Dead Address or Lapsed Donor? Cleaning a Donor List After Years of Neglect
Verification tells you which donor addresses cannot receive mail; it does not tell you who is lapsed. Remove or suppress the first group, and run a re-engagement series for the second. Mixing them up costs you donors: a lapsed donor with a working address is worth a second message, and a dead address is not. The email verification for nonprofits page covers the check, and the email list cleaner handles the first pass.
Step 1: export and merge
Pull records from your donor database and any event or petition sheets. Merge duplicates with the duplicate email remover. Our guide to cleaning a nonprofit donor list without losing donors covers the database side.
Step 2: verify every address
Upload the CSV on the verify page. Reasons you will see:
| Reason | Group | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Mailbox not found, No mail server | Dead address | Suppress; look for another contact route |
| Typo domain | Dead, but fixable | Correct and re-check |
| Disposable address | Weak contact | Suppress from appeals |
| Accepts all addresses, Role address | Reachable but unconfirmed | Send gently, in small batches |
| Valid | Reachable | Into the main list |
Step 3: use other contact routes for dead addresses
A donor with a dead address may still have a phone number or a postal address. Treat the email as lost, not the person. Keep the record and mark the email as failed.
Step 4: re-engage the reachable lapsed
Send a short update on what their past gifts did. The re-engagement campaign guide covers sequencing, and the sunset policy guide shows when to stop sending to people who never respond.
Step 5: record the date
Note when each address was last checked. Next year you only re-check the old ones. The list decay calculator helps estimate how often.
What this cannot do
- A valid address does not mean the donor is still interested.
- Yahoo and AOL accept mail for any address during the check, and Microsoft consumer mailboxes are not probed, so those rows come back risky.
- It does not check consent; your own opt-in records do that.
Clean your donor list
Upload it on the verify page: the first 100 checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card. See list cleaning and pricing.
Common questions
What is the difference between a lapsed donor and a dead address?
A lapsed donor can still receive your email but has stopped giving. A dead address cannot receive mail at all. Verification finds the second group so you can work on the first.
Should I remove lapsed donors from my list?
Not because they lapsed. Remove addresses that cannot receive mail, and treat the lapsed ones with a re-engagement message.
How do I clean a donor list that has not been touched for years?
Export it, merge duplicates, verify every address, suppress invalid rows and send a gentle message to the rest in small batches.
What do risky results mean for donors?
The domain takes mail but the mailbox could not be confirmed. Examples are catch-all domains, role addresses and providers such as Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft consumer mailboxes.
How much does it cost?
The first 100 checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card. Paid plans start monthly and cancel any time; see pricing.
Check your list before you send
Real mailbox checks over SMTP, and nothing is sent to the address. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. Plans for bigger lists are on the pricing page.