Maryland Food Bank retains new donors by asking them to give again — before the window of opportunity closes.

By Amy Syracuse

According to Deborah Flateman, Maryland Food Bank’s chief executive officer, implementing a more ambitious schedule of new-donor solicitations — one that asks for that elusive second gift shortly after the first gift is made — has boosted new-donor retention rates.

“We have established a different type of relationship with donors,” she says. “We’re finding out how close they are to our mission and how responsive they are to our requests.”