Donor retention – challenge or opportunity?

I watched an interview with Karen E. Osborne recently that was so?powerful. It was part of the DonorSearch Philanthropy Masterminds Series (link at the bottom). I have many takeaways, but I’m going to share just a couple here.

As many fundraisers are aware, donations are down overall. In 2022 donations from individuals dropped by over 13%. That trend continued into 2023. In addition, Giving Tuesday noted that the total number of donors decreased for the third straight year.?

Well, that’s... alarming.? Is there a way you can steer your nonprofit and dodge that trend?

How ‘bout stewardship?

Both Karen and Jay Frost (the interviewer) lamented the poor stewardship they had personally experienced as donors. For example, Karen was a loyal, long-time monthly donor to a particular non-profit. But all she received in return was a thank you note. Likewise, Jay recounted a similar experience with a non-profit that helps people rehab after prison. Although a long-time regular donor, he felt no attempt from the fundraising team to nurture and grow that relationship.

I’ve experienced this myself too. I had - note, past tense - a standing monthly donation to a political cause. Not a huge sum, $25 a month. Like most political organizations, they rarely miss a chance to raise a little more. And that’s fine. The basic donor outreach format for these appeals is quite simple. It’s a three parter:

1. This just happened
2. We need to counter it
3. Please donate

As a marketing professional, there’s a lot I like about that. It’s quick and easy to write. It’s brief and punchy. It has urgency. It definitely has a call to action. But, as the months rolled by, the incessant appeals began to gnaw at me. Here’s the thing: None of those new appeals ever acknowledged that I was a monthly donor. Not one.?

Finally, the moment arrived. I received the regular acknowledgement and “thank you” for my monthly donation. Obviously automated, but that’s OK. Within an hour, a second email arrived from the same organization: This just happened. We need to counter it. Please donate. And the following day: This just happened. We need to counter it. Please, please donate.

And suddenly, just like that, I was done. I canceled my monthly recurring $25.?

Just a tiny tweak...

But this could easily have played out so differently. Drawing from my marketing experience, here’s what I would have done in that fundraiser's shoes:

• Segment my contact list into two groups. Those that donate monthly, and those that do not. Use my CRM, my donor management system, or just a humble spreadsheet. Somewhere that data exists, even if it’s not all in one place already.
• For the non-monthly donors, send the exact same email as before: This just happened. We need to counter it. Please donate.
• For the monthly donors however, just one tiny addition, right up front: David, I'm so grateful that you donate monthly. But, this just happened. We need to counter it. Please donate.

Call me fickle, but that’s all I would’ve needed to stay.

I get that we all have too much work and tech budgets are tight, or even non-existent. But surely that is one of the quickest, easiest, most cost-effective ways to fight donor attrition. Or is it, what would you do?

You can see the full interview here.