“Donor retention” is among the most heated subjects of debate within the nonprofit sector. How do you retain donors engaged? And the way do you guarantee they’ll donate once more? What makes donors depart? It appears nonprofits are nonetheless figuring this out.
In line with the Affiliation of Fundraising Professionals’ 2022 Fundraising Effectiveness Report, donors have dropped by 7%, however {Dollars} Up 6.2%, Buoyed by Main Donors. Given how a lot time, effort and funds the common nonprofit places into donor acquisition, that’s a serious drawback to lose 7%. Even when bigger donors are reasonably rising their giving quantities, a 7% loss in donors provides up.
December is essentially the most high-stakes month all yr for fundraisers. Whereas donor retention is a year-round effort, right here’s how your nonprofit could make it a precedence for end-of-year fundraising.
Donor retention is an element artwork, half science. It’s a combination of testing, evaluating knowledge, crafting compelling fundraising appeals, and understanding what stirs donors’ feelings. And there are a couple of key items to the donor retention puzzle it’s best to know.
Calculating Donor Retention
Donor retention is straightforward: it’s the variety of donors who gave final yr in comparison with the variety of donors who gave this yr. You’ll be able to seize these numbers from any two years to see how your nonprofit is doing at retaining donors.
(this yr’s retained donors / final yr’s retained donors) X 100 = retention fee
However we’ve made it even simpler for nonprofits to retain donors. Mightycause customers can export a donor retention report that finds all of the donors who haven’t given this yr and neatly packages them in a spreadsheet for you. This implies you may spend much less time searching down the information and extra time really connecting with these donors.
Immediate Thank You’s
There’s a cause growth people at nonprofits are so obsessive about thanks’s: analysis reveals that donors who’re thanked inside 48 hours of creating their donation are 4 occasions extra possible to donate once more. It’s a key a part of donor retention, and it must occur quick.
Staying in Contact
A lot of donor retention is simply relationship-building, and as everyone knows, you want to keep in contact as a way to construct and keep a relationship. This implies not solely speaking with them usually, however speaking higher. And nonprofits can talk higher and construct stronger relationships with donors in a couple of methods:
- Private contact with employees and/or volunteers on the group (which is very necessary for main present donors or prospects)
- Personalizing their communications to acknowledge their historical past with the group and their pursuits
- Speaking with donors in numerous methods, on completely different channels (for example, transferring a social media follower to your e-mail listing, somebody in your e-mail listing to your mailing listing, and so forth)
- Taking note of which forms of messaging enchantment to which donors
With the understanding that donor retention is an ongoing course of and must occur all year long, we’ve put collectively some motion gadgets that may allow you to deal with donor retention to your end-of-year enchantment.
1. Establish Your Donors
Earlier than you can begin the rest, you’ll want to know who you’re making an attempt to retain. The best manner to do that is by pulling all the knowledge you want, which you will discover in your donor retention report, which is underneath the Studies space of your admin dashboard.
This report provides you all you want to know to hatch your year-end donor retention plan and get began contacting donors.
Retained Donors
So, that listing of donors your nonprofit has retained from this final yr deserves some particular consideration. These are donors who’ve proven as much as help you yr after yr, and if you’re planning your end-of-year appeals, you’ll wish to acknowledge how necessary these donors are to your nonprofit.
On the very least, plan some segmented emails to this group of donors. You’ll wish to deal with gratitude in these emails — these are the donors who maintain you afloat. Utilizing language like “due to you” and “we all know we are able to rely in your help once more” acknowledges their necessary contribution to your trigger. And since that e-mail is extra private to them, it would make them extra more likely to donate once more.
Should you actually wish to make sure you go the additional mile to indicate this group some love, as a substitute of simply emailing them, name them to speak about your marketing campaign and ask for his or her continued help. If somebody has given so much, or elevated the quantity they gave this previous yr, invite them to your workplace! Ship them a personalised be aware within the mail! Not solely are you garnering help to your year-end marketing campaign, however you’re laying the groundwork for these donors to return again and donate once more within the following years.
Virtually-Lapsed Donors
In donor retention, a “lapsed” donor is a donor who used to give to your group, however for no matter cause, stopped. And, usually, a donor shouldn’t be contemplate lapsed till it’s been at the least one yr since they donated. So, this group of donors who gave final yr however now this previous yr is nearly lapsed. Your objective in your year-end enchantment goes to be to get them to return again and make a donation earlier than the yr ends.
You’ll try this by engaged on cultivating the connection with these donors and asking them to return again and help your nonprofit subsequent yr. Listed here are few methods you may get these donors again on board:
- Customized outreach. You’ll be able to ship them your usually scheduled e-mail blasts, positive, but additionally plan for some private touches. Sending an e-mail from your individual e-mail deal with, sending a personalised letter or postcard, or hopping on the telephone to allow them to find out about your marketing campaign, will assist deliver them again. (Don’t be afraid to enlist volunteers on this!)
- This additionally provides you the chance to dig for extra info — why haven’t they made one other donation? Did they get your final e-newsletter? Do you’ve their present e-mail and mailing deal with? What’s their most popular methodology of communication?
- Thank them for his or her earlier help. We’ve mentioned it earlier than and we’ll say it once more: there isn’t any such factor as thanking a donor an excessive amount of! Even when their final donation was 18 months go. Lead with gratitude, and also you’ll discover that the donor is hotter towards making one other donation.
