Fundamentals of Donor Retention

Let donors decide
“Understand the messages that resonate the most with your donors,” Emlet said. “Look at an anniversary-based series versus a calendar-based series, and determine which approach is more productive for you.”

Anniversary-based approaches tend to provide cash-flow consistency, Emlet said, but calendar-based approaches may be easier to implement. It’s all about knowing your donors and understanding the messages that resonate most with them. Some organizations have multiple renewal and retention series, including low-dollar, high-dollar, anniversary and calendar series. The key is to let your donors decide, Emlet said.