LYBUNT and SYBUNT: the two lists to pull before year-end.

LYBUNT donors gave last year and have not given yet this year. SYBUNT donors gave in some earlier year, but not last year and not this year. Pull both lists in October, thank the people on them before you ask, and your year-end appeal starts with the warmest names you have.

What the two lists are

LYBUNT stands for Last Year But Unfortunately Not This year. These are people who said yes to you twelve months ago. They know your work, they trusted you once recently, and many of them simply have not gotten around to it yet. Plenty give every December and look missing in October only because of the calendar.

SYBUNT stands for Some Year But Unfortunately Not This year. Some people define it as anyone who gave in any past year and not this one, which swallows the LYBUNT list whole. It is more useful to keep them apart: SYBUNT is everyone who gave in an earlier year, did not give last year, and has not given this year. That way nobody sits on both lists, and each list gets its own message.

A SYBUNT donor is usually a lapsed donor. They are colder than LYBUNT. They are still warmer than anyone who has never heard of you, and they cost nothing to find.

Why before year-end

Many donors make most of their giving decisions in the last weeks of the year. If the first thing a LYBUNT donor hears from you since last year's receipt is a December appeal, it reads like a bill. If they hear a thank-you in October and a short story in November, the December ask reads like the next part of a conversation.

There is a second reason. Pulling the lists in October gives you time to fix what you find: bad addresses, a donor who died, a couple listed twice, someone who asked not to be mailed. In December there is no time for any of that.

How to pull both lists from a gifts export

You need one export with three columns: donor, gift date and amount. Every giving tool can produce one, whether gifts come in by cheque, Stripe, PayPal, Givebutter or Square. If gifts live in more than one place, stack the exports into one sheet first.

1. Open the export in Excel or Google Sheets. Add a column called Year and fill it with the year of each gift date.
2. Clean the donor column. Merge obvious duplicates ("Bob Smith" and "Robert Smith" at one address) so each person has one name.
3. Make a pivot table. Donor in the rows, Year in the columns, sum of Amount in the values.
4. Filter for LYBUNT: last year's column has an amount and this year's column is blank.
5. Filter for SYBUNT: last year and this year are both blank, and at least one earlier year has an amount.
6. Copy each filtered list to its own tab. Add a column for the date of the last gift and the amount of the last gift.

Pick the year that matches how you report. If your fiscal year ends June 30, "this year" means since July 1, and the lists change on that date instead of January 1.

How to sort and segment

Sort each list by the size of the last gift, largest first. Then cut it into groups you can actually work:

• The top twenty of LYBUNT. These get a personal call from you or a board member. Twenty calls is two afternoons.
• The rest of LYBUNT. These get a personal note or a short email from a real person, then the appeal.
• Last year's first-time donors. Pull them out of LYBUNT into their own group. They have only given once, and a second gift is the one that matters most. Read more about the second gift.
• Monthly donors whose card stopped. If someone gave every month last year and then stopped, they belong in a separate list for a phone call about the card, not an appeal.
• SYBUNT, sorted by most recent gift. Someone who last gave three years ago is warmer than someone who last gave six years ago. Start with the recent ones.

What to say

Thank first. Ask second. Never the other way round.

The first contact with a LYBUNT donor is a thank-you that asks for nothing. Name last year's gift and say one specific thing it did. "Your gift last spring paid for the bus for our summer program. Twelve kids got to camp who would not have." Then ask what they care about now, and listen. That is stewardship, and it is the step most small shops skip.

Then, in the year-end appeal, mention last year's gift by name and amount. "Last year you gave $250. Would you consider doing the same again before December 31?" Asking for the same amount, or a little more, works better than a blank form.

For SYBUNT, be honest about the gap. "It has been a while, and we wanted you to know what has happened since you last gave." Share one story, then make the ask. Keep it short.

After every gift, send a prompt thank-you. For a single gift of $250 or more, the IRS expects a written acknowledgment letter before the donor files. Check with your accountant on the details for your organization.

A simple calendar for October to December

• First week of October. Pull both lists. Clean duplicates and addresses. Pull out last year's first-time donors.
• Second and third weeks of October. Call the top twenty LYBUNT donors to say thank you. No ask. Write down what each one told you.
• Late October. Send a handwritten note or a personal email to the rest of LYBUNT, with one short story.
• Early November. Send a short update to SYBUNT: one story, no ask.
• Mid to late November. Finish the year-end letter. Make a version for LYBUNT that names last year's gift, and one for SYBUNT.
• First week of December. Send the appeal. Thank every gift within two days.
• Mid December. Pull LYBUNT again. Anyone still on it gets a short personal reminder.
• Last week of December. One final note to LYBUNT only, then stop.

In Steward

Under Reports, the "Who stopped giving" group holds LYBUNT, SYBUNT, lapsed donors and retention. Every figure opens to the donors behind it, and each list downloads as a CSV or PDF. If you are still on a spreadsheet, the free LYBUNT and SYBUNT finder builds both lists from your own export.

Whichever tool you use, do the first step this week. Pull the LYBUNT list, sort it by last year's gift, and read the top twenty names out loud. Most of them are not gone. They are waiting to hear from you, and the only way to know which ones are truly slipping is to look.

Terms in this articleLYBUNTSYBUNTYear-end appealLapsed donorAcknowledgment letterStewardship