Fundraising is all about building relationships. Building trust with potential donors, stewarding current donors, and reminding lapsed donors that you share common values. With strong relationships that go beyond simply asking for money, you can create a sustainable giving community where everyone feels good about their impact and your organization.
This guide reviews the fundamentals of donor acquisition and stewardship, as well as tactics for reaching new donors and engaging those who have lapsed.
Let’s start with new donor acquisition
Growing your contact list and finding new donors can be daunting. Figuring out who to ask, when to ask, and how to ask can be tricky. And yet these intimidating tasks are often at the top of the to do list for many nonprofits. Here are some steps and ideas to make this important effort manageable and successful.
First, perform a communications audit
Before you begin your outreach to engage donors, you will want to make sure your messaging is clear and consistent across all your communication channels. Here are some of the places you should review:
Website
Can visitors quickly assess the purpose of your organization, and how they can be a part of the solution? Is your donate button visible at the top of the page? Can you enable a pop-up to invite visitors to join your newsletter list?
Social media
Are you active on social media? If not choose 1-2 social media platforms and start posting! Make sure you are creating conversation, posting in way that invites readers to get involved and make a difference.
Charity watchdog websites
Have you checked to see your rating on the various charity watchdog websites, such as Charity Navigator and GuideStar? New donors may use these sites to confirm your credibility, so it is important to make sure your information is accurate.
Giving campaigns
Do you have a plan for asking new prospects for support, like an upcoming mail and/or email appeal? If so, is your messaging engaging and donor-centric?
Gift tracking systems
Are you comfortable with, and using, your donor management system (DMS)? Are you collecting all the relevant information – full name, address, phone, email, donation date, and amount? No one wants to put in the effort to attract new donors and then not have the ability to steward them.
Second, identify new donors
There are many ways to bring money into an organization – foundations, programs, government funding, endowment income, and individuals. In this section we will focus on individual donors.
Your best individual prospects will check all the “ABC’s of Prospecting” boxes – Access, Belief, and Capacity:
Access
People you already know or with whom you share a solid connection
Belief
People who share similar interests and values and already believe in your mission
Capacity
People with the financial means to give
Here are some practical and effective tips for finding your first 100 donors (or growing an already established donor base):
Put out content that identifies a problem, and then share how the donor can help solve it.
Use social media to engage people and create conversation and dialogue.
Include a donate button in all your communications.
Tell ten people you know well that they can be part of jumpstarting an impactful initiative. Tell them how their support will make a difference and ask them to make a gift (and to consider being a monthly donor).
Ask one of these initial donors if you can use their gift as a matching challenge!
Make a gift yourself, at any amount. This shows others that you believe deeply in the cause and brings an authenticity to your ask of others.
Invite your donors to become ambassadors.
Ask board members for a monetary commitment. Then ask them to get involved and share your mission with their networks – friends, work colleagues, book clubs, neighbors, golf buddies, etc. Draft language they can use to ask their connections to “join them” in supporting your mission.
Participate in a locally established “giving day.”
Host a special event to raise awareness and money. It doesn’t have to be big – it could be a small house party, a 5K run, a tour of your facility, or a profit-share collaboration with a local restaurant.
Organize a peer-to-peer (P2P) campaign. These efforts empower your current supporters to raise money from new audiences on behalf of your organization.
Create an online petition, and ask signers for their support.
Launch a fundraising campaign! Send a direct mail appeal to everyone on your contact list, follow it up with e-appeals, social media posts, texts, and videos. Let people know you need their support – you won’t raise any money if you don’t tell people you need them.
The Science and Art of Donor Stewardship and Retention
Many organizations focus their fundraising attention on acquiring new donors. But just as important is donor retention. After spending all that energy to bring in new donors, the last thing you want to do lose them.
The statistics around donor retention are startling:
Less than 20% of first-time donors ever give a second gift.
The average retention rate for donors each year is about 40%.
Once someone gives a second gift, the likelihood of them making three or more donations increases to 60%.
Most nonprofits understand the importance of sending a timely, formal receipt and thank you message. This is part of the formula, or science, of donor stewardship. The "art" is going above and beyond the transactional acknowledgement and developing a relational thank you, and reporting, approach.
Think of donor retention as starting with the thank you and then becoming an interactive relationship.
