Fewer at the top than most people expect, and more at the base than most campaigns plan for.

  • A small group of leadership gifts — often 10–20 households — typically provides 50–60% of total dollars
  • A middle tier of perhaps 40–80 households provides another significant share
  • The remainder comes from a broad base of families, alumni, and friends giving at every level

The feasibility study and campaign plan build you a gift-range chart — one gift at this level, two at that, four at the next — so you know whether you have enough donors at each tier to reach the goal.

The question is never only how many donors. It is whether you have enough at each level of the pyramid and whether everyone has been genuinely invited. At St. Matthew the Apostle in River Ridge, Louisiana, 42% of registered parishioners participated, and the campaign closed at $3,428,000, exceeding the $3.2 million goal.