“Donor retention” is likely one of the most heated subjects of dialogue within the nonprofit sector. How do you retain donors engaged? And the way do you guarantee they’ll donate once more? What makes donors go away? It appears nonprofits are nonetheless figuring this out.
Based on 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 price range the typical nonprofit places into donor acquisition, that’s a significant drawback to lose 7%. Even when bigger donors are reasonably rising their giving quantities, a 7% loss in donors provides up.
December is probably 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 a component artwork, half science. It’s a combination of testing, evaluating information, crafting compelling fundraising appeals, and understanding what stirs donors’ feelings. And there are a number of key items to the donor retention puzzle you must 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’ll be able to spend much less time searching down the info and extra time really connecting with these donors.
Immediate Thank You’s
There’s a purpose growth of us at nonprofits are so obsessive about thanks’s: analysis reveals that donors who’re thanked inside 48 hours of constructing their donation are 4 occasions extra probably 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 should keep in contact with a view to construct and preserve a relationship. This implies not solely speaking with them typically, however speaking higher. And nonprofits can talk higher and construct stronger relationships with donors in a number of methods:
- Private contact with workers and/or volunteers on the group (which is particularly necessary for main reward donors or prospects)
- Personalizing their communications to acknowledge their historical past with the group and their pursuits
- Speaking with donors in numerous methods, on totally different channels (for example, shifting a social media follower to your e-mail checklist, somebody in your e-mail checklist to your mailing checklist, and so forth)
- Listening to which varieties of messaging attraction 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 objects that may make it easier to give attention to donor retention in your end-of-year attraction.
1. Establish Your Donors
Earlier than you can begin the rest, you’ll want to grasp who you’re attempting to retain. The simplest method to do that is by pulling all the data you want, which yow will discover in your donor retention report, which is underneath the Reviews space of your admin dashboard.
This report offers you all you should know to hatch your year-end donor retention plan and get began contacting donors.
Retained Donors
So, that checklist 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 once you’re planning your end-of-year appeals, you’ll need 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 need to give attention to gratitude in these emails — these are the donors who hold you afloat. Utilizing language like “due to you” and “we all know we will rely in your help once more” acknowledges their necessary contribution to your trigger. And since that e-mail is extra private to them, it’ll make them extra more likely to donate once more.
Should you actually need to make sure you go the additional mile to indicate this group some love, as an alternative of simply emailing them, name them to speak about your marketing campaign and ask for his or her continued help. If somebody has given rather a lot, or elevated the quantity they gave this previous yr, invite them to your workplace! Ship them a personalised notice within the mail! Not solely are you garnering help in your year-end marketing campaign, however you’re laying the groundwork for these donors to come back again and donate once more within the following years.
Nearly-Lapsed Donors
In donor retention, a “lapsed” donor is a donor who used to give to your group, however for no matter purpose, stopped. And, typically, a donor shouldn’t be think about lapsed till it’s been a minimum of 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 attraction goes to be to get them to come back again and make a donation earlier than the yr ends.
You’ll do this by engaged on cultivating the connection with these donors and asking them to come back 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 often scheduled e-mail blasts, positive, but in addition plan for some private touches. Sending an e-mail from your individual e-mail tackle, sending a personalised letter or postcard, or hopping on the telephone to allow them to find out about your marketing campaign, will assist convey them again. (Don’t be afraid to enlist volunteers on this!)
- This additionally offers you the chance to dig for extra data — why haven’t they made one other donation? Did they get your final e-newsletter? Do you’ve gotten their present e-mail and mailing tackle? What’s their most popular technique of communication?
- Thank them for his or her earlier help. We’ve stated 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 with a view to have one other profitable yr, you’ll want their help once more.
Different elements 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 provide even extra to your year-end marketing campaign). This may 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 at risk of lapsing! Ensure you impress upon these donors how a lot their donation means, and if doable, comply with up with them to get suggestions about their expertise as a supporter.
- Can you discover any demographics data based mostly 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 … effectively, you’ve bought an necessary piece of details about that donor, proper? You’ll be able to perceive what motivates them to provide, and tailor your attraction to them accordingly. See should you can break up these donors up into teams based mostly on curiosity to fine-tune your messaging even additional.
2. Ask
Okay, so this one appears apparent, proper? However, consider it or not, some nonprofits can dance circles round asking in e-mail after e-mail.
How do they do this? There’s plenty of methods. We’ve seen call-to-action buttons that say “Thanks in your help” (as an alternative of “donate now”) — placing the thanks earlier than the ask! Generally it’s gentle language like “help.” Sure, “help” is one other approach to say “donate,” however it’s circuitously asking them for cash, the donating half is implied with “help.” If you would like one thing from somebody, you’ve bought to ask. Straight.
Past simply being direct along with your name to motion, listed here are some methods you will be extra direct and efficient along with your attraction.
Counsel Particular Quantities
With donors who’ve given to your nonprofit earlier than, you should utilize their donation historical past to make a particular, focused ask. Bespoke messaging is a superb tactic for donor retention. How a lot did they offer prior to now? You’ll be able to most likely count on to provide across the similar quantity this yr, so strive 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 particularly 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 provide [AMOUNT] to help our efforts subsequent yr?”
Make the most of Instructed Donation Quantities
All Mightycause customers have the flexibility to customise the prompt donation quantities in your nonprofit’s donation course of. This can be a highly effective little device, as a result of these strategies are made to your donor proper after they click on “Donate” in your Mightycause web page, catching them at a vital level within the donation course of — once they’re deciding how a lot to provide.
To customise these, go to Checkout Stream in your Mightycause Supervisor.
Ideally, you’ll need to weave these into your marketing campaign messaging, so donors are extra compelled to provide within the quantities you counsel. You even have an outline you should utilize 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 prompt donation quantities. What would that quantity present in 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 group for per week, it’ll make it extra probably folks will give in that quantity.
3. Comply with 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 begin 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 a minimum of personally signed) thanks playing cards
- A private e-mail from somebody in your workers (like a Improvement Director or your Government Director)
- A telephone name from a workers member or volunteer
- A sequence of emails
- An end-of-year survey to seek out out what points are most necessary to donors
No matter your plan is, it’s very 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, you must embrace 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 doable.
Embody them in your e-newsletters, ship a bodily publication should you flow into these, and rejoice milestones and accomplishments with them as they occur. (Utilizing “due to you” language.)
We’ve bought an book for that! It’s free to obtain and accommodates year-end fundraising concepts, finest practices, and ideas for participating donors.
