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Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Donor Retention Helps You Find New Donors Too

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If you have to put your time and energy into finding new donors OR renewing the donors you have, choose donor retention.

donor retention

Don’t just take it from me. “The old growth model is acquiring more new donors than we lose,” says Josh Whichard, a partner at Washington, D.C.’s DonorVoice. The old model, said Whichard, is like a leaky bucket, but one with more water and fewer holes. The new model is to plug more of those holes and need less water. In other words, renew your donors.

Why is it better to renew than to acquire? Lynne Wester of Donor Relations Guru Consulting points out that it’s “7 times more expensive to obtain a new donor than it is to keep the one you have.” Renewing one donor is as good as finding seven new ones!

And Kivi Leroux Miller, one of the leaders in the nonprofit field, tells us that nonprofits have to focus on retention to thrive in the long term, and she adds, “I certainly hope we will see retention grow as a priority in coming years.”

When You DO Need New Donors

Sometimes, though, you just can’t do without new donors. Maybe you’re a new nonprofit, starting out with a small circle of friends. On the other hand, you could be an old organization whose loyal supporters are aging out.

And no matter how many leaks you fix, some donors will always be one-time donors (like the majority of the people who give in honor or in memory of a friend). You need to replace the dollars they give, either by getting your existing donors to give more, or by acquiring new donors.

How do you do find new donors when you need them?

Communication is Key

In the for-profit world, companies are facing an uncomfortable fact. “Experts everywhere proclaim that people are 60% or more of the way through their decision process before they contact you or your company,” says sales maven Jill Konrath.

Nonprofits are in the same boat. Donors today do their research. They look up their favorite causes online, and they check out what you have to say about your organization–and what others say about you–before you ever hear from them.

So, if you want to find new donors, mostly they have to find you first! And when they find you online, they have to like what they see, or they will choose some other organization before you ever send them an email or a newsletter, much less an “ask.”

So, you will need to:

Introducing You

donors introduce friendsBut the best way you can acquire new donors is by having your loyal year-after-year donors introduce you!

Yes, we’re back to the importance of donor retention. Even for getting new donors, it’s vital to renew  your support from the people who have given to you already.

Think of it this way: Before they will give to you, people have to know you, like what you do, and trust you with their money.  What helps a person get to know, like, and trust your organization more than the word of a mutual friend?

Ways Your Donors Can Introduce You

  1. In person. Ask a thoroughly committed donor to set up a lunch date with one of their friends, to introduce the organization.
  2. Forward an email. Your donor can pass along your message with one of their own, “Kathy, I thought you’d want to read this because…”
  3. Share a post on social media. Again, it helps if they personalize it.
  4. Direct people to your website for timely, topical information.
  5. Just talk about you! “John, did you know that I’m involved with [your organization’s name here]? And I’m excited about it!”

If you don’t think your most loyal supporters will be happy and proud to introduce you to their friends, then your organization is a leaky bucket–and you may need to spend more time renewing your donor support instead!

But you may be underestimating the loyalty of your existing donors. Ask them. You have nothing to lose, and you may have a whole world of new supporters to win. Who are you going to ask for an introduction, today?

TY Thursday: 5 Ways Your Board Can Happily Thank Donors

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ty-quote1

Over here, you’ve got a pile of donations. You sent each of these donors a thank-you letter, on letterhead, signed by your Executive Director, within a week of when you received their gift. But you haven’t been in touch with any of them personally since then.

And over there, you have your Board of Directors. Several of them have said, “I love this organization. I’ll do anything for this organization–except ask for money. I’m just no good at asking.”

Do you want to make your donors feel flattered and your directors feel useful, all at the same time? Then ask your Board of Directors to start saying thanks.

Donors and Directors, A Match Made in Heaven

Every thank-you matters, but an expression of gratitude from a Board member to a donor matters more. No matter how sincere you are, when you, a staff person at a nonprofit, says thanks, the thought crosses the donor’s mind: “I’m paying your salary.” When a member of your Board of Directors is the one thanking the donor, they have these advantages:

  • They are volunteers. They’re regular people who care about the organization enough to give their precious time.
  • They are donors themselves. When Board members make a monetary contribution, of whatever size is significant for them, they can talk with fellow donors about why the organization matters “to both of us.”
  • They are leaders. It’s impressive when someone who holds a position of authority is the one making the call. It makes the donor feel valued and honored.

