Why It’s Time to Rethink the Major-Donor-First Mindset

For decades, many nonprofits, especially those with lean teams, have concentrated their energy on a handful of major donors. It’s understandable: cultivating one large gift can feel more efficient than securing hundreds of smaller contributions.

But this approach has an increasingly dangerous downside. According to the "Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) Quarterly Fundraising Report" for 2024, just 3.1% of donors (those giving $5,000 or more) generated 77.7% of all donations. That means the majority of revenue depends on a tiny slice of supporters.

Even as average gift sizes rise, donor retention and overall donor numbers are falling — creating sector-wide funding volatility. If one or two top donors step back, budgets can take a sudden, severe hit. Compound that with a changing social and funding landscape, federal and state funding challenges, and concern over a potential recession — and it’s more important than ever to diversify an organization’s base of support.

It’s time to rethink the major-donor-first mindset and instead cultivate a broader, more engaged community of supporters, because resilience comes from diversity, not dependence.

The Risks of Overreliance on a Few Donors

When a nonprofit relies on just a handful of donors to fund the majority of its work, it creates an inherently fragile financial foundation. A single change in one donor’s circumstances — a shift in priorities, an economic downturn or even a change in leadership — can ripple through the organization, jeopardizing entire programs or throwing an annual budget into crisis. 

This concentration of funding also limits the organization’s ability to connect with the broader community. Smaller donors, when actively engaged and stewarded, often go on to become loyal recurring givers, passionate advocates or even major donors themselves. Without that ongoing cultivation, these supporters remain untapped potential, and the organization misses the chance to build a deep, sustainable base of champions. 

Over time, this overemphasis on the few can stall the donor pipeline altogether, leaving no clear path to nurture the next generation of philanthropic leaders who will carry the mission forward.

Expanding Your Reach With Practical, Low-Cost Strategies

Not every nonprofit has the capacity or budget to adopt advanced technology right away or pivot with major material investment. Fortunately, there are steps you can take now to strengthen your smaller-dollar and recurring donor base:

• Make recurring giving simple and visible. Add clear “monthly” and “annual” options to your donation page. Consider creating a named monthly giving club with special updates, photos or behind-the-scenes videos to make supporters feel part of an inner circle.
• Build a culture of storytelling. Create a simple process for staff, board members and volunteers to share photos, videos and stories from the field regularly. A constant flow of authentic content helps donors see their impact year-round.
• Communicate across multiple channels. Stay top-of-mind by regularly sharing updates through email, social media and even direct mail. Showcase program results and organizational milestones in ways that connect back to donor contributions.
• Spotlight every gift’s value. Feature testimonials, social proof and videos from donors of all giving levels, almost like recurring “characters” in your organizational story. Show how their support has continued over time, highlighting their personal “why.”
• Leverage peer-to-peer potential. Identify donors in your small- and mid-level ranges with strong social networks. Invite them to run peer-to-peer fundraisers or promote your mission during key moments like year-end giving.
• Foster moments that feel personal but are easy to repeat. Organize scripted thank-you calls from board members, send quick personalized video messages or host short virtual tours to show impact.
• Use surveys to understand your donors. Ask supporters why they give, how they prefer to be contacted and what parts of your mission matter most to them. Use this insight to personalize future outreach.

These approaches not only broaden your donor base but also create a more resilient funding model. By weaving them into your everyday operations, you ensure that every supporter, regardless of gift size, has meaningful opportunities to stay connected and invested in your mission.

Shifting away from a major-donor-first approach doesn’t diminish their importance — it expands their role. It gives them new, sustainable ways to engage, such as committing to monthly or annual contributions that add revenue predictability and deepen their connection to the mission. Framing this as another form of leadership allows them to set an example for the broader community, showing that consistent support, at any level, is essential to driving lasting impact.

How Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) Can Supercharge This Shift

For many nonprofits, the biggest challenge in expanding donor relationships is bandwidth. Personalizing outreach to thousands of supporters sounds ideal, but without more staff, it feels impossible.

Many nonprofits are already seeing success with AI in small to medium-sized ways. The question is no longer whether to get started, it’s how broadly and deeply AI can be woven into your operations to maximize impact. That’s where agentic AI comes in, not as a replacement for human connection, but as a force multiplier, allowing your teams to become “superhuman.” Beyond the ways you may already be using AI, here are additional opportunities to deepen its role in fundraising operations:

• Stay in touch with a broad base without overwhelming your team.
• Tailor communications at scale so donors feel seen and valued.
• Keep full control over messaging while letting AI handle the heavy lift of segmentation, timing and personalization.

In practice, this means AI agents can identify the perfect moment to invite a first-time donor to give again, re-engage lapsed supporters with a campaign aligned to their interests and deliver updates that speak directly to what each donor cares about most.

By easing the burden of stewarding the masses, AI enables fundraisers to focus on the highest-value human interactions, whether that’s deepening a major donor relationship or personally thanking a new monthly giver.

The outcome is a virtuous giving cycle: more consistent engagement, stronger trust and a donor base that’s resilient enough to withstand change. This approach lays the foundation for a more connected, tech-enabled giving community — one that uses innovation to inspire generosity, activate supporters at every stage of their philanthropic journey, and strengthen relationships across the social good sector.

Turning Instability into a Thriving Community

For too long, the major-donor-first mindset has shaped how nonprofits approach fundraising. While major gifts will always play an important role, they aren't enough on their own to fuel long-term sustainability. True resilience comes from diversifying revenue streams and cultivating relationships across the giving spectrum, where small-dollar donors, mid-level supporters and major philanthropists each play a part in advancing the mission.

When nonprofits invest in engaging all supporters, the impact extends far beyond financial stability. Small-dollar donors volunteer, attend events and introduce friends to the cause. Major donors provide stability while inspiring broader participation. Over time, this approach builds a more participatory ecosystem, where everyone feels ownership in the mission and trust in the organization’s leadership grows.

Charitable giving and volunteerism in the U.S. have hovered around 2.5% of GDP for decades. Raising that to just 3% could unlock hundreds of billions in new resources for the sector. Getting there means shifting from dependence on a few donors to activating many. Scale will come from millions of small yeses — earned through grassroots engagement, recurring giving and AI-powered personalization — because every gift and every connection counts.

Resilient nonprofits aren’t built on the shoulders of a few. They thrive on the shared commitment of the many.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.