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The Donor Lifecycle Map as a Useful Development Planning Tool
Posted on July 26, 2012
Deborah Kaplan Polivy’sarticle about Sarah Clifton’s “Donor Lifecycle Map “explains the extremely useful tool for “creating a strategic fund raising plan.” The map deals with where a donor is in their lifetime not in the numbers of how much they have contributed to the organization. The map is about a person’s commitment to the organization and where they are in their life. What I found to be an especially good point is at the very end of the article in which Polivy quotes her friend as saying, “If you think about CULTIVATING the next gift, the emphasis shifts to what their generosity will do in the FUTURE. It also invites conversation versus presentation. A donor might not have much to say about what you have have done, but will probably have lots to say about your organization’s hopes and dreams.” This idea of discussing the future with donors is a great way of getting ideas to better ones organizations and of raising money for those ideas. I think we could all benefit from looking at the donor lifecycle map and incoroprating it into all of our ideas for future fundraising.
