Retention

Check out the five things you should already be doing to make sure you retain those donors and improve income at year-end 2014.

We all know that donor retention is where the easy money is for you, your team and your organization in 2014. It’s the key to sustainable fundraising for your organization. These six steps are based on a webinar that Bloomerang CEO Jay Love shared with my Fired-Up Fundraising INSIDERS this week. Jay and I both credit these ideas to Dr. Adrian Sargeant — the donor retention guru himself.

I recently listened in on an interview between Gail Perry and Jay Love of Bloomerang. Do you know even know what percentage of donors you’re retaining? According to Love, less than 5 percent of fundraising offices know this answer! So you’re not alone. But you can do better.

Knowing your retention rate enables you to move it to something better. Did you know that a 10 percent increase in donor retention can increase the lifetime value (in dollars) of your donors by as much as 200 percent?

Valentine's Day will be here soon, and what a perfect time to thank your donors and show how much you appreciate their support. Whether you want to send something out on Valentine's Day is up to you. But do something fun and creative to show appreciation in February. The holidays are over, and there's still a lot of winter left for many of us to endure. Here are some ideas.

Donor retention is an ongoing conversation in our sector, and any time it comes up, people start to panic. We all know that we have donor-retention troubles. But what are we actually changing in order to fix the problem? Donor stewardship is a great place to begin making changes that can impact your donor-retention rates. Here are seven ideas to consider when mixing in stories to your nonprofit’s donor stewardship.

At the risk of sounding naive and curmudgeonly, I contend there is a simple way to proactively address the need for better donor retention — start saying thank you to the donors you have.

As your organization settles in for 2014, the following resolutions are good ideas to make sure your house is in order. 1. Thank your donors and supporters. 2. Make sure your records are up-to-date. 3. Take some time to review your organization's governing documents. 4. Stay focused on the mission!

I believe that donors are customers of your organization. The premise that donors are customers offers some interesting insights into how we think about and approach our fundraising efforts.

Donors, even ones that give in non-monetary ways, are contributing something to your organization in exchange for the “good feeling” they get by donating or the “social equity” your organization provides the community. They are “buying into” the outcomes of your organization. They are customers because there is an exchange between the donor and your organization.

We all need to make the time to do our homework. Personal contact with donors is becoming increasingly difficult. We must be prepared to maximize our time with our donors and supporters, particularly at events we host or attend. How often can we afford, literally and figuratively, to make mistakes like this organization?

It sounds simple, but an effective email welcome series takes time, detailed thinking and the right technology.