How the Recession Improved Our Lives
Looking closer to home for donors
Perhaps one way you kept your work funded during the recession was to work harder to reactivate lapsed donors. If so, you should be grateful to Wall Street for helping you rediscover a great source of "new" supporters.
When times are good, it's easy to write off lapsed donors as a "cost of doing business." Sure it is, but just like the grocery store that turned down its lights to conserve energy and found it didn't hurt sales, we can keep doing things that reduce our expenses even when the pressure is off. Continue your strategy - or develop one - to renew lapsed donors. And don't just keep sending them the same old, same old (and then complain my suggestion didn't work). Lapsed donors have become adept at ignoring you; what are you going to do that shakes them up and rekindles their excitement for your mission?
Pamela Barden is an independent fundraising consultant focused on direct response. You can read more of her fundraising columns here.
