database

How Making Wise Investments Can Help You Raise More Money

Ann Green Communications, database, direct mail, donor engagement, donor retention, monthly donors, planning , , , , ,

In most instances, nonprofit giving declined again in 2023. If you’re interested in the numbers, here are the latest results from M + R Benchmarks.

If your giving has gone down, you may have cut back on some expenses. While that’s understandable on one level, you need to be careful before you nix something you think you can’t afford. It may be something you should be investing in.

Instead of going on autopilot and saying “We can’t afford this,” think about how you can make wise investments. Stay away from the scarcity mindset. It’s often not helpful.

Here are a few areas you should be investing more money in. The good news is if you do it well, these investments can help you raise more money.

Invest in a good CRM/database

Plain and simple, a good CRM (customer relationship management)/database can help you raise more money. You can segment your donors by giving amount and politely ask them to give a little more in your next appeal – $35 or $50 instead of $25. Many organizations don’t ask their donors to upgrade their gifts and you’re leaving money on the table when you neglect to do this.

A good database can help you with retention, which will save you money since it costs less to keep donors than to acquire new ones. Donor retention continues to be a huge problem.

Many CRMs have built-in payment processors. If not, invest in a good one. 

Your CRM will let you personalize your letters and email messages. Make sure to invest in a good email service provider, too. Personalized letters and messages mean you can address your donors by name and not Dear Friend. You can welcome new donors and thank current donors for their previous support. You can send targeted mailings to lapsed donors to try to woo them back. You can send special mailings to your monthly donors. You can record any personal information, such as conversations you had with a donor and their areas of interest.

In short, you can do a lot with a good CRM/database. Invest in the best one you can afford, and Excel is not a database.

If you’re worried about spending $50 to $100 a month on a CRM/database, you may be able to recoup that expense if you can ask for an upgrade and personalize your communication.

Invest in direct mail

You may not use direct mail that much, especially over the last few years. Some organizations were never or rarely using it before the pandemic.

If that’s the case for you, you’re missing out on an effective and more personal way to communicate with your donors. Think of the enormous amount of email and social media posts you receive as opposed to postal mail. Your donors will be more likely to see your messages if you send them by mail.

Yes, direct mail is more expensive, but you don’t have to mail that often. Quality is more important than quantity but aim for at least three or four times a year, and don’t just send fundraising appeals.

Give some thought to what you send. Some ideas, besides appeal letters, include thank you letters/cards; Thanksgiving, holiday, and/or Valentine’s Day cards; infographic postcards; two-to-four-page newsletters; and impact reports. You could put a donation envelope in your newsletter to raise some additional revenue, but do not put one in a thank you or holiday card. I wouldn’t recommend putting one in an impact report either, especially if you only do one a year.

Shorter is better. Lengthy communication will cost more and your donors are less likely to read it. 

A few ways you can use direct mail without breaking your budget are to clean up your mailing lists to avoid costly duplicate mailings, spread thank you mailings throughout the year – perhaps sending something to a small number of donors each month, and look into special nonprofit mailing rates. You may also be able to get print materials done pro bono or do them in-house, as long as they look professional.

Of course, you can use email, but your primary reason for communicating that way shouldn’t be because it’s cheaper. Both direct mail and email have their place, but in many cases, direct mail is more effective. They also work well when you use them together.

Invest in monthly giving

If you don’t have a robust monthly giving program, you’re missing out on a great way to raise more money. Monthly giving is one of the few types of fundraising that saw an increase last year. It’s good for all nonprofit organizations, but it’s especially beneficial for small nonprofits.

All it takes is for someone to start giving $5.00 or $10.00 a month (hopefully more). These small gifts add up. Also, the retention rate for monthly donors is around 90%. Plus, they’re more likely to become mid-level, major, and legacy donors.

This is why having a good CRM is so important. It will help you find potential monthly donors and segment your current monthly donors so you can send them specialized donor communications. 

