How a Capital Campaign “Ask Strategy” Lifted Small-Dollar Donor Revenue by +253% at Year-End
By Greg Colunga
When year-end approaches, every nonprofit feels the pressure: hit the number, close strong, finish well.
With that in mind, I wanted to share a study that can help you raise more money this year — not by spending more or adding new tactics, but simply by asking in a more human way.
Years ago, our team tested a simple idea to see whether the way we ask small-dollar donors could change how they respond.
We adapted a principle from capital campaign fundraising campaigns that helps donors see exactly how their gift fits into the bigger picture.
The concept is often referred to as the “Chart of Standards,” or “Gift Table.”
We primarily theorized that this way of breaking down our campaign goal in communications to donors within our year-end fundraising campaign could make donors feel more empowered to say “yes” at the amount that we were asking them to give at because it was more relevant to them, and more attainable.
Let’s take a look at the approach we took, but first, we need to examine the way a “Chart of Standards” or “Gift Table” strategy works.
The Chart of Standards Idea
If your organization is running a $10,000,000 capital campaign, most consultants will advise their clients to break down the large goal into a table that shows how many gifts are needed at each level to reach the total.
Here is an example of that broken down:
| # of Gifts | Gift Amount | Total from Level | Cumulative Amount | % of Goal |
| 1 | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | 25% |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $4,500,000 | 45% |
| 3 | $500,000 | $1,500,000 | $6,000,000 | 60% |
| 5 | $250,000 | $1,250,000 | $7,250,000 | 73% |
| 8 | $100,000 | $800,000 | $8,050,000 | 81% |
| 15 | $50,000 | $750,000 | $8,800,000 | 88% |
| 25 | $25,000 | $625,000 | $9,425,000 | 94% |
| 40 | $10,000 | $400,000 | $9,825,000 | 98% |
| 65 | $2,500 | $162,500 | $9,987,500 | 99% |
| many | < $2,500 | $12,500 | $10,000,000 | 100% |
This structure breaks big, intimidating goals into much smaller, actionable gift amounts within the mind of the prospective donor.
Effectively, it helps donors to visualize their part in making the campaign succeed.
It gives meaning and purpose to their contribution to the greater campaign’s success — even if it’s at a tiny percentage of the overall goal that we hope to raise.
But, just because this is how most capital campaigns raise the money they need to achieve their goals, it doesn’t follow that this concept would work with donors who are asked to give at much smaller gift amounts.
So, we wanted to conduct an experiment throughout the campaign to see how donors presented this kind of appeal would behave within the context of the year-end fundraising campaign.
Testing the Concept with Small-Dollar Donors
The organization we conducted this experiment with had a stated goal of $500,000 for their year-end campaign.
Within the messaging for the “control” segment, we published the large goal and invited donors to consider making a year-end gift today to help the organization reach that goal (of $500,000).
Within the messaging for the “treatment” segment, we reframed the ask into something smaller, specific, and achievable based upon the donor’s previous giving history.
Determining What to Ask For Within the Treatment Segment
We analyzed each donor’s giving history and identified their highest previous contribution (HPC).
Then we set a personalized “target ask amount” that nudged them just slightly higher — always within a range that would feel natural and/or achievable.
Here is (roughly) what we asked donors for within the treatment segment based upon their previous HPC amount.
HPC Amount (Range) | Target Ask Amount |
$0 - $25 | $50 |
$25 - $50 | $75 |
$50 - $75 | $100 |
$75 - $125 | $150 |
$125 - $200 | $300 |
$200 - $300 | $500 |
Etc. | Etc. |
We then updated the organization’s donation pages so each donor saw a suggested giving array centered around their personalized ask.
For example, a donor whose HPC was between $0 and $25, upon clicking the link within the email to go to the campaign’s donation page, they would see a gift array on the donation form that started at their “target ask amount”, then scale upwards in a reasonable way from there.
Specifically, this donor would have seen a donation form that displayed these three options:
$50 / $75 / $100.
With the setup and quality control testing for the experiment’s treatment segment completed, all that remained was to make sure that the email appeals matched the strategy.
How We Asked
All parts of the email appeals were identical between both the control and treatment messages. The only difference between the two segments of the campaign was simply the way we asked for money within the appeal.
In the control, donors saw a standard appeal language, long used by the organization:
“Will you make a special year-end contribution today to help organize these crucial training sessions throughout the coming months to train future leaders through the [organization name]?”
In the treatment, I grounded the ask in a micro-goal — like we would in the gift table:
“To secure the resources to achieve this goal, we need 10 generous supporters who will step up today and give $50 or more to train more future leaders through the [organization name].”
Same campaign. Same goal. Just a more specific, tangible and relevant ask amount was requested within the treatment segment.
The Results
The difference was dramatic.
By setting a micro-goal, the treatment drove a +252.7% lift in revenue per visitor — a statistically valid result at the 100% confidence level.
Here is what we discovered when the test had concluded:
Variant | Rev / Visitor | Rel. Diff. | Confidence. | Avg. Gift |
Control | $0.54 | — | — | — |
Treatment | $1.91 | +257.7% | 100% | $299.53 |
Breaking down the “big number” didn’t just move conversion rates slightly — it tripled revenue and nearly tripled the average gift.
The Behavioral Shift
Why did it work?
When we tell donors, “Help us raise $500,000 by year-end,” most people subconsciously tune out. Their $25 or $50 feels too small to matter against such a huge goal.
But when we say, “We need 10 people to give $50,” the framing changes completely in the mind of the donor:
- It feels achievable — “I can be one of ten.”
- It feels personal — “This is the kind of gift I can give.”
- It feels impactful — “My part actually matters.”
That small shift reframes giving from obligation to participation — helping donors feel that their contribution genuinely matters and is deeply valued.
The Takeaway
Donors give when they see themselves as part of the story.
Large institutional goals rarely inspire; micro-goals invite action.
This experiment helped reinforce some key principles for our team, which are:
- Clarity beats ambiguity.
- Specificity beats generalities.
- Relevance beats insignificance.
- Meaning beats pointlessness.
When your message moves from “we need $500,000” to “we need 10 people to give $50,” you turn abstract urgency into something tangible and “do-able.”
And the data says it works — a +252.7% revenue lift when using this approach.
Final Thought
If your organization is setting an ambitious fundraising goal this year-end, try viewing it through the donor’s eyes.
A big number may feel exciting to you — but for your donors, it might feel unattainable.
With a little bit of thoughtful segmentation and empathy, you can turn that mountain into a clear next step they’ll gladly take with you.
Because sometimes, raising more money isn’t about asking harder — it’s about asking better.
And really, this approach is human-first, because it understands and is empathetic to what matters most to the donor — not just what matters to us fundraisers.
We care about our goal. But the donor doesn’t necessarily share that care with us.
They do care, but only insofar as they can participate in the achievement of your goals and the outcomes those goals aim to solve within the world we share together with them.
All the best,
— GC
Greg Colunga
Managing Partner
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