands, it can become more difficult to manage.

Platforms like GivingDNA solve this struggle by helping you automate segmentation, track behaviors, and personalize communications at scale. This powerful tool can identify a list of donors who are ready to give more or upgrade, so you can contact them with the appropriate appeal.

Have you embraced artificial intelligence (AI) yet? AI and predictive analytics let you see who’s primed to donate monthly, enabling you to build a steady pipeline into your mid-level program. These tools can also help you uncover relevant upgrade experiences and other ways to connect.

With enough data, you can then map a donor journey to ensure you’re engaging mid-level donors consistently and meaningfully. This will likely involve multiple departments or teams, so you can leverage marketing automation tools, such as email and social media, that make customized communication a breeze.  

Don’t Neglect Mid-Level Donors; Empower Them

Donors who fall in the mid-level range are all too often overlooked, but these are typically your most loyal constituents. Now more than ever, you need sustainable support to see you through 2025’s economic uncertainty.

With a strong mid-level program as your foundation, you can build deeper relationships with donors who share your commitment to your mission. More importantly, you’ll gain visibility into who’s ready to give more, creating a steady pipeline of donors with upgrade potential.

If you’re ready to develop a mid-level giving program, our free resource, “The Urgent Case for Mid-Level Giving in 2025,” can help you get started. In it, you’ll gain data-backed strategies for retaining and upgrading these key supporters.

We’ve also created the Mid-Level Accelerator to help nonprofits of any size build and scale a mid-level program. With three tiers to choose from, you’ll find the solution that best fits your organization’s needs today and tomorrow. Contact us now to learn more.