Don’t wait any longer to invest in this proven way to raise more money. If you already have a strong monthly giving program (kudos to you), take the next step and invest in mid-level donors and so on.

Invest in donor communications

By donor communications I mean thank you letters/notes, newsletters, and other updates. Some organizations don’t prioritize these and want to spend their time “raising money.” They don’t seem to realize they can raise more money with better donor communications. Remember this formula – ask, thank, report, repeat.

Don’t skimp on your communications budget. Creating thank you cards and infographic postcards is a good investment and a necessity, not a luxury. Thank you cards are a much better investment than mailing labels and other useless swag.

Maybe you need to reallocate your budget to cover some of these expenses. You could also look into additional sources of unrestricted funding. 

Of course, you can also use email and social media to communicate with donors. This reiterates the need for a good email service provider with professional looking templates for your email newsletter and other updates.

Invest in infrastrucure

We need to stop treating overhead or infrastructure as something negative. Most individual donors don’t care about overhead, anyway. However, some funders want us to spend our budget on programs, but how can we successfully run our programs if we don’t have enough staff and can barely afford to pay the people we do have? A rotating door of development staff makes it hard to maintain those important relationships. We also have to pay rent and other expenses (including a CRM, direct mail communication, etc.).

Until these funders stop worrying so much about overhead, you may want to invest some time in finding unrestricted funding sources – often those important individual gifts, such as monthly donations and mid-level/major gifts. 

Don’t limit yourself by saying you can’t afford certain expenses. If you make wise investments, you should be able to raise more money.

Could Your Nonprofit Benefit From a Little Spring Cleaning?

Ann Green Communications, database, fundraising, planning, thank you letters, writing , , , , ,

It’s spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, although in the Boston area it doesn’t feel like it right now. 

A lot of people use this time of the year to do some spring cleaning. I envy the people who do that because usually I’m not one of them. 

I know I should do more. As much as I dislike cleaning and organizing, I’m happy once it gets done. Often getting started is the hardest part.

Your nonprofit organization may be putting off some version of your own spring cleaning and decluttering. It’s important to make some time to tackle these so-called cumbersome tasks. Just think how happy you’ll be when you’re done. You’ll also make some much-needed improvements to your infrastructure and donor communication.

Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.

Clean up your mailing lists and CRM/database

Has it been a while since you updated your mailing lists? Did you have an influx of address changes, returned mail, and bounced emails after you sent your year-end appeal? This is a good time to clean up and update both your direct mail and email mailing lists.

Don’t wait until right before your next mailing or campaign to clean up your donor data. If it’s been a while since you’ve done this, then you really need to do what is known as data hygiene.

Even though it’s tedious, have someone who’s familiar with your donors (your development director?) go through your mailing lists and CRM/database to see if you need to make any additions, changes, and deletions.

Be meticulous. No donor wants to see her name misspelled, be addressed as Mrs. when she prefers Ms., or receive three mailings because you have duplicate records.

Your CRM/donor database is an essential tool and it needs to be up-to-date and filled with accurate information about your donors.

Run your donor list through the National Change of Address database. It may cost some money to do this, but it’s worth it if you come out with squeaky-clean data. Do it at least once a year.

Also, if you haven’t already done this, segment your donors into different groups – new donors, returning donors, monthly donors, etc. You may need to make some changes. For example, if a single gift donor starts giving monthly.

You might also want to move some lapsed donors who haven’t donated for several years into an inactive file. Don’t do this until you’ve sent targeted, personalized appeals asking them to donate again. And if you’ve never gotten in touch with any lapsed donors from 2023, you could reach out to them now.

Do the same thing with your email list. It doesn’t make sense to send emails to people who don’t respond to them. Give these people a chance to re-engage, and if they’re not even opening your emails, move them to an inactive file. Don’t worry if people unsubscribe. You’re better off with an email list of engaged subscribers.

