Rohan Adeyemi · 8 June 2026
Donor pyramids that do not scold smaller gifts
A pyramid with a sharp point and a wide base can look like a ranking of moral worth. Regular givers who send £8 a month already know they are not the point. They do not need a drawing that says it again.
When a charity asks for a pyramid as part of donor engagement reporting, we set bands that match the asks you actually print: the monthly form, the £50 spring letter, the conversation you have with people who have given a significant gift. Invented bands such as ‘principal’ and ‘leadership’ belong in textbooks, not in a letter to Pembrokeshire.
Put the count of people next to the pounds. A band with twelve givers and a large total is a different story from a band with four hundred givers and the same total. Boards mix those stories up if you only print pounds.
We leave the smallest band as people, not as a residue. If you have a Friends scheme, name it. If you have a collecting tin at the shop, name that too, even if the amount is modest. Omitting it makes the tin volunteers feel like a rounding error.
Some years a pyramid is the wrong shape. A year dominated by one legacy should be a note and a bar, not a triangle that makes every living giver look small. Shape follows the year you actually had.