The Middle Donor Cliff: Fixing the Leaky Bucket

When:  Apr 8, 2026 from 11:30 AM to 01:00 PM (CT)
Associated with  AFP IL, Central Chapter

Your $500–$2,500 donors are your most overlooked revenue segment. They're too valuable for mass communication but too numerous for major gift cultivation — so most organizations send a thank-you letter and then silence until the next ask. The result? These donors lapse at alarming rates, taking 20–30% of your annual fund revenue with them. In this 60-minute workshop, we'll expose the real cost of mid-level attrition (hint: it's six figures over three years for a typical organization) and introduce the Mid-Level Officer model — a high-touch but scalable approach that manages 150–300 donors with just eight hours per week.

You'll leave with a month-by-month contact strategy, a donor segmentation framework, CRM configuration steps you can implement immediately, and a complete 90-day plan to go from concept to functioning program. Whether you have a development team of ten or you're a one-person shop, this session will show you how to plug the leaky bucket and turn your most neglected donors into your strongest growth engine.

With nearly 20 years of fundraising experience in the nonprofit sector, Jarel brings exceptional expertise to Harmonic Partners. He has consulted 60+ organizations with fundraising goals between $20k to $8 billion. As a fundraiser, his teams have raised more than $280 million during his career.

Location

Bloomington Public Library
205 E. Olive Street
Bloomington, IL 61701
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Contact

Kimberly Scheirer
3092423960
kimberlyscheirer227@gmail.com