Also, if you find you keep saying, “Our database doesn’t let us do that.”, maybe it’s time for an upgrade.

Freshen up your messages

Spring is a time to open up the windows and let some fresh air replace the stale air that’s been accumulating in your house over the last several months.

You know what else might be stale – your messages. Take some time to freshen them up, if you haven’t done that for a while. Ideally, you should do this at least once a year. I mentioned this in a recent post, emphasizing that your donor communication needs to be clear, conversational, and specific. Stay away from generic language and jargon. 

There’s a good chance your thank you letters need a refresh. Your thank you letters need to actually thank your donors, not brag about your organization. Also, make sure your automatically generated thank you emails and landing pages don’t look like boring receipts. Create separate templates for new donors, current donors, and monthly donors. 

Thank you messages are one of the most important components of donor communication. Make yours sparkle.

Weed and grow 

People who have gardens spend a lot of time getting rid of weeds to ensure a beautiful garden. I’m not a gardener. I live in a townhouse and don’t have a yard, but even I know I need to cut off the dead leaves on my houseplants to help them grow.

What are your weeds? Perhaps it’s events or grants. These can take a lot of time and don’t always bring in that much money.

If that’s the case for you, a better option is to grow your individual giving program. Start with monthly giving. You can think of this as a houseplant approach, relatively easy to take on and maintain. Then move on to major and legacy giving. These will take more time, just like a seedling that with care and attention will grow into a tree.

As you work on your weeding, this article on simplicity might be helpful. It suggests you do an audit of various aspects of your life and ask –  Is it necessary and is it creating energy? If you answer Yes to both, keep it. If you answer No to both, remove it. If you answer Yes to one, think about it. 

For your nonprofit, the energy question can be turned around and you can ask if something is depleting your energy. You could also ask, is it producing results?

It can be hard to let go. Maybe you’ve held a particular event for years. But like weeds in a garden, it might be prohibiting your growth. Let go of this event (or whatever doesn’t serve you) and find ways to raise money that will help you grow.

Don’t wait too long

I know you’re busy, but you need to take on these initiatives sooner rather than later. Just like the clutter and dust in your home, along with the weeds in your garden, they won’t disappear on their own. The longer you ignore it, the worse it gets. 

Get started on these spring cleaning projects as soon as you can. You’ll be happy once they’re done. Your donors will be happy if they don’t get duplicate mailings and a fundraising letter laced with jargon, but do receive a personalized appeal and a stellar thank you letter. Your organization will also benefit by taking on initiatives and making investments that will help you grow.

Why You Need to Segment Your Donors

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, donor engagement, donor retention, fundraising, thank you letters , , , , ,

I’ve been emphasizing the importance of personalizing your communication lately. One way to do that is to segment your donors.

Your donors are not the same. Some donors have given for at least five years (these donors should get a lot of attention). Some are monthly donors. Yet, nonprofit organizations fail to recognize that and send everyone the same messages. 

I often receive generic, one-size-fits-all communication from organizations that don’t acknowledge I’m a longtime donor or recognize that I’m a monthly donor. How do you think that makes me feel?

Another benefit of segmenting your donors is it can help you raise more money. If you’ve been struggling to meet your revenue goals, that may be why.

Unfortunately, if you’re not segmenting your donors into different groups, you’re missing opportunities here –  both to connect with your donors and to raise additional revenue. 

Isn’t it time for you to start segmenting your donors? If you’re already segmenting your donors, kudos to you!

You may be worried about how much time this will take. Plus, you don’t think your current CRM/database can handle it and it will cost too much to get a better one. 

In reality, it may cost you more not to segment. A good CRM/database is worth the investment. Segmenting your donors will help you with retention, which costs less than trying to find new donors. 

Your appeals and thank you letters will stand out if you can personalize them and not send everyone the same generic letter. You don’t need to create a 100 different types of letters, though. Four or five should be sufficient. 