- Present your impression. What did you accomplish this previous yr? They donated final yr, so they’re a part of that success, and people milestones. Allow them to know that as a way to have one other profitable yr, you’ll want their help once more.
Different components to think about
Look deeper at this group of donors.
- Are there any retained donors who gave extra this previous yr than they did final yr? This group warrants some particular consideration; don’t take their help with no consideration! Make particular makes an attempt to achieve out to them and ask for his or her continued help (and maybe see in the event that they’re keen to present even extra to your year-end marketing campaign). This can make your donor retention sooner or later much more profitable.
- Are there any retained donors who gave much less this yr than final yr? These donors could also be in peril of lapsing! Be sure you impress upon these donors how a lot their donation means, and if potential, observe up with them to get suggestions about their expertise as a supporter.
- Can you discover any demographics info primarily based on a donor’s historical past? As an example, should you run an animal rescue, and also you discover a donor has given to a number of fundraisers for cats however no fundraisers for canine … nicely, you’ve bought an necessary piece of details about that donor, proper? You’ll be able to perceive what motivates them to present, and tailor your enchantment to them accordingly. See should you can cut up these donors up into teams primarily based on curiosity to fine-tune your messaging even additional.
2. Ask
Okay, so this one appears apparent, proper? However, imagine it or not, some nonprofits can dance circles round asking in e-mail after e-mail.
How do they try this? There’s plenty of methods. We’ve seen call-to-action buttons that say “Thanks to your help” (as a substitute of “donate now”) — placing the thanks earlier than the ask! Typically it’s mushy language like “help.” Sure, “help” is one other option to say “donate,” however it’s indirectly asking them for cash, the donating half is implied with “help.” If you need one thing from somebody, you’ve bought to ask. Instantly.
Past simply being direct along with your name to motion, listed below are some methods you might be extra direct and efficient along with your enchantment.
Recommend Particular Quantities
With donors who’ve given to your nonprofit earlier than, you should use their donation historical past to make a selected, focused ask. Bespoke messaging is a superb tactic for donor retention. How a lot did they provide up to now? You’ll be able to most likely anticipate to present across the identical quantity this yr, so attempt bumping them as much as the subsequent stage. And even ask them to make a recurring month-to-month dedication to your group.
“Due to you” language is very efficient when making an ask to a donor who has given earlier than: “Due to you, we have been in a position to [INSERT ACCOMPLISHMENT], present [NUMBER OF SERVICES] this yr, and proceed our mission of [WHATEVER YOUR MISSION IS]. Can we rely on you to present [AMOUNT] to help our efforts subsequent yr?”
Make the most of Advised Donation Quantities
All Mightycause customers have the power to customise the recommended donation quantities in your nonprofit’s donation course of. It is a highly effective little device, as a result of these options are made to your donor proper after they click on “Donate” in your Mightycause web page, catching them at a important level within the donation course of — once they’re deciding how a lot to present.
To customise these, go to Checkout Movement in your Mightycause Supervisor.
Ideally, you’ll wish to weave these into your marketing campaign messaging, so donors are extra compelled to present within the quantities you recommend. You even have an outline you should use to elucidate why these quantities are significant to your nonprofit and make a compelling case for donating in these quantities.
One other tip is to make use of the vacation spirit to assist body your recommended donation quantities. What would that quantity present to your nonprofit? Are you able to tie it again to a real-world merchandise or service? Donors love giving issues to charity greater than cash, so should you can flip a $30 donation into, say, feeding a household in your neighborhood for per week, it’ll make it extra possible individuals will give in that quantity.
3. Observe Up
So, should you’ve performed the work, compiled the lists, despatched your emails, performed the outreach, and obtained a donation, what’s left to do? Don’t cease when you’ve gotten the donation! Donor retention doesn’t finish with getting a previous donor to donate once more this yr. It’s an ongoing course of, and it doesn’t cease after the donation is full!
Create a Plan
If you’ve bought your donation, your job is to start out retaining them for subsequent yr. You’re laying the groundwork for a continued relationship with the donors you’ve retained, and future donations.
Right here are some things to think about including to your follow-up plan:
- Handwritten (or at the least personally signed) thanks playing cards
- A private e-mail from somebody in your employees (like a Growth Director or your Govt Director)
- A telephone name from a employees member or volunteer
- A collection of emails
- An end-of-year survey to search out out what points are most necessary to donors
No matter your plan is, it’s important that you simply make one. If donors don’t hear from you till the subsequent time you’re asking them for cash, they don’t seem to be more likely to keep engaged in your nonprofit’s work and trigger.
Report on Your Outcomes
As a part of your follow-up plan, it’s best to embody an e-mail early within the New Yr reporting on the outcomes of your marketing campaign. However don’t cease reporting after that e-mail! Allow them to know what you’re as much as year-round, as a result of these are all issues their donations helped make potential.
Embrace them in your e-newsletters, ship a bodily publication should you flow into these, and have fun milestones and accomplishments with them as they occur. (Utilizing “due to you” language.)
We’ve bought an e-book for that! It’s free to obtain and comprises year-end fundraising concepts, greatest practices, and ideas for participating donors.
