The Upgrade Ask
4 steps · Email, Direct mail, SMS
Ask for what they have already shown they can give.
Sample charity: the people and numbers in these screens are made up, so the picture shows the tool, not a result.
The problem it solves
Asks matched to what people can give.
Why your CRM misses this. To ask for more you need someone’s largest gift. When history is split between an old CRM, the finance system and today’s CRM, the peak can sit in a system nobody checks anymore.
Data
1 of its 2 sources usually sit outside the CRM
Signals
it reads 4 of them
Reach
3 channels: email, direct mail, sms
Journey
4 steps, start to finish
Connect: the data it draws on
Mission joins these into one record per person, beside your CRM.
Sources
Analyze: who it finds
- Capacity Suppression Ratio How does this supporter's latest gift compare with the biggest they have ever made? Find donors giving well below their peak and build an upgrade ask around the gap.
- Upgrade Window Band How much room is there between this supporter's latest gift and their biggest? Put the supporters with the biggest gap between last gift and best gift first in your upgrade list.
- Revenue Gap Per Donor How much more would this supporter give if they returned to their peak gift? Add it up across your file to show leadership the total you could recover.
- Giving Trend Is this supporter's latest gift bigger, smaller, or about the same as their usual gift? Talk upgrades with donors trending up, and call donors trending down before they lapse.
Audience: Upgrade Window
Who is giving less than they used to, and how much is that worth? These supporters have already shown they can give more: their largest gift is more than double their most recent one.
What to do: Make an upgrade ask anchored to their previous peak gift. Revenue Gap Per Donor shows what each one is worth.
Activate: the journey
Each step names when it happens and the channel it uses. Under the steps is the campaign as it is built in Orbit, in 2 parts. Read them in order.
Day 0
Email
A personal ask anchored to their peak gift, with the amount filled in automatically.
Day 0
Direct mail
Fully Suppressed supporters with the largest Revenue Gap get the same ask in print.
Day 10
Email
Clicked but did not give: a reminder.
Day 10
SMS
Did not open: a short text.
- Exit: a gift ends the journey.
The campaign in Orbit
Learn: what flows back
A bigger gift lifts the Capacity Suppression Ratio and can move them to Upgraded in Donor Value Movement.
Results land on the same supporter record, so the next run starts from what just happened.
Where you see it in Orbit
Questions people ask
What problem does The Upgrade Ask solve?
Asks matched to what people can give. Ask for what they have already shown they can give.
Who does The Upgrade Ask reach?
Upgrade Window: Who is giving less than they used to, and how much is that worth? These supporters have already shown they can give more: their largest gift is more than double their most recent one.
Which data does it need?
Donations: supporter ID, gift amount, gift date; Addresses: postal address for mail
Why can't my CRM do this on its own?
To ask for more you need someone’s largest gift. When history is split between an old CRM, the finance system and today’s CRM, the peak can sit in a system nobody checks anymore.
Which channels does it use?
Email, Direct mail, SMS. Day 0: Email Then Day 0: Direct mail Then Day 10: Email Then Day 10: SMS.
Who runs it?
Fundraising.
Every pathway in the Field Guide runs on Apteco Mission, beside your CRM.
See it with your own data
An Apteco Architect walks you through this pathway on your own data.
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