Here are a few different types of donor groups to help get you started. Remember, investing in a good CRM/database will help you with this.

Current single gift donors

An appeal letter to current single gift donors (Monthly donors get their own appeal. More on that below.) must acknowledge their past support. You can segment donors by gift amount and use this opportunity to ask for an upgrade. Many organizations don’t do this, but it’s a good way to increase your revenue.

Your donors will be more receptive to upgrading their gifts if you’ve been doing a good job of thanking them and staying in touch throughout the year.

If these donors give again, they should get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter letting them know how much you appreciate their continued support. If they’ve upgraded their gift, be sure to acknowledge that, too. 

Potential/new single gift donors

If you’re sending an appeal to someone who’s never donated to your nonprofit before, what is your connection to them? Are they volunteers, event attendees, or people on a list you purchased?

The more you can establish a connection, the better chance you have of getting a donation.

The retention rate for first-time donors is terrible. One of the reasons is poor communication. You can help boost your retention rate by making your new donors feel special.

New donors should get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter welcoming them as donors. Invite them to connect with you in other ways such as signing up for your newsletter, following you on social media, and volunteering.

Then a week or so later, send them a welcome package by mail or email. Personalization is essential for new donors.

One of the biggest hurdles nonprofits face is ensuring first-time donors give a second time. If they keep giving after that, they’re showing their commitment to your organization. That’s why the second gift is called a golden donation. Don’t blow it by ignoring this.

New monthly donors

Brand new donors who opt for monthly or other recurring donations get the same special thank you treatment mentioned above. Welcome them to your family of monthly donors. 

Current monthly donors

Your current monthly donors must get their own appeal that recognizes them as monthly donors. In this appeal, you can either ask them to upgrade their gift or give an additional gift. 

When your donors give an additional gift or upgrade their monthly gift, they, of course, get an amazing thank you.

Current donors who become monthly donors

Your current donors who decide to become monthly donors are also showing their commitment to you. They get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter thanking them for their continued support and for joining your family of monthly donors. From now on they should get specialized appeals and other communication targeted to monthly donors. 

Segment as much as you can

While I’ve suggested a few ways you can segment, there are many more options. You can segment by gift amount and number of years someone has been a donor. You can segment volunteers, event attendees, and non-donors. You can also use segmentation in other types of communication, such as creating a special newsletter for monthly donors (or at the very least including a cover letter for monthly donors with your newsletter) and sending handwritten notes to people on their donor anniversary.

Segmenting your donors makes a difference

We continue to face an uncertain economy. It’s possible some donors may cut back on their giving. Don’t let them choose between organizations that communicate throughout the year with engaging personalized appeals, thank yous, and updates or organizations that just send generic, one-size-fits-all communication. People always appreciate a personal connection.

Spending some extra time segmenting your donors and personalizing your communication will be worth it if you can raise additional revenue and boost your retention rate.

Using Donor Data to Personalize Your Text Donation Appeals

Ann Green database, donor retention, fundraising, monthly donors, text donations , , ,

Data can help inform your nonprofit’s approach to text-to-give and drive greater fundraising results. Use these tips to boost your text messaging strategy. 

 By Mike Snusz

In order for your nonprofit to effectively reach supporters via a text donation campaign, you will need to simulate an authentic, one-on-one communication experience. The best way to personalize your messages and create highly tailored donation appeals is to leverage donor data. 

A text donation campaign informed by donor data is more likely to inspire donors to act and bring in greater fundraising results. By segmenting your contact lists into subgroups based on data insights, your nonprofit can produce relevant text messages and donation requests that will resonate with supporters. 

Use these donor insights to support your nonprofit’s text-to-give strategies and drive a greater ROI: 

  • Donation frequency
  • Donation recency
  • Donation amount
  • Demographics
  • Level of involvement

To track these metrics and set your text-to-give campaign up for success, you’ll need the right tools. Tatango’s guide to nonprofit text messaging recommends looking for a text fundraising platform that will readily sync with your nonprofit’s CRM and provide your organization with real-time campaign analytics and performance tracking. This way each donor action will provide more information about their behavior and persona, allowing your nonprofit to leverage this data in the future for more targeted communications. 

