Fundraising is a vital activity for any nonprofit organization, but it can also be challenging and time-consuming. How can you attract new donors, keep them engaged, and encourage them to increase their support over time? In this article, we will share some effective strategies to retain and upgrade your donors, based on the best practices of philanthropy.
The first step to retaining and upgrading your donors is to know who they are, what they care about, and why they support your cause. You can use various tools and methods to collect and analyze data on your donors, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, social media, and donor management software. By understanding your donors' motivations, preferences, and behaviors, you can segment them into different groups and tailor your communication and outreach accordingly.
An example of segmentation that is easy to do for even the smallest nonprofit organization is to keep track of where and when your donors were engaged. Did they attend a gala or other type of event and what was the giving opportunity? Did they respond to an email or direct mail piece and what was the ask? Were they part of a face-to-face meeting and who met with them about what? By tracking these pieces of information we can learn two things. First, what strategies have worked in the past, and where we can leverage those strengths to enhance future growth. Second, we can have a general sense of communication channels and issue preferences. It is helpful to retention and upgrade efforts to lean into the reasons why someone gave.
The second step to retaining and upgrading your donors is to cultivate long-term relationships with them, based on trust, respect, and gratitude. You can do this by providing regular updates on your impact, sending personalized thank-you notes, inviting them to events and activities, and soliciting their feedback and input. You can also use storytelling techniques to showcase the stories of the people and communities you serve, and how your donors' contributions make a difference. By making your donors feel valued and appreciated, you can increase their loyalty and commitment to your cause.
The rich data and academic work on donor retention helps us to understand what factors are within our control and what factors are not. For example, consistent and intentional communication with donors is within our control. Moving out of town or change in job status is not. My thesis is that donors often make quick decisions to support an organization but also quickly forget why they gave. Our goal as a nonprofit is to keep reminding them of what they did, why it was good, and why they should keep doing it.
The third step to retaining and upgrading your donors is to ask them for more support, when the time is right. You can do this by identifying the signs of readiness, such as increased engagement, positive feedback, or repeated giving. You can also use different strategies to motivate your donors to give more, such as matching gifts, challenges, campaigns, or recognition programs. You can also offer them different options to increase their support, such as recurring donations, planned giving, or sponsorships. By asking for more in a respectful and compelling way, you can maximize your fundraising potential and grow your donor base.
Once you know why someone made their first gift and have evidence of a second or third gift, you should have a sense of their motivations so that you can better select their next step in the engagement continuum. While additional giving is an obvious next step, either to give again or give more, don't forget that forming that memory muscle of the donor can be exercised in non-financial ways. Ask them to volunteer, become and advocate, attend an event, or simply to share your content on social media.
The fourth step to retaining and upgrading your donors is to measure and improve your performance and results. You can do this by setting clear and realistic goals, tracking and evaluating your progress, and reporting your outcomes and impact. You can also use different metrics and indicators to measure your donor retention and upgrade rates, such as donor lifetime value, donor churn rate, or average gift size. By measuring and improving your fundraising efforts, you can identify your strengths and weaknesses, and make informed decisions to optimize your strategies and tactics.
There's a perspective that all donors are good donors. And while there is some truth to that and we would never want to exclude anyone from philanthropy, there are some gifts that we pursue that are actually not in our best interests. Your data will bear out the specific insight but some one-time gifts, often tied to a premium, can actually sit on your list unnecessarily. I remember a donor telling someone that they contributed to get a CD and didn't want to give again. It's important to respect that and consider whether that appeal strategy is the right one for your organization.
The fifth step to retaining and upgrading your donors is to learn from others who have successfully done it before. You can do this by researching and studying the best practices and case studies of other nonprofit organizations, especially those in your field or sector. You can also network and collaborate with other fundraisers, experts, and mentors, and exchange ideas and insights. By learning from others, you can discover new and innovative ways to retain and upgrade your donors, and avoid common pitfalls and mistakes.
Every person and organization should lean into learning. Where we can fall into a trap is when we assume that what worked for the organization down the street will work for us. The copycat syndrome causes problems when we don't have sufficient data or detail on what made something successful. Often that context is why an idea succeeds in one organization but fails in another. Likewise, we should look at both our own failures and those of others as an opportunity to learn and test. A failed idea elsewhere could easily be successful for us with some modifications.
The sixth and final step to retaining and upgrading your donors is to experiment and innovate with your fundraising methods and approaches. You can do this by testing and trying out different ideas, tools, and platforms, and seeing what works best for your organization and your donors. You can also adapt and adjust your strategies and tactics according to the changing needs and expectations of your donors, and the evolving trends and opportunities in the philanthropy sector. By experimenting and innovating, you can keep your fundraising fresh and exciting, and stand out from the crowd.