The 'Big Favor' to Donors That's Almost the Meanest Thing You Can Do to Them

I've had front row seats to this disaster several times:

The organization's core donors (those who've been giving for three or more years) suddenly are lapsing at an alarming and unprecedented rate. Or to put it another way, the group of donors who normally have the highest retention rate of all donors suddenly is lapsing at a rate like that of brand new donors.

Panicked, we dig into the data.

After a long search, the truth comes out. Thousands upon thousands of these donors have been placed on a "Do Not Solicit" list—far more of them than could possibly have been if the donors themselves were asking specifically not to be solicited any more.