Explore the following donor insights to make your text donation campaigns more engaging. 

Donation frequency

How often do your donors give to your organization? Do they give on a recurring basis? Annually? Monthly? Or, perhaps your organization has donors who used to donate regularly, but you haven’t received a contribution from them in a while. On the other hand, you may have one-time donors who never renewed their support.

With the help of your donor management software and text fundraising platform, track and use these data insights to inform how you frame your donation requests. Donation frequency can guide the type of segments your organization makes. For instance, you might create text donation segments that target:

  • Lapsed donors. Re-engage donors who you have not heard from in a while by reminding them why they should support your cause. Create a text donation segment that discusses upcoming projects and how your nonprofit is making a difference in its community. 
  • Monthly donors. Your monthly donors are already avid supporters of your cause, so you should go beyond sending a generic request to give to your organization. Instead, you can encourage these donors to increase their monthly giving amount. 
  • Recurring annual donors. Your nonprofit likely has donors who only give once a year. Create a separate segment to motivate these donors to sign up for monthly giving to maximize their impact and make a greater difference. 

As you send requests to these different subgroups, track any changes that take place in the frequency or amount of their donations. These insights will let you know whether your strategies are working or if you need to rework your content and segmentation strategies to better appeal to donors. 

Donation recency

Tracking donation recency can indicate whether donors are actively engaged in your fundraising efforts or if they need more prompting to reconnect with your organization. Plus, donation recency lets you know when it might be the right time to solicit another donation.

For example, suppose you have a donor who submitted a text-to-give donation to your organization last week. Your nonprofit is now hosting a text fundraiser to coincide with your upcoming fundraising gala. It would not be optimal to immediately ask this donor for another donation, as this can overwhelm your donor and make them feel more like a source of revenue and less like a valued supporter. 

Instead, you might choose to send a reminder in the middle of your text-to-give campaign. Make sure to consistently express donor appreciation and explain how the funds from this campaign will be used; this will help donors stay engaged and foster strong relationships. NXUnite’s guide to donor recognition suggests thanking donors as soon as they give to assure them that their important contributions have not been overlooked.  

Donation amount

Create segments based on your donor tiers so your donation requests are more likely to be met. For example, your nonprofit should create separate segments for your:

  • Small donors. 
  • Mid-level donors.
  • Major donors.

This way, the donation amount you’re requesting in your text messages is tailored to the individual and makes sense based on their past giving amount. For instance, if a supporter gives $100 every year, it would be unreasonable to try to upgrade their giving amount to $500. Instead, you might ask them to give $15 a month instead of a lump sum of $100, which would give your organization $180 a year.

Demographics

Demographic data, such as age and location, can make it easier to build relationships with donors. 

For example, a higher education institution may take advantage of this data while using text-to-give to raise scholarship money for current students. To better target its messages to alumni, the university might create a segment based on milestone anniversaries, such as former students’ 5-, 10-, or 15-year anniversary since their graduation. In this instance, age data can help the university leverage relevant milestones to build an emotional connection and encourage alumni to give. 

Continuing with this example of a college text-to-give fundraiser, the university could also create segments based on the locations of its alumni. For example, they might create a segment for alumni who still live near campus so they could invite them to sporting events and alumni gatherings year-round. Then, they could create a separate segment for alumni living outside of the local area and send reminders for major events that often bring alumni back to campus, such as homecoming. 

Level of involvement

Keep track of supporters who attend your events, volunteer at your programs, or get involved in other key ways. By doing so, you can create segments that are relevant to your supporters and send them information they would be interested in. 

For example, your nonprofit could create a segment for volunteers. Here, you can highlight your volunteer needs and explain how volunteers can further their involvement by giving. 

