The Middle That Moves the Mission: Why Mid-Level Donors Deserve Your Focus

Every nonprofit knows the power of major donors and the steady comfort of recurring givers. But in between those two worlds lies a goldmine most teams overlook, mid-level donors.

These are the supporters giving $1,000–$10,000. They’re deeply invested in your mission, but often missing from your strategy. Why? Because most organizations have clear systems for major donors (personal meetings, cultivation plans) and grassroots givers (email campaigns, automated thank-yous). But the “middle” often gets lost in the shuffle.

And sure, those five or six-figure gifts are game changers. But if your small team is sprinting from campaign to campaign, hoping to land one big donor to save the year, you’re missing an entire group of people quietly holding up your mission: your mid-level donors.

The Missing Middle

When fundraising consultant Kel Haney joined The Focused Fundraiser podcast, she put it bluntly:

“Mid-level donors need their own strategy. It’s not just about stewardship or solicitation—it’s both.”

That insight hits hard because most nonprofits haven’t built a system for that in-between space. We have polished plans for major givers, personal visits, cultivation dinners, carefully crafted proposals. And we’ve mastered automation for smaller, recurring donors, email drip campaigns, GivingTuesday pushes, and online appeals.

But mid-level donors? They tend to get treated like “bigger small donors.” A slightly longer thank-you note. Maybe a printed annual report instead of an email. That’s about it.

And it’s a problem.

Because mid-level donors aren’t just bigger small donors, they’re your most engaged believers. They’ve already said, “I’m in.” And that kind of belief deserves something deeper than a receipt.

When you start identifying and segmenting these supporters, something powerful happens. You begin to see patterns. You can see who increased their giving quietly last year. Who keeps opening your emails but hasn’t been personally contacted. Who might be one heartfelt phone call away from becoming a true partner.

That’s where clarity, and the right CRM, becomes your best friend. Having a connected, organized system lets you see these stories clearly. It’s what transforms your data from a spreadsheet into a community map.

The Heart Work Behind the Numbers

Kel’s secret weapon is her five-minute phone call.

Yes, five minutes.

She coaches fundraisers to pick up the phone and make short, authentic calls that are part thank-you, part connection, and part invitation. Not scripted. Not slick. Just human.

“A really well-crafted five-minute call can be both stewardship and solicitation,” she explained. “It’s about long-term relationships, not one-time transactions.”

That’s the heart of mid-level engagement: consistency over perfection.

Here’s what that looks like:

You glance at your CRM and notice a donor gave $1,500 last spring but hasn’t been contacted since. Instead of another mass email, you pick up the phone. You thank them genuinely. You share what their gift made possible. You listen.

And that simple action, a five-minute connection, can spark another five years of generosity.

The truth is, your donor data should never be the end of the story; it should be the beginning. Every name, every note, every record in your CRM represents a relationship waiting to be deepened. Clean, connected data is the foundation for the warm, human moments that create real loyalty.

Tech That Feels Like a Human Touch

There’s a quiet misconception that technology makes things less personal. But the right tools don’t replace relationships, they enable them.

A clean CRM, thoughtful automations, and intuitive tools can actually help you stay more present with your donors. Instead of scrambling to remember who you emailed, when, and why, your system can remind you. It can track follow-ups. It can nudge you to send that handwritten note or call that donor whose last gift anniversary just passed.

That’s what makes tools like Otto so powerful. It a tool to be your memory, your assistant, your gentle “hey, don’t forget them” whisper. Otto tracks donor activity, highlights those who need attention, and lets you focus on the human part of stewardship: saying thank you, following up, asking with intention.

And for mid-level donors, that’s exactly what makes the difference.

The Rhythm of Relationship

At year-end, most fundraisers enter “ask overload.” The inbox fills with donation emails, deadlines, and appeals. Donors feel it too.

But mid-level donors? They’re not waiting for another generic “last chance to give” email. They’re waiting for a moment that feels real.

“Your best new donor is the one who’s already with you,” Kel said. “They already have the habit—you just need to re-engage it.”

So instead of flooding inboxes, pick up the phone. Leave a voicemail that says, “We’re trying to raise $50,000 this December, and your support last year helped make that happen. I’d love to share what it accomplished.”

That’s the kind of outreach that cuts through the noise.

While most organizations are competing for attention, you’ll be building connection.

And when you pair that human moment with automation, a CRM that automatically tracks responses, flags follow-ups, and pre-fills contact notes, you’ve got something powerful: a system that lets small teams steward like big ones.

That’s the magic of combining humanity with technology. It’s the foundation of DonorDock’s approach to smarter stewardship: evaluate your relationships, establish consistent systems, execute with care, and then keep looping back.

Relationships grow stronger with every touchpoint, every “thinking of you,” every reminder that generosity is mutual.

Building a Mid-Level Culture

If you’re ready to start treating your mid-level donors like the vital partners they are, here’s where to focus:

1. Clean your data.

If you don’t trust your CRM, you’ll never trust your instincts. Make sure contact info, gift history, and notes are accurate.

2. Give mid-level donors a name.

Call them something special internally, a “Connector Circle” or “Mission Builders.” When they have a defined identity, your team will treat them as such.

3. Personalize, don’t perform.

Send real updates about projects they care about. Use their name. Mention their last gift. Keep it simple but sincere.

4. Mix automation and authenticity.

Let tech handle the logistics, but make sure every donor gets a human touch. Even a short thank-you call means more than another email campaign.

5. Revisit regularly.

Relationships evolve. Review your segments every few months. Notice who’s engaging, upgrading, or fading, and adjust accordingly.

That cycle—the constant rhythm of evaluate, establish, execute—is what keeps mid-level stewardship alive.

And the beauty is, you don’t need a massive team or a huge budget to do it. You just need focus.

The Takeaway

If fundraising feels like juggling a hundred things at once, it’s because it is.

You’re raising money, building community, nurturing relationships, and trying to do it all with grace and limited time.

But the mid-level donor strategy is where the ruthless elimination of more begins. It’s where you stop chasing new names and start deepening trust with the people already cheering you on.

And as Kel Haney says, if you want to see magic happen in your fundraising,

“Pick up the phone.”

Because sometimes, the most powerful fundraising tool isn’t a big budget or new donors, it’s a five-minute conversation that reminds someone why they believed in you in the first place.