The Ultimate Guide to Custom Cadences
Staying top of mind with donors takes more than just a single email or phone call—it requires a thoughtful, strategic approach that builds momentum over time. Custom cadences give fundraisers a clear roadmap for engagement, helping them create repeatable, scalable touchpoints that drive real results.
But let’s be real: figuring out exactly what a custom cadence should look like can feel overwhelming. That’s why we’ve put together your ultimate guide to custom cadences, complete with real-world examples that you can put into action today.
What Are Custom Cadences in Fundraising?
Think of cadences as structured outreach sequences that take the guesswork out of intentional, consistent donor engagement. Rather than relying on sporadic touchpoints, fundraisers follow a predefined series of interactions—such as emails, calls, or personalized video messages—to engage with donors at the right time, in the right way.
Custom cadences take this a step further by allowing fundraisers to personalize outreach based on a donor’s unique history, interests, and giving behavior while maintaining scalability, ensuring that engagement feels both strategic and authentic. By blending automation with thoughtful personalization, fundraisers can maintain momentum, strengthen relationships, and move more donors through the pipeline. With tools like Signal by EverTrue, teams can seamlessly create and adjust custom cadences with real time donor insights–, making it easier to deliver timely, relevant engagement at scale, and ensuring no donor falls through the cracks.
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Why Custom Cadences Work
They create a seamless donor experience: Custom cadences provide a scalable framework for outreach while preserving the personal touch that strengthens donor relationships. By balancing automation with meaningful interactions, fundraisers can focus on high-value strategic engagement without losing sight of individual donor needs. In turn? Outreach feels intentional rather than transactional–leading to more meetings, deeper conversations, and bigger gifts.
Real-time adjustment: Signal provides real-time data and insights, allowing your team to monitor engagement and adjust cadences on the fly–whether that means speeding up the cadence, shifting channels, or pivoting the conversation.
They make polite persistence easy: Cadences easily automate polite persistence. It takes an average of 6.5 touchpoints to book a meeting (source: EverTrue data), and cadences make those points of outreach seamless and easy. When executed well, cadences feel less like fundraising and more like relationship-building, making it easier to inspire action.
They result in more meetings: Our research shows that fundraisers trained in cadence-based outreach achieve significantly better results than their peers, logging four times the interactions and securing 2.7 times more donor meetings in their first six months. This success stems from early and consistent exposure to advanced fundraising tools, which streamline engagement and build essential skills.
How Successful Teams Are Using Cadences
Boston University: Polite Persistence Pays Off
Fundraisers at Boston University used the EverTrue cadence to consistently engage an alumnus who had not previously been involved with the university. After the seventh outreach attempt, the donor responded and agreed to a meeting. The result?
- Two separate $100,000 gifts
- A planned gift from his estate
- A re-engaged alum who hadn’t given since 2019.
Persistence pays off. Literally.
Memphis: Cadences That Drive 89% More Qualifications
University of Memphis fundraisers using Signal’s “Book a Meeting” cadence significantly increase their visit numbers and refine their prospect pipeline. Those who followed the cadence outperformed the team average for qualifications by 89% and 143%, allowing them to focus on the most engaged donors. One fundraiser even surpassed her solicitation target ahead of schedule, securing 16 gifts for a new fund with an impressive 41% success rate.
With automated tracking and a clear roadmap for engagement, Signal has helped the team work more efficiently, collaborate seamlessly, and build stronger donor relationships for lasting impact.
USNAF: A 60% Boost In Engagement
By shifting from one-off meeting requests to persistent, strategic engagement through Signal, USNAF saw:
- 60%$ increase in donor engagement
- 50% boost in meetings booked
- 21% growth in their donor recognition society.
Cadences eliminated guesswork, helping them stay organized, track touchpoints, and build a stronger pipeline.
Custom Cadence Examples
General Cadences
Celebrate alumni job changes
Goal: Let alumni know you’re paying attention and care about them through a stewardship cadence that celebrates a new job.
Step 1 (Day 1). Research
Use EverTrue’s filters to identify alumni who’ve changed jobs in the past quarter, are high-performing, and graduated after 2004 and are currently unassigned.
Use EverTrue’s filters to find unassigned, high-performing alumni who graduated after 2004 and have changed jobs in the last quarter.
Step 2 (Day 1). Thankview
Use ThankView to record a video congratulating the alumni on their recent promotion and let them know an engagement officer will be reaching out to learn more.
Step 4 (Day 7). Call
Have a DXO or Alumni Engagement officer reach out via phone call to learn more.
Step 5 (Day 15). Email
Have a DXO or Alumni Engagement officer reach out via email to learn more.
Step 6 (Day 20). Referral
Refer prospects to a Major Gift Officer, solicit for philanthropy, or connect with on-campus partners.
Tip: Don’t forget to focus on young alumni to make sure you’re engaging with the next generation of major gifts prospects!
Gift Anniversaries
Goal: Use the anniversary of a donor’s previous gift as an opportunity to ask them to renew their donation.
Step 1 (Day 1). Email
Acknowledge their past gift, share how they made an impact, and invite them to renew their gift .
