Retention

It takes a lot of work to get new donors. There’s planning and marketing. Some speaking gigs and media exposure. Or maybe a friend-raising event. Regardless of how you get them, you work hard to get new people into your family of supporters. So, why not spend an equal amount of time working to keep…

A home base is important in life. Family and friends that you trust, feel safe and grow with. This home base can give you confidence to take risks, learn new things, set higher goals and grow like you otherwise never would...

We all know the sorry state of donor retention: 96 donors lost for every 100 gained. Join us to learn how to hold onto donors.

"What do you mean you lost the check?" the manager almost yelled. "How could you do it? It was $75,000, for goodness sake! $75,000 of someone’s life!" It was not a pretty situation. I wasn’t there, but I heard about it in great detail just a week after it happened. Someone had lost a donor check for $75,000! It was gone. Vanished. Vaporized...

How well do you know your donors and their motivations for giving? Your donor thank-you letters are only the first step in your donor retention plan. If you’re looking to create sustainable funding, you need to develop a plan for understanding your donors and their motivations on a deeper level...

In 21st century fundraising, the landscape is filled with potential for greatness. Not that many decades ago, fundraisers relied on direct mail and face-to-face fundraising. Now we have multiple ways to talk to people, meeting them in their mailboxes, inboxes and mobile devices; on their cause-related shampoo bottle, the radio and billboards; through an app; and the list goes on and on.

"There is donor fatigue," one of the community’s top philanthropists shared in a recent feasibility study interview. Donor fatigue is a term often used. Is it real? It means a donor feels tired, worn out by requests from organizations. Are there causes? Yes, usually poor fundraising that is not donor focused...

Fundraisers don’t usually think of themselves as sexy. Yet, most of the world does. When someone to whom I have just been introduced asks "What do you do?," I’m always a bit surprised by the reaction to my answer. "What a cool profession" "Wow, you really get to hobnob with the wealthy." These are typical responses...

If there is one thing a charity can do to make its fundraising life easier, it is to establish a program of monthly donations. There is almost no downside to monthly giving and plenty of advantages. Monthly donors are simply of higher lifetime value; are more loyal than most donors; and provide a steady, predictable…

Taking steps to reduce your donor attrition actually is the least expensive strategy for increasing your fundraising income. In fact, if you’re looking to save money on your fundraising costs, focusing on retention is the smart thing to do. What are you doing to reach out and touch your donors—you know, those wonderful people who make your work possible?...