Retention

As a nonprofit organization, we probably can't offer donors a discount on their half-birthday. But we can surprise and delight them, and make them feel special.

With fewer lists coming onto the rental market, list universes shrinking so significantly and retention rates dropping, maintaining the status quo and hoping things improve is a death spiral. There are three things you must do now to be successful in the long run. There is nothing breakthrough here, and every charity claims it is doing these well, but my research indicates otherwise. 

What if there is a new metric that is more important than strictly the financial engagement of donors?

Many charities have welcome programs in place to keep more donors in, make them feel welcome or ask for more money. Here’s a simple 10-point checklist that will help you estimate how much room for improvement there actually is: How fast is your follow-up? How interactive is your welcome program? How relevant is your message? How well do you monitor your program? How is your ROI? Do you have a control and test group? How well do you mix channels? Are you comparing suppliers? Is your program trigger- or calendar-based? Do your departments work together?

Have you been dumped by your donors? If you feel as if your fundraising is an uphill trudge, you're probably right. That's because you might be depending on acquiring a lot of new donors and neglecting those you already have. Despite the emphasis on acquiring donors, many charities saw a loss of 107 donors for every 100 gained.

How did fundraisers and charities do that? It wasn't that hard. Here are the rules: Ignore attrition, under-communicate, over-ask, give bad customer service, settle for passive donor commitment and be fickle.

Are you getting too much fundraising revenue? Do you need fewer donors to support your work? Here's how you can help solve that problem:

1. Write and design for your co-workers (or yourself).
2. Change the subject between your acquisition and cultivation messages.
3. Educate your donors.
4. Develop your website differently from your offline messages.
5. Have sloppy donor data.

Many nonprofits view the thank-you letter as no more than a tax receipt. Smart nonprofits, however, recognize the donor acknowledgment letter as a critical component of the stewardship phase of the fundraising life cycle. A well-written letter not only expresses gratitude, but can serve as an opportunity to create an even greater affinity and appreciation for your organization’s mission. Here we address the components of a great donor thank-you letter.

I talk to nonprofit fundraisers every day about how to raise more money. We talk about prospecting, cultivation and asking. We talk about donor stewardship. We talk about events, direct mail and online giving. And when we’re done, I am occasionally asked one final question … “Joe, what’s the single biggest thing I can do to increase our fundraising this year?”

My answer is the same every time: “Talk to your donors.”

Deeper relationships lead to increased giving. You already know that. But did you know that these relationships also create loyal donors? People who feel connected with an organization see themselves as a part of the solution. As long as the believe that “you + me = we” and we’re changing lives together, they’ll stick around for a long time.

Here are five tips that are critical for deepening those all-important relationships.

“Dear Bernard…”

I’ve been reading The Nation all my adult life. I’ve subscribed to it for 30 years. And I used to give a donation every month — but not anymore.

“Bernard, don’t let them win!”

Sorry. There are other progressive organizations. Hell, there are other progressive magazines. If I want to do my part to keep the right-wingers from stamping corporate logos on people’s minds, I can give my money elsewhere.

“Bernard, we want you back.”

Too bad. Because my name is not Bernard.