Step 2 (Day 7). ThankView
Send a heartfelt and personal thank you video for their previous gift and offer a reminder of the organization’s missions and the impact all gifts make.
Step 3 (Day 14). Email
Share a success story or milestone achieved because of donations and showcase the ongoing work of the organization.
Step 4 (Day 21). Call
Personally check in to express gratitude, ask for any feedback, and discuss options to renew the gift.
Step 5 (Day 28). Email
Update from campus: share a recent article, student story, or big campus event to keep them engaged.
Step 6 (Day 35). Email
Reiterate how their generosity has made a difference and invite them to renew their support.
Cadences By Job Function
For Regional Gift Officers
Engaging Alumni in a Travel Region
Goal: Identify and engage key prospects in a specific region before an upcoming trip.
Step 1 (Day 1) – Identify Prospects
Use Signal’s AI tools to find top-rated, unassigned, or recently engaged donors in the region.
Step 2 (Day 3) – Email
Send a personalized introduction explaining your role and letting them know you’ll be visiting their area. Offer a chance to meet.
Step 3 (Day 5) – LinkedIn Connection
If they’re active on LinkedIn, send a request with a note referencing your email.
Step 4 (Day 7) – Call & Voicemail
Follow up with a warm call inviting them to coffee or a small gathering of alumni in the area.
Step 5 (Day 10) – Event Invitation (If applicable)
If a larger alumni or donor event is planned, send a formal invitation as another opportunity to engage.
Step 6 (Day 14) – ThankView Video
If they’ve expressed interest but haven’t confirmed a meeting, send a friendly video message reinforcing the invite.
Step 7 (Day 18) – Final Outreach Email
A last attempt to connect before your trip, reiterating how much you’d love to meet them in person.
For Major Gift Officers
Major Gift Discovery
Goal: Identify and engage potential major donors
Step 1 (Day 1) – Research:
Use Signal to assess past giving, event attendance, and engagement patterns to identify promising prospects.
Step 2 (Day 2) – Email:
Send a personalized introduction, referencing a shared connection or past involvement, and invite them to meet.
Step 3 (Day 5) – LinkedIn:
Connect on LinkedIn with a short message expressing interest in learning more about their philanthropic interests.
Step 4 (Day 10) – Call:
Reach out directly to introduce yourself, thank them for their past support, and explore their interest in deeper engagement.
Step 5 (Day 14) – ThankView:
A personalized video reinforcing the value of their involvement and extending an invitation for a deeper conversation.
Step 6 (Day 18) – Email:
Follow up with a compelling reason to connect, such as an upcoming campaign or leadership opportunity.
Re-Engaging a Lapsed Major Donor
Goal: Reconnect with a past major donor who hasn’t given in a few years and reintroduce them to current priorities.
Step 1 (Day 1) – Research
Use Signal to review past giving history, event attendance, and past engagement with leadership. Identify potential areas of renewed interest.
Step 2 (Day 3) – Email
Personalized outreach acknowledging their past generosity and impact. Provide a compelling update on a project they supported or a new initiative that aligns with their past interests.
Step 3 (Day 7) – LinkedIn Connection
Send a connection request with a short note referencing your email and an offer to reconnect.
Step 4 (Day 10) – Call & Voicemail
Express gratitude for their past involvement, highlight a key initiative, and invite them to meet for an update.
Step 5 (Day 15) – Leadership Outreach
Assign a task in Signal for a senior leader, such as a dean or VP, to send a personal note or email reinforcing the invitation to connect.
Step 6 (Day 21) – ThankView Video
Send a short, personalized video thanking them for their past generosity and reinforcing the impact they’ve had.
Step 7 (Day 28) – Final Email Follow-Up
A last attempt to set up a conversation, highlighting any upcoming donor events or campus opportunities they might find interesting.
For Leadership Annual Giving
Engaging a New Donor Who Made a First-Time Gift
Goal: Strengthen relationships with first-time leadership-level donors and encourage retention.
Step 1 (Day 1) – Immediate Thank You Email
Acknowledge their leadership gift, share impact details, and introduce yourself as their contact.
Step 2 (Day 5) – ThankView Video
A personal video message from a key institutional leader (dean, director, or VP) thanking them for their generosity.
Step 3 (Day 10) – Call
A warm outreach call to express appreciation and learn more about their interests and motivations for giving.
Step 4 (Day 15) – Exclusive Update Email
Share a behind-the-scenes impact story, special report, or upcoming donor event to keep them engaged.
Step 5 (Day 20) – Invitation to Leadership Society
If applicable, invite them to join a special donor circle or attend an exclusive donor appreciation event.
Step 6 (Day 30) – Personal Mail via Pledgemine
A final personalized touch thanking them again and encouraging continued involvement.
Make Custom Cadences Work for You
Custom cadences aren’t just about sending more emails or making more calls—they’re about building meaningful, lasting relationships with donors.
With Signal by EverTrue, your team can create, adjust, and optimize cadences in real time, ensuring that every outreach is timely, relevant, and effective.
Ready to take the guesswork out of donor engagement? See Signal in Action!
