Why Donors Leave (And How to Keep Them) · Class 4 of 7
Who's slipping
Tell a donor who is drifting from one who just gives at a different time of year, and pick the few to contact this month.
Not every donor who hasn't given yet this year is leaving. This class shows how to separate the people who give every December from the donors who are past their usual time, and why the smallest regular givers deserve a look first.
Key takeaways
- Not giving yet isn't the same as gone. M+R found December brings 37% of a year's online dollars. In October, a December giver isn't late.
- Every regular donor has a usual time. A donor who is 60 or more days past their usual month is slipping. That's the list to work.
- Watch the smallest givers too. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project found donors giving $100 or less are the only group still shrinking, and one missing $25 gift is easy to miss.
Your homework
About 20 minutes.
- Use the free file check for the count: last year's donors minus the ones who have given again so far.
- Pull the names from your donor system. Many systems have a ready-made report of donors who gave last year but not this year.
- Sort by last year's total and take the top 25. Write the month each one usually gives.
- Circle anyone 60 or more days past that month. That's your short list.
The free file check gives you the count. The names and usual months come from your donor system.
Get the Class 4 worksheet
A printable page with the steps, a table to fill in and a worked example. Tell us where to send it.
Sources
- M+R Benchmarks 2026
- Fundraising Effectiveness Project, Q1 2026 report