Get Off The Donor Cycle Merry-Go-Round

How To Make Your Moves Actually Go Somewhere

An organization called me in to assess their fundraising program. At first glance, the team looked unstoppable: full days of coffees, convenings, and correspondences. They were impressively busy.

But despite all this noise and activity, results weren’t keeping pace.

So I asked a pointed question. “Who is actually moving closer to a major gift?”

The room went silent.

I have heard that silence from plenty of professionals. They were realizing that even with calendars packed with interactions, they weren’t meeting their mark. They had mistaken motion for action.

Many hard-working development teams seem to ride the donor cycle around like a merry-go-round and expect a gift when the carousel stops. But that’s not how it works. It’s not a transaction.

What matters isn’t the number of things you do; it’s the strategy. Moves management is the deliberate process of guiding donors toward deeper engagement. It turns isolated actions into a purposeful sequence that strengthens relationships and sustains support.

This allows an organization to meet each individual or institution where they are, with thoughtful, tailored cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts.

Behind the scenes, it’s all about discipline: tracking progress, managing data, and transforming insights into action through consistent follow-up and meaningful engagement.

Moves management isn’t about how many coffees you schedule. It’s about knowing which interactions actually bring a donor closer to your mission, your programs, and your community. Which relationships are building authentic commitment.

So how do you know?

Three Questions To Make Moves Management Strategic

With this client, I started with the question, “Who belongs in our moves management system?” Not every donor needs the same level of attention. A supporter who gave $500 a year and was already at capacity belonged in a steady stewardship track. A prospect who gave $5,000 but could give $100,000 belonged in a major gifts strategy.

So segmentation comes first: using wealth screening, research, and judgment to sort donors by potential and actual giving. Only then could we focus on the segment with the greatest opportunity for growth.

From there, we asked a second question: “What was the goal with each of these donors?” If they said “to get more donations,” I buzzed an imaginary buzzer. More specific! Define precise finish lines, like securing a three-year pledge or inviting them into event leadership. Then we could choreograph a sequence of steps to get there: a site visit to spark emotion, a peer conversation to build credibility, and a tailored ask delivered at the right point in the relationship.

The third question would be ongoing: “How did the last interaction go?” Every two weeks, the staff sat down to review progress. If a move stalled, they asked why. If a conversation went well, they mapped the logical next step right away. Within a year, several lapsed mid-level donors had become cornerstone multi-year supporters, and the major donor list had expanded significantly.

The work didn’t change overnight, but the pattern did.

Try It And See

If you want to try this in your own shop, start small. Pick five donors or prospects, a mix of people with both the means and the motivation to care about your work, but who aren’t yet giving at their full potential. Then follow these steps for each one:

• Write a single, clear goal. Not “increase support,” but something specific: “Secure a two-year pledge at $5,000.” That sentence becomes your north star.

  
  

• Then, sketch out three thoughtful moves that could naturally lead there. Maybe it’s a coffee with the Executive Director to spark connection, a story that ties to their personal passion, and an introduction to a board member who can speak as a peer.

  
  

• If all signs point toward readiness, plan for a solicitation—but only when the moment feels earned, not engineered.

  
  

• Assign real ownership to the steps. This is where many teams wobble. The overloaded Executive Director can’t do everything (is there such a thing as an underloaded ED?), so break down the work. Strip away anything that can be done by someone else: drafting the email, prepping the talking points, scheduling the meeting. Progress depends on delegation and momentum.

  
  

• Two weeks later, bring everyone back together for a short check-in. Pull out the list: What moved forward? What stalled? What surprised you? This rhythm, simple, recurring, and curious, turns a good idea into an operating system.

And as you go, track what you’re learning. Which donors light up around data? Which ones respond to emotion or peer leadership? Those insights are gold. They don’t just improve your next move; they sharpen your instincts about what makes people give, stay, and grow.

In time, you’ll see the pattern shift. Donor meetings stop feeling random. Follow-ups happen faster. The team starts to anticipate the next step instead of reacting to the last one. That’s when you’ll know it’s working: not because you’ve added more activity, but because you’ve built a habit of successful donor engagement.

An Invitation to Go Deeper

Because advancing an individual major donor program is where many teams get stuck, I’m hosting a hands-on webinar: The Art and Science of Moves Management.

It’s limited to 6-8 participants, and each person will send me one real challenge from their portfolio before the webinar so that we can work through ideas together and present it to the group. We’ll workshop practical solutions you can use right away. If you’ve ever wondered whether your “moves” are actually moving anyone, this is your chance to find out.

Friday, November 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM ET

Register Now!

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Not My First Rotary

I’ll never forget the morning my daughter bounded out of the car on school picture day, certain she’d ace her vocab quiz because, as she put it, “I have a photogenic memory.”

Thankfully, “photogenic” wasn’t on the quiz. Meanwhile, in fundraising, a “photogenic” approach—one that just looks good—won’t cut it. The goal is, you might say, a photographic one: seeing your donors sharply, in focus, and in motion toward something meaningful.

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