10 Things You Need to Know About Reactivating Lapsed Donors

By Lawrence Henze

5. Testing
Try new ideas and strategies for renewing donors. Here is one: Collect e-mail addresses from your new direct-mail donors, ideally at the time they send in the response card (self-reported e-mail addresses are best). Avoid the temptation to begin mass e-mail solicitations, and use the information to thank and inform. Good stewardship breeds loyalty. When the time comes to renew these donors via direct mail, send an e-mail in advance alerting them to the upcoming direct-mail piece. Experience demonstrates that this approach lifts renewal rates.