Retention

You might have just read this headline and said to yourself, “I can tell this is going to be really boring stuff…

Today I am sharing the No. 1 fundraising strategy that you need to implement for 2015-16.

Social listening gives organizations unprecedented insight into their donors' lives and an opportunity for richer engagement through personalization. Far beyond surveys, focus groups or feedback forms, nonprofits have the ability to analyze, in real time, what their donors think, feel and care about—and can react with predetermined triggers or send personalized marketing messages.

Relying on multiple fundraising "products" gives your income—and thus, your program funding—more stability. So how do you select your product mix?

I don't know how many times I've sat across the table of a development director and asked, "How have you delighted your donors this week?" And all I get is a look of embarrassment on their face.

It's common for retail businesses to adopt the mantra: "The customer is always right." But when's the last time you heard "The donor is always right?" Too often, the opposite is true.

One of the tough jobs of a fundraiser is finding time to look objectively at the current activities to spot untapped opportunities. A robust fundraising program seems to never take time off, so probing and asking "what if?" questions is frequently a luxury that simply gets pushed aside. The tyranny of the urgent often means we don't have time to find ways to better engage those donors who don't have strong commitments to our organization.

Don't get too busy to forget the basics. Make it personal for as many donors as possible. Have a plan and implement it!

I know several fundraising directors who know for sure retention got worse after they introduced their loyalty programs. But they continue to run them. It would be funny if it wasn't tragic.

Nationwide, donor retention has dropped to just under 40 percent for one-year renewals. Compare that to 95-plus percent for commercial firms. Sense a disconnect?