You can also break down this volunteer segment into supporters who frequently volunteer and supporters who used to volunteer but have not done so in a while. This is a great opportunity to re-engage lapsed volunteers with your cause, either by inviting them to volunteer again or to donate revenue in lieu of donating their time.

By tracking donor insights with the help of your CRM and text messaging platform, your organization can develop compelling text-to-give campaigns, leading to stronger relationships and more revenue for your cause. Do your research to find the best technology solutions that will meet your nonprofit’s unique needs and streamline the data collection and fundraising processes. This way, your nonprofit can save time and focus on generating text messages that inspire giving. 

Mike Snusz brings 19 years of digital fundraising experience to his role as Director of Nonprofit Customer Experience at Tatango, a text messaging platform for nonprofits and political campaigns. Prior to Tatango, Mike spent 15 years at Blackbaud leading a team of digital consultants that helped nonprofits improve their online fundraising, monthly giving, email marketing, and peer-to-peer fundraising programs. Mike started his nonprofit career managing the Ride For Roswell from 2003 to 2005 in his hometown of Buffalo, NY. 

Don’t Wait Too Long to Start Planning Your Year-End Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, direct mail, donor-centered, fundraising, planning, stories, thank you letters, writing , , , , , , ,

It’s hard to think about fall when it’s been so hot in many parts of the United States and Europe, but September will be here before you know it.

Even though it might be sweltering outside, now is a good time to start planning your year-end fundraising campaign, hopefully in an air-conditioned space. If you’re behind in your revenue goals, you may want to launch it earlier than you have in the past. 

I’ve put together a checklist to help you get started. You can also use this for fundraising campaigns at other times of the year.

How much money do you need to raise?

You may have already set a goal for your year-end campaign in your 2023 fundraising plan (at least I hope you did) and maybe that has changed. 

You must determine how much money you need to raise before you start your campaign and raising as much as we can is not a goal.

Do you have a campaign plan?

Put together a plan for your campaign that includes a timeline, task list, and the different channels you’ll use. Make it as detailed as possible.

When do you want to launch your appeal? Plan on everything taking longer than you think it will, so earlier is better. Keep in mind you’ll be competing with many other organizations who are doing appeals. 

I strongly encourage you to mail an appeal letter. Direct mail appeals are more successful. You can also send an email appeal and follow up with email, as well. 

Maybe you want to send your appeal letters the first week in November. Maybe it’s better to send them in October. Whenever it is, make your goal to have the letters done at least a week before that. Work backwards to figure out how you can get to your proposed send date.

Also, how are you mailing your appeal? Do you use a mail house or get staff and volunteers together to stuff envelopes? Either way, plan ahead, so you’re not scrambling at the last minute.

Do you have a good story and photo to share?

If you’ve been using the same boring, generic appeal letter template for the last few years, it’s time for a refresh. It’s a good idea to revise your templates at least once a year. Our world has changed a lot in the last three years and you need to take that into account.

A good way to start is to create an engaging story for your appeal. Even though the public health emergency is over, COVID is still a part of our lives. Are your clients/community feeling the aftereffects of the pandemic? Are they facing economic challenges? Focus on them, not your organization. Each year is different and this is why you need new stories.  

You’ll want some good photos for your letter and donation page, too. Quotes from clients will also enhance your appeal.

How can your donors help you make a difference?

Your appeal letter should focus on a need and let your donors know how they can help you make a difference. You might want to start by creating a brief and an outline.

You may be seeing more people at your food pantry because of rising food costs and cuts in benefits. Maybe your clients are struggling to find affordable housing.

You can also highlight some of the accomplishments you’ve made recently and state what you would like to do in the coming year, although these are usually more appropriate for a newsletter or impact report. 

One way to frame this is to describe a situation such as this. You run a tutoring program in your community and work with students who are falling behind in school. You can describe how thanks to your generous donors, your one-to-one tutoring program has helped students get better grades and are now less likely to be held back a year. You want to keep that going and serve more students.

