It is always better to be pro-active in updating donors, before and after the ASK, so that trust is established ahead of time. Once there is trust, and the donor is assured that you will keep him or her updated, the donor would typically be very reasonable. To have a situation where donor overwhelms one with update requests implies that not enough effort had been placed into building trust and managing expectations.

When you start the relationship, ensure you send a survey that asks these valuable questions so you can serve them in the most meaningful ways. Be sure it’s followed up on - if they answer it, follow up with a one pager on their area of interest. If they don’t, follow up via phone and email to try to get answers. Be proactive and put the donor at the center of the work so they don’t have to come to you after the fact.

Transparency is key when managing expectations. By doing this, you build trust and you reassure donors that their support remains a priority. This means acknowledging their requests and communicating realistic timelines. I encourage setting proactive measures to collect/share updates, because some donors want to come along for the ride. They want to be a part of the experience— even if it’s virtual. As a nonprofit organization, if you focus on the end-to-end donor experience, this will set you far ahead because many organizations don’t spend enough time on the experience

This is a always a positive sign when donors are engaged and want regular updates, however this could potentially mean additional work for the philanthropic organisation. My suggestions would be to set clear expectations early in the journey and send this in writing, stick with your original plan and do provide timely updates (as scheduled and communicated). If you have a win-win story or data, make an exception and share this with the donor - this will be considered a 'value-add'. Tips - Use AI to create templates, so you can populate data easily. Calendar reminders two days in advance so you can prep. Block time in your diaries to do these updates. In my experience, this helps to build trust and credibility and a robust future!