What Is a Lapsed Donor? LYBUNT and SYBUNT Explained

If you've ever sat in on a fundraising workshop, someone has probably said "pull your LYBUNTs" as if everyone knows what that means. It sounds like a sandwich. It's actually one of the most useful lists in your donor data.

Here's the direct answer. A lapsed donor is someone who gave to your organization in the past but hasn't given in the current period. LYBUNT and SYBUNT are two ways of sorting those donors by how recently they gave. LYBUNT means "Last Year But Unfortunately Not This year." SYBUNT means "Some Year But Unfortunately Not This year," meaning they gave in an earlier year, but not last year or this one. The distinction matters because the two groups need different messages, and one is much easier to bring back than the other.

What is a lapsed donor?

A lapsed donor is a past donor who has gone quiet. Most organizations use the calendar or fiscal year as the line: if someone gave in a previous year and hasn't given this year, they're lapsed (or on their way).

There's no official rule for when "late" becomes "lapsed." A donor who gives every December isn't lapsed in October; they're just not due yet. That's why it helps to look at each donor's usual pattern, not only the calendar. We cover that in how to spot donors about to lapse.

What does LYBUNT mean?

LYBUNT donors gave last year and haven't given yet this year. They're your most recent lapsed (or lapsing) donors.

This is the list to watch most closely through the second half of the year. Many LYBUNT donors simply haven't gotten around to it yet. Others drifted because they never heard what their last gift accomplished. Either way, the relationship is fresh enough that a good note can make a real difference.

What does SYBUNT mean?

SYBUNT donors gave in some earlier year, but not last year and not this year. They've been gone at least a full year, often longer.

SYBUNT donors are harder to bring back. They may have moved, changed their giving priorities, or simply forgotten the connection. That doesn't mean they're worthless to contact. It means you'll be reintroducing yourself, not picking up a conversation.

A worked example

Say it's October 2026. Here are four donors:

Donor	Gave in 2024	Gave in 2025	Gave in 2026	Group
Ana	Yes	Yes	Yes	Current donor
Ben	No	Yes	No	LYBUNT
Carla	Yes	No	No	SYBUNT
Dev	Yes	Yes	No	LYBUNT (and a multi-year donor)

Dev deserves special attention. Someone who gave two years in a row and then stopped is often the most valuable person on the LYBUNT list. Repeat donors retained at 59.3% in 2025, according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, so a gap from a repeat donor is unusual and worth a personal note.

Why the distinction matters

The longer a donor has been gone, the harder they are to win back. The Fundraising Effectiveness Project found that only 3.0% of lapsed donors were recaptured in 2025. That figure covers lapsed donors broadly; in practice, recently lapsed donors respond far better than people who've been gone for years.

So the practical order of operations is:

1. Watch LYBUNT donors before they become SYBUNT. Every LYBUNT donor who doesn't give by year-end becomes a SYBUNT donor next year, and the odds drop.
2. Prioritize multi-year donors within LYBUNT. Their gap is the most unusual and usually the most fixable.
3. Treat SYBUNT as a gentler, longer-term effort. A good reintroduction is worth sending. Expect fewer replies.

How to pull your LYBUNT and SYBUNT lists from a spreadsheet

You don't need special software. If you have a sheet of gifts with a donor name (or ID) and a gift date, you can do this in under an hour.

1. Clean up duplicates first. "Bob Smith" and "Robert Smith" at the same address are one donor. Duplicates will scramble your lists.
2. Add a year column to your gifts sheet, pulled from the gift date.
3. Build a donor summary with one row per donor and three columns: gave last year (yes/no), gave this year (yes/no), and gave in any earlier year (yes/no). A pivot table or a COUNTIFS formula per column works.
4. Filter:
   • LYBUNT = gave last year is yes, gave this year is no.
   • SYBUNT = gave last year is no, gave this year is no, gave earlier is yes.
5. Add the last gift date and amount to each row so you can see who was most recent and most generous.

If your fiscal year isn't the calendar year, use fiscal years throughout. The same method also gives you your retention numbers; see how to calculate donor retention rate.

What to send LYBUNT donors

The most common mistake with LYBUNT donors is sending them an appeal that sounds like nothing happened. "We haven't heard from you this year" reads as a scolding, even when it isn't meant that way.

Instead, lead with progress. What did their last gift accomplish? What's happened since?

Hi Ben,

Last fall your gift helped us open a second weekly tutoring night at the Eastside branch. That night now serves 18 kids, and three of them moved up a full reading level this spring. I wanted you to know what you started.

If you'd like to help keep it going this year, here's the link. Either way, thank you.

Maria

Notice the ask is there, but it's gentle and it comes after the news. Penelope Burk's research found donors want to know what their last gift accomplished before they're asked for another, and LYBUNT donors are exactly the people who may never have heard.

What to send SYBUNT donors

SYBUNT donors need a reintroduction. Assume they don't remember the details, and don't guilt them for the gap.

• Remind them of the connection. "You gave to our garden program back in 2023."
• Share one big thing that's changed. A new program, a milestone, a number they'll care about.
• Make the invitation easy and low-key. A small, specific way to come back.

Send one or two of these a year, not a monthly drip. If someone hasn't responded after a couple of thoughtful notes over a year or two, it's fine to let them rest. Our guide to winning back lapsed donors has a full letter and advice on when to stop.

Where Perennial fits

Perennial Giving sorts your donors automatically, so you don't have to rebuild LYBUNT and SYBUNT lists each year. More usefully, it flags donors as they drift, with a plain reason ("Gave in 2024 and 2025. No gift yet this year."), and drafts a progress-first note in your voice for you to approve. You can do the same with the spreadsheet method above. The point is to look before year-end, while LYBUNT donors are still recent.

Two lists worth knowing

LYBUNT and SYBUNT sound like jargon, but they answer a plain question: who used to give, and how long ago? Pull the LYBUNT list a few times a year and treat it as people who probably still care but haven't heard enough. Send them progress first. Reintroduce yourself, kindly, to the SYBUNT list. And the more often you tell donors what their gifts did, the shorter both lists get.