8 principles to define a scalable, long-term fundraising strategy

By Atul Tandon

For many social-sector organizations, the biggest challenge is not acquiring new donors but, rather, failing to retain them. New donors often have the potential to be transformed into advocates — those who speak out for a charity’s cause and become fundraisers themselves. The first step along this road is a new “donor treatment” with compelling, differentiated offers, thereby encouraging second, third and on-going gifts — while ensuring that donor recruitment, cultivation and retention costs are controlled.