Practice the “ask – thank – report – repeat” pattern of communication so that before you ask for a second gift, the donor already knows they are appreciated and the difference their gift has made. How personal each of these steps is will depend on your capacity as an organization, and on the amount of a donor’s gift.
The best ways to thank and report to your donors
How can you use your acknowledgements to make your relationship more personal, so a donor feels seen and appreciated?
First, you’ll need to segment your list. First-time donors should be in their own category. Top donors in another. Decide how many people you have the capacity to create a more personal stewardship plan for, and get going! Here are some suggestions for how to approach your different donor groups.
First-time donors
Call as many of your first-time donors as you can. Ask what inspired them to give, and try to learn something about them. Let them know you are grateful they chose your organization when there are so many options out there. Consider sending a personal video thank you – these messages are powerful and well received!
Develop a new donor thank you email series. This can be a set of 3 emails, spread out over a couple months. This series can consist of a more personal thank you, information on upcoming programs, a history of your org, ways to get involved, a survey of what interests them most, etc.
Thank again! Share your gratitude throughout the year, not just after the gift arrives.
Send them an impact report a few months after their gift. This can be a story about someone who was helped by your organization, and therefore by the donor, a list of what you have accomplished since their gift, testimonials, etc. The report should be filled with feeling and gratitude and be donor-centric.
Monthly donors
Monthly donors are the most active and generous supporters over time – staying in touch with them throughout the year is an important investment! Consider a thank you call to these sustaining donors once a year. Schedule quarterly or semi-annual impact reports that illustrate how they are making a difference. Consider inviting them to visit the organization and see their support in action. Most importantly, don’t forget about this incredibly impactful group of donors just because their support is automated!
Top givers
One major donor can have a significant impact on your budget, so it is essential that you build an authentic relationship with these extra-generous supporters based on your shared values.
Who qualifies as a top donor? That will depend on your organization. For some it is $10,000 and above. For others, it might be $250. Figure out how many people you can steward in this more personal way and create a plan for more regular outreach. This might include in-person meetings over coffee, site visits, and sending impact reports throughout the year. You might send them a research article that speaks to the importance of your cause. Or ask for their advice on a special project.
Everyone else!
Every donor matters! Top donors often start with smaller gifts. So no matter what level a donor is at, or how they give, make sure you have thanked them, and reported back on the difference they made, before you ask them again. Thanking can be an email, a letter, a video, a phone call, or a hand-written note. Reporting should be donor-centric, letting them know how they made a difference and that the work of your organization is only possible thanks to their philanthropic support. Use stories to paint a picture of success and impact.
What about lapsed donors? A guide to re-engagement
The first step to creating a strong re-engagement plan for lapsed donors is to understand why donors have lapsed. For some, it is a result of life changes – financial, family, geographic. These reasons are out of your control. But for many donors they stop giving because they were not adequately engaged or appreciated by the organization. They didn’t feel like their support was needed.
Here are some ways to re-engage lapsed donors:
For donors who gave at high levels, send a personal letter or email saying you are so grateful for their past generous support, and you would like to know more about why they gave, and why they stopped giving. Let them know you will follow up with a phone call. If someone on your leadership team knows the donor, ask them to do this outreach.
If a top donor misses just one giving cycle, don’t assume they are a lost cause. Reach out and let them know you noticed their gift hadn’t come in - had you missed their check? Lean into the relationship to learn more.
Create a lapsed donor appeal campaign to reach a large number of people. Use mass communication tools like a group video, email blast, or letter. Emphasize that you are thankful for their past contributions, and that their support is still needed. Let them know they can still have an important impact. Make it tangible. For example, “your $20 gift will provide a week of afterschool literacy classes – and hours of encouragement and hope for a child struggling to read.”
Remember, a lapsed donor had a reason they donated to your organization, and they have a reason they stopped giving. While you cannot change everyone’s mind or situation, it is worth focusing some of your fundraising energy on this group each year.
In conclusion
Fundraising is a marathon, not a sprint. Finding new donors can feel like a daunting, overwhelming task. But each new donor is a success, and could be the person who launches your next big initiative. Remember to steward your donors well, making sure they know they are important and making a difference. Everyone wants to make an impact – your job is to assure them that is possible!