Remember to focus on your clients/community and don’t brag about your organization.

Are your mailing lists in good shape?

Make sure your mailing lists are up-to-date. Check for duplicate addresses and typos. Your donors don’t want to receive three letters at the same time or have their names misspelled. Take a little time to do some data hygiene. Give your email list some attention, too.

Also, now is a good time to segment your mailing lists – current donors, monthly donors, lapsed donors, event attendees, etc. This is so important. Your current donors are your best source of donations. You should have more success if you can personalize your appeal letters. Acknowledge if someone has donated in the past or is a monthly donor. Donors like it when you recognize them for who they are.

Do you have enough letterhead, envelopes, and stamps?

Don’t wait until September or October to check your supply of letterhead and envelopes. Make sure you have enough. 

Speaking of envelopes, something besides the standard white business envelope can improve your response rate. Think about using an oversized, colored, or embellished envelope. If that’s not possible, don’t use a window envelope because it resembles a bill. A general rule is you don’t want any of your direct mail pieces to look like a bill or junk mail.

Even though many people donate online, you want to make it easy for donors who prefer to mail a check. Include a pledge envelope or a return envelope and a preprinted form with the donor’s contact information and the amount of their last gift.

Stamps are more personal, so you might want to find some nice ones to use. 

Is it easy to donate online?

Be sure your donation page is user-friendly and consistent with your other fundraising materials. Using a branded donation page and not a third-party site is best. Highlight your year-end appeal on your homepage and include a prominent Donate Now button.

One way to ensure a good experience is to have someone on your staff or, even better, someone outside of your organization make a donation on your website. If they want to tear their hair out, you have some work to do.

Do you offer a monthly or recurring giving option?

I’m a huge fan of monthly giving. It’s a win-win for your organization. You can raise more money, boost your retention rate, receive a steady stream of revenue, and allow your donors to spread out their gifts.

If you don’t have a monthly giving program or have a small one, don’t wait any longer to start one or grow the one you have. Be sure to highlight it as a giving option.

Do you want to find a major funder who will give a matching gift?

One way to raise additional revenue is to find a major funder to match a portion or all of what you raise in your year-end appeal. If you want to go down this route, now would be a good time to reach out to these potential funders.

How will you thank your donors?

Spend as much time on your thank you letter/note as you do on your appeal letter and write them at the same time. And if it’s been a while since you’ve freshened up your thank you templates, you know what you need to do. It’s so important to thank your donors, and thank them well, as soon as you receive their gifts, so have a thank you letter/note ready to go.

Handwritten notes and phone calls are much better than a preprinted letter. Create or buy some thank you cards and start recruiting board members and volunteers to make thank you calls or write notes. 

You’ll want to put together a welcome plan for your new donors and that also needs to be ready to roll after the donations come in.

How will you keep up with your donor communication?

Even though you’ll be busy with your appeal, you want to ramp up your donor communication this fall. Keep engaging your donors and other supporters (who may become donors) by sharing updates and gratitude. Pour on the appreciation! 

Send at least one warm-up letter or email. You could create a thank you video or a video that gives a behind-the-scenes look at your organization. Maybe you could hold an open house or offer tours. Just don’t disappear until appeal time.

Yes, we’re still in a period of economic uncertainty. Some donors may not give as much or at all, but others will give more. They won’t give anything if you don’t ask.

There’s still plenty of time to go to the beach and get ice cream, but right now find that air-conditioned space and start planning your year-end campaign.

Best of luck!

Photo by CreditDebitPro

Making The Right Investments Can Help You Raise More Money

Ann Green Communications, database, direct mail, monthly donors , , ,

You may have heard that nonprofit giving declined in 2022. It’s been a tumultuous few years. Some organizations saw a COVID bump, but now we’re dealing with an uncertain economy. If you’re interested in the numbers, read the latest results from M + R Benchmarks and The Fundraising Effectiveness Project.

