Loving Your

Donors

5 THINGS YOU CAN START

DOING RIGHT NOW TO

CREATE LIFETIME DONOR

RELATIONSHIPS

DONOR-FOCUSED DEVELOPMENT: FROM THE GROUND UP

ABOUT ME

Publisher: The Grow Report weekly enewsAuthor

•Five Days to Foundation Grants•Simple Development SystemsFounderSimple Development Systems | The Membership ProgramCo-creator100 Donors in 90 DaysThe Donor Retention Project

DO YOU KNOW YOUR RETENTION RATE?

“Over 70% of people that we recruit into organizations never come back and make another gift, so we’re caught on this treadmill where we have to spend lots of money on acquisition which most nonprofits lose money on anyway, just to stand still.”- Dr. Adrian Sargeant

A SIMPLE WAY TO CALCULATE

https://bloomerang.co/retention

Remember...the cost to acquire a

new donor is 6-7 times that to retain existing

donors.

Increase your donor retention by just 10%

today and you can enhance the lifetime value of your donor

base by 200%

“taking positive steps to

reduce gift and donor losses is the least expensive strategy

for increasing fundraising income.”

Roger Craver

ARE YOU READY TO STOP YOUR ORGANIZATION’S LEAKY BUCKET??

QUODSI FUISSET NE MEI. EAM AN JUSTO DETRACTO. DUO AT IDQUE DETRACTO.

5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW TO CREATE LIFETIME DONOR RELATIONSHIPS

How did you get here?

“Quodsi ne mei. Eam an justo detracto. Duo at idque integre detracto, in alia agam. At eam

odio probatus. Porro mediocritatem”

THIS IS HOW MY THANK YOU LETTERS USED TO READ...

Start with your thank you letter

5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW

SAY THANK YOU LIKE YOU MEAN IT!

7 COMPONENTS OF AN IDEAL THANK YOU LETTER

1.Personalization. 2.A captivating opening. 3.Impact. 4.Let them know how they can be in touch. 5.Have you referenced their gift amount and/or past giving?6.Is it donor-focused? 7.Hand-sign your thank you letters.

BEFORE...

AFTER

PUT ‘EM IN A BINDER!

•Thank you for annual fund donation

•Thank you for in-kind donation

•Thank you for board gift

•Thank you for bequest gift

•Thank you for in-memoriam gift

•Thank you for foundation grant

•Initial thank you for monthly gift

•Thank you for bequest gift

•Direct mail thank you for online gift/email thank you for online gift

DON’T FORGET YOUR EMAIL THANK YOU

WHAT’S YOUR PLAN FOR NEW DONORS?

FOR NEW DONORS...WITHIN 60 DAYS OF THE THANK YOU LETTER

•Follow up with a welcome kit•Thank you calls•Call them with an invitation to join your organization’s monthly giving program•Your thoughts?

WHAT GOES IN A FIRST-TIME DONOR WELCOME KIT?

•New donor newsletter•FAQ statement•“Pass it on” packet•Invitation to join monthly giving•Annual report•Donation envelope

WELCOME NEWSLETTER

QUODSI FUISSET NE MEI. EAM AN JUSTO DETRACTO. DUO AT IDQUE DETRACTO.

“PASS IT ON” PACKET

AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR LAPSED DONORS?

Let them know you love them and miss them - and want them

1. Start with your thank you letter 2. Thank you calls

5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW

“A thank you call to a newly acquired donor yields 40% more revenue in year two.” Penelope Burk, Fundraising Statistician

DAILY GRATITUDE CALLS

CREATE A RITUAL

“The one thing that we have done is to phone every donor when the donation is received and thank them BEFORE doing anything else.”

Sharon Evans PresidentBC Schizophrenia Society Penticton BC V2A 5K2

Start with your thank you letter Thank you calls

Show impact before you ask for another gift

5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW

SHOW IMPACT

•Newsletters•Impact reports•Email updates•Welcome kit•Facebook; social media posts•Get your program staff involved•Your thoughts?

Social Media

VIDEO

Start with your thank you letter Thank you calls

How well do you know your donors? Surveying

Show impact before you ask for another gift

5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW

WHAT DO YOUR DONORS REALLY THINK?

SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONS

What donors say they want and what they actually respond to are two different things. 1.What first motivated you to support us?2.What area/s of our work are you most passionate about?3.For animal rights organizations, ask about their petsPersonal questions:Level of education, employment status, date of birth give you a good idea of who your best donors are.

Start with your thank you letter Thank you calls

How well do you know your donors? Surveying

Show impact before you ask for another gift

5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW

Get your board on board!

“Stop asking your board members

to find new

CULTIVATE AN ATTITUDEOF GRATITUDE WITHIN YOUR BOARD

•Board thank you calls•Handwritten thank you notes from board members•Encourage board members to share impact stories•Have board members invite donors to insider events•Ask donors for advice

•Your thoughts?

WE’VE COVERED...

Why you should care about retention

How to write the perfect thank you letter

Donor calls

Showing impact

Getting board involved in the process

“The top of the pyramid isn’t people with money. It’s people with deep connection to the mission. We’ve all seen instances where people without a lot of dispensable income really stretched to make a significant gift to something that matters to them — to an organization where they feel engaged in the work, connected to the leaders, on fire about the impact. My husband and I have done that, when we were leaders on boards, and we’re not rich. If we think about the top of the pyramid (or triangle) being the people with fire in their belly about our work, it takes the focus off rich people. I’d rather have a donor base full of people without a lot of resources who care deeply, than with rich people who don’t.”

Susan Howlett

You must see your current donors as the valuable assets

that they are!

RESOURCES

QUESTION TIME

A YEAR’S WORTH OF TRAINING & SUPPORT