There are three ways to upgrade a donors. The first two are obvious — we move them to give again or to give more — either by our success or by their capacity. The second is less obvious but far more important — the transition from donor to raiser.
Most people feel comfortable giving in a certain amount. You can look at three people on a public disclosure form who all gave $1000, and you can see one person give $100 10 times, one person give $250 4 times, and 1 person give $1000 once. As a general rule, it is easy to move people to give their preferred amount again, but difficult to get them to give more.
But how to you know if you are at someone's preferred amount?
Asking someone to give more than they gave last time is at the heart of why Upgrade is an important step. Existing donors are the easiest people to ask for more money because you know they are bought in, you know they give, and you know how to contact them. So any time you can increase your ask you are likely to bring in far more money
How to know when to ask for more?
Look for small donations from likely higher earning professions. $20 from a software engineer, $30 from a lawyer, and craft an ask more in like with .5%-1% of their income. Many people do not know how much to give to political races, so they may have given you $50 at a house party, unaware that everyone else there was giving $500 each.
As discussed previously, deadlines are an amazing motivator. If you are approaching a deadline or it is deadline day, you can ask you donors, especially larger ones to make bigger contributions.
This is where note taking and tracking your calls plays an important role. If someone is starting a fancy new job in a month, make sure you call them back then and ask for more. If someone tells you that they are looking to buy a house in June, call them back in July after they have closed and ask for more.
For people who's networks exceed their personal giving capacity, raising is an excellent option. Raising can take many forms: