Or prospect mailing - a mailing to prospects to acquire new donors. ​

Gifts made to support general operations.

A letter requesting a donation. Every appeal letter should be personalized (name/salutation). Every appeal letter includes a “Reply Form.” This form is also personalized both by name as well as the “Gift String,” which is based on the donor’s giving history, or lack thereof.

(AFP) A professional society (headquartered in Alexandria, Va.) that fosters the development and growth of fundraising professionals, works to advance philanthropy and volunteerism, and promotes high ethical standards in the fundraising profession. Formerly the National Society of Fund-Raising Professionals.

(CFRE) A designation, conferred by Certified Fund Raising Executive International, that is awarded to a professional fundraiser who has met specified standards of service, experience, and knowledge.

An organization (headquartered in Alexandria, Va.) that is a collaboration of the following fundraising service organizations: Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Association of Lutheran Development Executives (ALDE), Council for Resource Development (CRD), Fundraising Institute. Australia, Ltd. (FIA), International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC), National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC), North American YMCA Development Organization (NAYDO), and Philanthropic Services for Institutions (PSI). The organization certifies, through a voluntary certification process, fundraising professionals who demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and commitment to the highest standards of ethical and professional practice in serving the philanthropic sector.

Mass mail sent by a not-for-profit organization directly to prospects and/or donors.

A specific set a written polices, signed by staff and board members, detailing the restrictions placed on all to keep donor information confidential and private.

(ECFA) An organization committed to helping Christ-centered organizations earn the public’s trust through developing and maintaining standards of accountability that convey God-honoring ethical practices.

The pre-printed options for giving on the “Reply Form” which accompanies every “Appeal Letter.” These pre-printed options are based on the donor’s giving history, or lack thereof.

A donor who contributed in the immediate past year or calendar year but not in the current year.

A significant donation. The amount to be considered a Major Gift varies by organization.

Any donor who makes a Major Gift. Restricted Gift, a gift that comes with specific requests on how that gift is to be spent. Reply Form, the form that accompanies every appeal letter. Each form is personalized by name and the pre-printed options for giving in the gift string are based on the donor’s giving history, or lack thereof.

A donor who gave in a previous year but not the current year.

The process of sorting and then matching our donors with the appropriate appeal letter. Typically, this data is pulled and sorted two to three weeks before the mailing is sent. Each segment receives a slightly different version of the appeal letter, one specifically tailored for their segment. For example: • Monthly, donors who give monthly. • Recent, donors who have made a gift in the last 30-60 days. Defining that range changes depending on the mailing to be sent. • Active, donors who are not “Recent” donors as defined above, but have made a gift in the two years prior. • Lapsed, donors who have not given within the last two years of the date of the mailing. • Not Yet, prospective donors who have not yet given. Ideally, PoliGen-scored lists.

Donors are segmented into a number of categories such as Major Donors, Lapsed, SYBUNT, LYBUNT, geography, etc. Donor contacts (sometimes referred to as “touches”) both type and frequency, are based this segmentation.

As opposed to a gift made from a donor’s discretionary income, a planned gift is a large gift, made in lifetime or at death, as part of a donor’s overall financial and/or estate planning. While some planned gifts provide a life-long income to the donor, others use estate and tax planning techniques to provide for charity and other heirs in ways that maximize the gift and/or minimize its impact on the donor's estate. Common planned gifts are life insurance, cash, property or real estate, funds from a retirement plan.

A Predictive Modeling tool from What If? to help nonprofits understand their donors and find their best donor prospects. The PoliGen process creates a model of the nonprofit’s current donors and helps predict the probability of finding new donor prospects who look most like their current active donors.

(AKA the “Year-end Appeal Letter”) The appeal letter sent in late November or early December. The year-end appeal letter should be planned to arrive in mailboxes the Monday after Thanksgiving.