Any gift above the board's major-gift threshold, or a first gift from a company, sends the director a WhatsApp alert with the donor's giving history within minutes of reaching the donor CRM, and a call task due within 24 hours is created.
Typical results
Under 5 min
From a major gift landing to the director's alert
100%
Major gifts with a call task on the donor record
≈7 pts
Higher repeat-giving rate among major donors
Figures reflect typical results for this kind of automation.
The challenge
Large gifts arrive with everything else through the online page, bank transfers and checks, and with a two-person team they sit in the CRM unnoticed for days. By the time anyone calls, the donor has had only the standard receipt. Donors who hear nothing personal after a large gift are far less likely to give at that level again.
Before and after
Days from a major gift to a personal call
−83%Major donors giving again the next year
+16%Major gifts with no personal contact per quarter
−100%The automation
Make watches new gifts in the donor CRM. Any gift above the threshold the board sets, or a first gift from a company, triggers a WhatsApp alert to the director with the donor's name, amount, campaign and giving history. A call task due within 24 hours is created on the donor record, and the fundraising team gets an email with the donor's latest notes, so every large gift gets a personal call on top of the standard receipt.
How it works
- 01
New gift lands in the CRM
Gifts from the donation page, bank transfers and checks entered by staff all reach the donor CRM, where Make checks each one.
- 02
Threshold and company check
A gift is flagged when it is above the board's major-gift threshold or is the first gift from a company.
- 03
WhatsApp alert to the director
The director gets the donor's name, amount, campaign and giving history on WhatsApp within minutes.
- 04
Call task created
A call task due within 24 hours is added to the donor record and assigned to the director.
- 05
Team copied with notes
The fundraising team gets an email with the donor's latest notes, so whoever makes the call knows the history.
Starts from
- New gifts in the donor CRM
- Major-gift threshold
Delivers
- WhatsApp alert to director
- Call task due in 24 hours
- Donor notes to the team
The impact
Every major gift gets a personal thank-you call within 24 hours, usually the same day. Corporate first gifts are picked up while the contact is still engaged, nothing large slips past during busy appeal weeks, and the share of major donors who give again the next year rises by about 7 points.
Questions about this automation
Who sets the major-gift threshold?
The charity does, usually as a board decision, and it is a single value in a settings sheet that can change at any time. Some charities use two levels, alerting the fundraising manager for mid-level gifts and the director only above the higher one, with the same call task and notes.
What if the director is away?
An out-of-office switch in the settings sheet sends alerts and call tasks to a deputy instead, such as the fundraising manager or the board chair. The call task moves with the alert, so the 24-hour deadline still holds while the director is out, and the director sees the full history on return.
How is it tested before real gifts trigger it?
A test gift or two above the threshold, entered in the donor CRM, confirms that the WhatsApp alert, the call task and the team email all arrive. The setup needs CRM access, the threshold, the director's WhatsApp number and the team's email addresses. Simple automations like this are usually live within days.