“Donor retention” is likely one of 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 depart? It appears nonprofits are nonetheless figuring this out.
In accordance 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 price range the typical nonprofit places into donor acquisition, that’s a serious drawback to lose 7%. Even when bigger donors are reasonably growing their giving quantities, a 7% loss in donors provides up.
December is essentially the most high-stakes month all 12 months 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 number of key items to the donor retention puzzle you need to know.
Calculating Donor Retention
Donor retention is easy: it’s the variety of donors who gave in 2020 who additionally gave in 2021. You possibly can 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 12 months and neatly packages them in a spreadsheet for you. This implies you’ll be able to spend much less time looking down the information and extra time really connecting with these donors.
And we additionally do the mathematics for you and make your donor retention fee available in your nonprofit’s welcome web page!
Immediate Thank Yous
There’s a motive growth of us at nonprofits are so obsessive about thank yous: analysis exhibits that donors who’re thanked inside 48 hours of constructing 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, that you must keep in contact to be able 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 employees and/or volunteers on the group (which is particularly essential 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 completely different channels (for example, transferring a social media follower to your electronic mail listing, somebody in your electronic mail listing to your mailing listing, 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 gadgets that may allow you to give attention to donor retention to your end-of-year attraction.
1. Establish Your Donors
Earlier than you can begin anything, you’ll want to know who you’re attempting to retain. The best approach to do that is by pulling all the data you want, which you could find in your donor retention report, which is underneath the Reviews space of your admin dashboard.
This report provides you all that you must 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 2021 deserves some particular consideration. These are donors who’ve proven as much as assist you 12 months after 12 months, and once you’re planning your end-of-year appeals, you’ll wish to acknowledge how essential these donors are to your nonprofit.
On the very least, plan some segmented emails to this group of donors. You’ll wish to give attention to gratitude in these emails — these are the donors who preserve you afloat. Utilizing language like “due to you” and “we all know we will depend in your assist once more” acknowledges their essential contribution to your trigger. And since that electronic mail is extra private to them, it should make them extra prone to donate once more.
In case you actually wish to make sure you go the additional mile to point out 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 assist. If somebody has given quite a bit, 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 to your year-end marketing campaign, you’re laying the groundwork for these donors to return 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 contemplate lapsed till it’s been a minimum of one 12 months since they donated. So, this group of donors who gave in 2021 however now 2022 is virtually lapsed. Your objective in your year-end attraction goes to be to get them to return 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 return again and assist your nonprofit in 2023. Listed here are few methods you will get these donors again on board:
- Personalised outreach. You possibly can ship them your frequently scheduled electronic mail blasts, certain, but in addition plan for some private touches. Sending an electronic mail from your personal electronic 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 their present electronic mail and mailing handle? What’s their most well-liked 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 is no such thing as 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 to be able to have one other profitable 12 months, you’ll want their assist once more.
Different elements to contemplate
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 without any 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 prepared 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 in peril of lapsing! Ensure you impress upon these donors how a lot their donation means, and if potential, 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? 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 acquired an essential piece of details about that donor, proper? You possibly can perceive what motivates them to provide, and tailor your attraction 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 electronic mail after electronic mail.
How do they do this? There’s a lot of methods. We’ve seen call-to-action buttons that say “Thanks to your assist” (as a substitute of “donate now”) — placing the thanks earlier than the ask! Generally it’s gentle language like “assist.” Sure, “assist” is one other solution to say “donate,” however it’s in a roundabout way asking them for cash, the donating half is implied with “assist.” If you’d like one thing from somebody, you’ve acquired to ask. Straight.
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 attraction.
Counsel Particular Quantities
With donors who’ve given to your nonprofit earlier than, you need to use their donation historical past to make a particular, focused ask. How a lot did they offer up to now? You possibly can in all probability anticipate to provide across the identical quantity this 12 months, so strive bumping them as much as the subsequent degree. 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 power to customise the urged donation quantities in your nonprofit’s donation course of. This can be a highly effective little instrument, 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 crucial level within the donation course of — after they’re deciding how a lot to provide.
To customise these, go to Checkout Move in your Mightycause Supervisor.
Ideally, you’ll wish to weave these into your marketing campaign messaging, so donors are extra compelled to provide within the quantities you recommend. You even have an outline you need to use to clarify 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 urged 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 group for per week, it’ll make it extra possible individuals will give in that quantity.
3. Comply with Up
So, should 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 once 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 contemplate including to your follow-up plan:
- Handwritten (or a minimum of personally signed) thanks playing cards
- A private electronic mail from somebody in your employees (like a Growth Director or your Government Director)
- A cellphone name from a employees member or volunteer
- A collection of emails
- An end-of-year survey to seek out out what points are most essential to donors
No matter your plan is, it’s important that you just 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 prone to keep engaged in your nonprofit’s work and trigger.
Report on Your Outcomes
As a part of your follow-up plan, you need to embrace an electronic mail early within the New Yr reporting on the outcomes of your marketing campaign. However don’t cease reporting after that electronic 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 e-newsletter should 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 book for that! It’s free to obtain, and accommodates end-of-year fundraising concepts, greatest practices, and ideas for participating donors.