“Donor retention” is among the most heated matters 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.
In keeping 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 finances the common nonprofit places into donor acquisition, that’s a serious downside 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 mix 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 in 2020 who additionally gave in 2021. You’ll be able to seize these numbers from any two years to see how your nonprofit is doing at retaining donors.
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 info and extra time truly connecting with these donors.
And we additionally do the maths for you and make your donor retention fee available in your nonprofit’s welcome web page!
Immediate Thank Yous
There’s a motive improvement people at nonprofits are so obsessive about thank yous: analysis exhibits that donors who’re thanked inside 48 hours of creating their donation are 4 occasions extra doubtless 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’ll 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 number of methods:
- Private contact with employees and/or volunteers on the group (which is particularly 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, shifting a social media follower to your e mail record, somebody in your e mail record to your mailing record, and so forth)
- Taking note of which varieties 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 concentrate on donor retention in your end-of-year enchantment.
1. Establish Your Donors
Earlier than you can begin the rest, you’ll want to grasp who you’re making an attempt to retain. The best means to do that is by pulling all the knowledge you want, which yow will discover in your donor retention report, which is beneath the Reviews space of your admin dashboard.
This report provides you all you’ll want to know to hatch your year-end donor retention plan and get began contacting donors.
Retained Donors
So, that record of donors your nonprofit has retained from 2021 deserves some particular consideration. These are donors who’ve proven as much as assist you yr after yr, and whenever 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 concentrate on gratitude in these emails — these are the donors who preserve you afloat. Utilizing language like “due to you” and “we all know we are able to depend in your assist once more” acknowledges their necessary contribution to your trigger. And since that e mail is extra private to them, it should make them extra prone to donate once more.
When you actually need to make sure you go the additional mile to point out 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 assist. If somebody has given loads, or elevated the quantity they gave in 2022, invite them to your workplace! Ship them a personalised word within the mail! Not solely are you garnering assist in your year-end marketing campaign, you’re laying the groundwork for these donors to come back again and donate once more in 2023 and past.
Nearly-Lapsed Donors
A “lapsed” donor is a donor who used to give to your group, however for no matter motive, stopped. And, usually, a donor shouldn’t be think about lapsed till it’s been at the least one yr since they donated. So, this group of donors who gave in 2021 however now 2022 is virtually lapsed. Your purpose in your year-end enchantment goes to be to get them to come back again and make a donation earlier than 2022 ends.
You’ll do this by engaged on cultivating the connection with these donors and asking them to come back again and assist your nonprofit in 2023. Listed below 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 in addition plan for some private touches. Sending an e mail from your personal e mail handle, sending a personalised letter or postcard, or hopping on the cellphone 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 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 got their present e mail and mailing handle? What’s their most popular methodology of communication?
- Thank them for his or her earlier assist. We’ve stated it earlier than and we’ll say it once more: there isn’t a 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 influence. What did you accomplish in 2022? They donated in 2021, 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 assist once more.
Different elements to think about
Look deeper at this group of donors.
- Are there any retained donors who gave extra in 2022 than they did in 2021? This group warrants some particular consideration; don’t take their assist with no consideration! Make particular makes an attempt to succeed in out to them and ask for his or her continued assist (and maybe see in the event that they’re keen to provide even extra to your year-end marketing campaign).
- Are there any retained donors who gave much less in 2022 than 2021? 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 info primarily based on a donor’s historical past? For example, when 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 … properly, you’ve acquired an necessary piece of details about that donor, proper? You’ll be able to perceive what motivates them to provide, and tailor your enchantment to them accordingly. See when 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, consider it or not, some nonprofits can dance circles round asking in e mail after e mail.
How do they do this? There’s numerous methods. We’ve seen call-to-action buttons that say “Thanks in your assist” (as an alternative of “donate now”) — placing the thanks earlier than the ask! Generally it’s mushy language like “assist.” Sure, “assist” is one other method to say “donate,” however it’s circuitously asking them for cash, the donating half is implied with “assist.” If you’d like one thing from somebody, you’ve acquired to ask. Immediately.
Past simply being direct along with your name to motion, listed here 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 utilize their donation historical past to make a particular, focused ask. How a lot did they provide previously? 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 following 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 capable of [INSERT ACCOMPLISHMENT], present [NUMBER OF SERVICES] in 2022, and proceed our mission of [WHATEVER YOUR MISSION IS]. Can we depend on you to provide [AMOUNT] to assist our efforts in 2023?”
Make the most of Instructed Donation Quantities
All Mightycause customers have the flexibility to customise the advised donation quantities in your nonprofit’s donation course of. This can be a highly effective little software, as a result of these recommendations 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 provide.
To customise these, go to Checkout Movement 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 advised 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 when you can flip a $30 donation into, say, feeding a household in your group for per week, it’ll make it extra doubtless folks will give in that quantity.
3. Comply with Up
So, when you’ve carried out the work, compiled the lists, despatched your emails, carried out the outreach, and gotten a donation, what’s left to do? Don’t cease when you’ve gotten the donation! Donor retention doesn’t finish with getting a 2021 donor to donate once more in 2022. It’s an ongoing course of, and that course of doesn’t cease after the donation is full!
Create a Plan
Your job whenever you’ve acquired the donation is to begin retaining them for 2023. 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 cellphone name from a employees 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 important that you just make one. If donors don’t hear from you till the following time you’re asking them for cash, they don’t seem to be prone to keep engaged in your nonprofit’s work and trigger.
Report on Your Outcomes
As a part of your follow-up plan, you must embody an e mail early within the New 12 months 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 e-newsletter when you flow into these, and have a good time milestones and accomplishments with them as they occur. (Utilizing “due to you” language.)
We’ve acquired an e book for that! It’s free to obtain, and comprises end-of-year fundraising concepts, greatest practices, and suggestions for participating donors.