Building a loyal donor base who will consistently contribute to your organization is key to helping your nonprofit grow in the long-term. This is why it’s critical for you to take a strategic approach to donor retention that focuses on nurturing genuine human relationships. The strategies we share with you in “How to Retain Donors – Tools & Tips” will help cultivate donor loyalty and motivate your donors to give for years to come.
What is Donor Retention?
Donors who have contributed to your cause at least one time require donor retention strategies to get them to donate again to your organization. Effective donor retention strategies will increase the activity of these donors by motivating them to give to your cause.
A nonprofit that has a low donor retention rate is losing donors due to inactivity.
How to Calculate Donor Retention
Your donor retention rate is the percentage of donors who previously gave to your nonprofit and continue to contribute to your organization. Calculate this percentage by dividing the number of donors who gave this year by the number of donors that gave last year, and multiplying that number by 100. For a benchmark, the average repeat donor retention rate for nonprofits is around 45%.
Why Retaining Donors is Important
There are several reasons why donor retention is critical for a nonprofit’s success.
1. Donor acquisition is expensive and time-consuming. It’s much less expensive to ask a donor to give again than to acquire a new donor.
2. When donors give to your organization over time they’re more likely to increase their contribution amounts. They can also potentially be the donors who become major givers or leave planned gifts in their wills.
3. Retained donors are a more reliable source of referrals, volunteerism, and peer-to-peer fundraising for your nonprofit.
Donor Retention Strategies
By communicating more frequently and providing diverse opportunities for engagement donors will be motivated donate. Below are various ways you should be communicating with your donors to foster donor retention.
How to Retain Donors – Tools & Tips
Welcome and Thank New Donors
Nonprofits have about 90 days after the first donation to form a relationship. After 90 days, retention drops dramatically. All new donors that have contributed through a direct mail appeal should receive a new donor welcome package. At minimum a thank you letter, welcome letter, and reply envelope should be included in the package. Even better, include a brochure highlighting what the donors gift accomplishes as well as the people and/or programs it helps fund.
New donors who have contributed through an email appeal should receive a welcome email series. Incorporate these strategies for writing a welcome email series for new donors who have come on board through an email campaign.
Acknowledge and Thank
Every time a donor gives, they need to be acknowledged and thanked. No exception. Learn how to write thank you letters that donors love to make them feel appreciated and valued. While you shouldn’t ask for another gift in an acknowledgment, include a reply envelope. It is a subtle donation opportunity that lets donors know that contributions are always welcome.
Personalize All Appeals
Personalize all of your letter and email appeals. It provides a stronger connection to your donor and will generally increase the response rate.
Obtain a Second Gift in Year One
Do everything—and I mean everything—you can to obtain a second gift in the first year a donor gives support to your organization. Donors who make an additional gift soon after the initial donation are twice as likely to make a gift in their second year. You can do this with storytelling and making an emotional connection by sharing donor impact stories, highlighting beneficiary testimonials, and showcasing transformative projects.
Mail Your Best Donors More Often
Build a relationship by segmenting your file and mailing your best donors more often. Send a compelling renewal mailing or email appeal at least once a month to these segments of your donor file.
Send a Follow-up Mailing
Follow-up appeals, whether through email appeals or direct mail campaigns, are cost effective ways to get additional donations by just re-sending or re-mailing the same appeal. If re-mailing a direct mail package, you could consider changing the envelope teaser copy and, if you’re mailing a premium, consider testing the follow-up without the premium inside. Mail the follow up package three weeks after your initial appeal.
If you are resending an email, you can consider changing the main image.
Mail a Certificate of Appreciation
Sending donors an appeal with a certificate of appreciation is a great way to show them you care. It has been proven to be an effective way to motivate donors to give and to let them know their donations are appreciated.
Create Major and Planned Giving Programs
Major Giving Programs
It’s well-known in the non-profit industry that 88% of an organization’s donations are from 12% of its donors. Major donors contribute substantially to overall fundraising goals and the success of an organization, but they need to feel special with targeted communications. If your organization doesn’t have a major gift program or needs a refresh, read How to Acquire Major Donors – Tools & Tips for essential information to creating and sustaining a successful major donor program.
Planned Giving Programs
The majority of planned gifts come from donors who gave 15 or more times during their lifetimes. However, a donor’s planned gift in in direct correlation with the type of relationship he/she has with an organization. Create a planned giving strategy to identify and steward these donors. These planned giving tools & tips will help you create a meaningful and effective planned giving program.
The bottom line is when you cultivate donor loyalty and prioritize retention, you increase the donors’ lifetime value and boost your donations. “How to Retain donors—Tools & Tips” will help you motivate your donors to give to your organization for years to come.
We know you’re busy, and we know your donors are busy. Let us help you connect with your donors by creating a donor-retention strategy for your organization. Consistent and frequent communication that motivates and informs will keep your donors engaged and foster growth at every level. Please connect with me, either by phone or email, and let’s see what we can do together.
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Write Choice Marketing – Helping nonprofits raise donations through compelling copy, engaging content, and donor responsive strategies that get results. We offer creative, cost-effective fundraising and marketing solutions. Contact us today for a free 30-minute consultation.
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