Getting thanked by a Board member helps donors think, “I made a good decision when I gave.” But it helps your Board of Directors, too. It confirms their own commitment to the organization…and it gives them valuable firsthand information about how their organization is perceived.

5 Ways a Board Member Can Say “Thank You!”

Thanks in many languages

  1. Add a personal note to a thank-you letter. Especially if the donor knows the Board member, but even if they haven’t met…yet!
  2. Follow up with a phone call. Penelope Burk found that donors who got a call within 24 hours gave 39% more than those who simply received a thank-you letter…and check out Gail Perry’s story of how a thank-you call made her boyfriend a major donor for life.
  3. Throw a party. Maybe one of your Board members loves to entertain. Your staff have been meaning to hold a donor appreciation event for ages but never find the time. Ask the happy host or hostess to have the party at their place. (They will still need help inviting the donors to come, but it’s less work, for more return, than if staff do it.)
  4. Send a gift. Who’s the shop-a-holic on your Board? Ask her to pick out a small but thoughtful gift personalized to your donor, wrap it, and mail it with a note. Your donor will be surprised (and maybe make a new friend for life).
  5. Tell the world. Someone on your Board is on social media all day. Chances are you can figure out who it is–if you don’t know already! Ask that Facebook fanatic to “friend” a donor and then sing his or her praises online. Not only will you be thanking the donor all over again, you’ll be making the donor’s friends ask, “What’s that organization that loves my friend like that?”

If you ask a member of your Board of Directors to thank donors by doing something he or she likes to do anyway, you will have a happy Board, a happy donor base…and a happy result the next time you ask for money!

Fundraising Tuesday: Listen First, Ask Later

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bait and switchHave you ever joined a professional organization because of the opportunities it offered–and then find out your first opportunity was to be asked for more money?

This is exactly what happened to my wife, Rona. She didn’t like being treated that way…and neither do people who want to know more about your nonprofit.

Nice to Meet You. Please Give Now!

Rona joined the “Local First” organization in the city where her real estate office is based. Let’s be fair: the Shop Local First movement does many good things for the community and the environment.

For her membership dues, though, Rona was promised tangible benefits like business improvement seminars, inclusion in a local business directory, marketing opportunities, and advisories about local policy changes that might affect her business.

She was not promised that local charities would call her for money–before she got any of the benefits of membership!

Yet within a week, she got several calls asking for $100 or more. Here’s how one of those nonprofits followed up that fundraising phone call by email:

Dear Rona,

Following up on our brief conversation this morning, please see the attached e-packet about the “100 by 100” [city name] Business Community Scholarship Fund.  The “100 by 100” is a way for 4Buyers Real Estate to be engaged with the community, receive some recognition as a business that cares about the betterment of [the city], and support the students and faculty of the city’s only public high school….

It wasn’t the Local First group asking Rona for more money a week after she’d paid her membership dues. It was a nonprofit with access to their membership list. But how do you think Rona felt about her decision to join when, before she even received a membership card, she received a solicitation?

What to Do When a Person Gives You Contact Info

We are deluged these days with phone calls and emails. Go on vacation, come back, and check your voicemail and email. You’ll see what I mean.

When a person asks for more information about your nonprofit and gives you a phone number or an email address, she is taking a big step, like Rona did when she joined the Local First organization. That person is trusting you to use her contact information the way she agreed to have it used. You must show her she put her trust in the right place.

If she asked for more information, give her more information. If she signed up to attend an event, make sure she’s invited.

You can also start building a relationship by asking her more about her interests…and listening to and making a note of the answers.

What you can’t do is turn around and ask her for money right away.

Don’t Play the Numbers Game

playing the numbers Now wait, you say. I receive multiple “asks” from many well-known national organizations–even some I’ve never given to before.

They must know what they’re doing! Why shouldn’t my community-based organization do the same?

You can certainly do that…IF:

  • You have a huge mailing list. The national organizations are playing a numbers game. They’re calculating that if even 2% of the people they’re mailing to will donate, they’ll make a lot of money. If you have a list of 1,000 names, though, and only 20 of them donate, you may not even make back the cost of doing the mailing.
  • You’re willing to see those donors make a one-time gift and then walk away. Fewer than 30% of donors who gave to an organization for the first time in 2014 gave again in 2015. You may get a few donations by asking right away. You’ll get a lot more, over a lot more years, by creating loyal donors.

At Communicate! Consulting, we specialize in helping you make loyal friends. For a free 15-minute consultation, email [email protected]

 

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