Summer Isn't Slow. It's Strategic.

Every July, I hear some version of the same thing: "Things are quiet right now with donors. I'll really dig in once Fall hits."

I understand the impulse. But that mindset may be costing you more than you realize.

The major gift fundraisers who end the year strong didn't scramble in October. They spent July and August doing the quiet work — building relationships, cleaning up their thinking, getting honest about what's actually in their portfolio. That's not a coincidence. That's the strategy.

Summer is not dead time. Yes, you may be taking time off for personal vacation, relaxation, and getting recharged. It's the one season where the pace actually lets up enough to think with more clarity. Most of your peers are treating that as a reason to coast. You can treat it as an edge.

Here's what that looks like in practice.

Reconnect without an agenda

Summer may be a natural Ask-free season — and donors can feel the difference between a genuine check-in and one with an agenda hiding behind it. This is the time to grab coffee, take a walk, send a note that references something specific from the last conversation. These moments do more for a donor relationship than another polished meeting ever will.

Not because they're casual. Because they're real.

Clean up your portfolio

This is the work nobody loves — but summer gives you the room to do it.

A list of names you're not actually moving isn't a portfolio; that's just a spreadsheet. Go through your entire portfolio this week and think:

• Is there a plan for every person or household?
• Do some plans needs to be adjusted, with a peer or champion added to help move the relationship?
• Consider the high/ low Ask amount for each person or household, and the timing of the Ask... is there anything you may be able to sharpen or adjust?
• Are new gift support opportunities afoot that may be a values or interest match for a donor or prospect?
• When did you last have a real conversation with this person?
• Most of all, what would it take to have a real conversation again before September?

Be honest. Some donors belong in your active portfolio, working through your Top 10/ Next 20 and then refreshing every 2-3 weeks. Some belong in a stewardship plan. And supporters need to be released so you can focus your energy on the relationships that are actually ready to move. I suggest that if you've had a qualification call but then no contact and no plan for a year, you may need to move them into a mid-level donor pool. Holding a lapsed donor or a prospect in your portfolio because they gave a large gift 7 years ago, but you've done nothing in the last 3 years, that's more of a hope than a plan.

Start shaping your Fall conversations now

By September, you should already know who you're planning to invite into a major gift conversation, roughly what for, and why it's the right moment. That clarity doesn't come in September — it comes from the thinking you do in July.

Keep stewarding — even without a campaign to justify it

Stewardship is one of the portions of the giving cycle that many neglect because there is not a direct return on investment (ROI). A genuine thank-you. A specific update. Proof that the last gift mattered and is having real and meaningful impact. That's what builds the trust that makes the next conversation possible. And it makes the next gift more inevitable.

Stewardship in the summer doesn't need a reason. It needs intention.

Try this before you do anything else this week

Block two or three hours on your calendar for "deep work." Go through your full portfolio of donors (or as many as you can get through in this block of time). For each person, ask yourself honestly: When did we last have a real conversation? What do I know about what matters to them right now? What's the next meaningful step in this relationship?

You don't need more donors this summer. You need to go deeper with the right ones.

If you've ever wanted someone to just tell you what to focus on during a season like this — that's what Major Gifts Catalyst is for. Every month, members know exactly what deserves their attention, so they keep moving donor relationships forward, even in July.

Learn more about Major Gifts Catalyst and how it can boost your major gift success. 

Q: Is it weird to reach out to a donor in July when I have nothing to say — no news, no ask, no campaign?

Not at all. But I want to be clear about something first: this is not permission to send a "just checking in" email.

You know the one. "Hi, just wanted to check in and see how things are going!" No reference to anything specific. No real connection to the donor as a person. Just a vague nudge that most major donors can see right through — because it's really about you needing to log a contact, not about them.

What I'm describing is completely different.

Think about what you actually know about this donor. Did they mention a family milestone? A trip they were looking forward to? Something they were working on? Reference that. Ask how it went.

One fundraiser I coached sent a text in July just to ask how her donor's granddaughter's June wedding had gone — something she'd remembered from their last conversation. The donor wrote back within the hour.

That text had "nothing to say" organizationally — no news, no ask, no campaign. But it said everything that mattered: I was listening. I remember you. I'm thinking about you as a person, not a portfolio entry.

That's the outreach. Specific. Personal. Genuinely about them.

Q: What should I actually be doing in my portfolio this summer if things are genuinely slower?

Summer is the best time to do the portfolio work that gets crowded out during the busier seasons.

Start with honesty. Go through your portfolio and ask: Is this person in my portfolio because they belong there — or because I added them at some point and never removed them? A name you're not actively moving is taking up your focus and a place that could be filled with a prospect that could be better cultivated toward a gift and ongoing support.

Then look for the stewardship gaps. Who has given generously and heard little from you since? Reconnect before you ask anything of them. A summer note — specific, warm, not transactional — can do more for a major gift relationship than a fall meeting ever will.

Finally, start thinking about fall. By September, you want to know who your next major gift conversations will be with, roughly what for, and why now is the right time. That clarity is built in July, not September.

— 

Beth Ann Locke is the founder of The Fundraiser Coach and has been an embedded fundraiser for 30+ years and focused on major gifts for 20 years. She coaches major gift fundraisers and nonprofit leaders to build genuine donor relationships and secure transformational gifts. Learn more at thefundraisercoach.com.