If your giving has gone down, you may have cut back on some expenses. While that’s understandable on one level, you need to be careful before you nix something you think you can’t afford. It may be something you should be investing in.

Instead of going on autopilot and saying “We can’t afford this,” think carefully about making the right investments. Stay away from the scarcity mindset.

Here are a few areas you should be investing more money in. The good news is if you do it well, these investments can help you raise more money.

Invest in a good CRM/database

Plain and simple, a good CRM (customer relationship management)/database can help you raise more money. You can segment your donors by giving amount and politely ask them to give a little more in your next appeal – $35 or $50 instead of $25. Many organizations don’t ask their donors to upgrade their gifts and you’re leaving money on the table when you neglect to do this.

A good database can help you with retention, which will save you money since it costs less to keep donors than to acquire new ones. Donor retention continues to be a huge problem.

You can personalize your letters and email messages. Make sure to invest in a good email service provider, too. Personalized letters and messages mean you can address your donors by name and not Dear Friend. You can welcome new donors and thank current donors for their previous support. You can send targeted mailings to lapsed donors to try to woo them back. You can send special mailings to your monthly donors. You can record any personal information, such as conversations you had with a donor and their areas of interest.

In short, you can do a lot with a good CRM/database. Invest in the best one you can afford, and Excel is not a database.

If you’re worried about spending $50 to $100 a month on a CRM/database, you may be able to recoup that expense if you can ask for an upgrade and personalize your communication.

Invest in direct mail

You may not use direct mail that much, especially over the last few years. Some organizations were never or rarely using it before the pandemic.

If that’s the case for you, you’re missing out on an effective and more personal way to communicate with your donors. Think of the enormous amount of email and social media posts you receive as opposed to postal mail. Your donors will be more likely to see your messages if you send them by mail.

Yes, direct mail is more expensive, but you don’t have to mail that often. Quality is more important than quantity but aim for at least three or four times a year.

Give a little thought to what you send. Some ideas, besides appeal letters, include thank you letters/cards; Thanksgiving, holiday, and/or Valentine’s Day cards; infographic postcards; two to four-page newsletters; and impact reports. You could put a donation envelope in your newsletter to raise some additional revenue, but do not put one in a thank you or holiday card. I wouldn’t  recommend putting one in an impact report either, especially if you only do one a year.

Shorter is better. Lengthy communication will cost more and your donors are less likely to read it. 

A few ways you can use direct mail without breaking your budget are to clean up your mailing lists to avoid costly duplicate mailings, spread thank you mailings throughout the year – perhaps sending something to a small number of donors each month, and look into special nonprofit mailing rates. You may also be able to get print materials done pro bono or do them in-house, as long as they look professional.

Of course, you can use email, but your primary reason for communicating that way shouldn’t be because it’s cheaper. Both direct mail and email have their place, but in many cases, direct mail is more effective.

Invest in monthly giving

If you don’t have a robust monthly giving program, you’re missing out on a great way to raise more money. Monthly giving is one of the few types of fundraising that saw an increase last year. It’s good for all nonprofit organizations, but it’s especially useful for small nonprofits.

All it takes is for someone to start giving $5.00 or $10.00 a month (hopefully more). These small gifts add up. Also, the retention rate for monthly donors is around 90%. Plus, they’re more likely to become major and legacy donors.

Don’t wait any longer to invest in this proven way to raise more money.

Invest in donor communications

By donor communications I mean thank you letters/notes, newsletters, and other updates. Some organizations don’t prioritize these and want to spend their time “raising money.” They don’t seem to realize they can raise more money with better donor communications. Remember this formula – ask, thank, report, repeat.

Don’t skimp on your communications budget. Creating thank you cards and infographic postcards is a good investment and a necessity, not a luxury. Thank you cards are a much better investment than mailing labels and other useless swag.

Maybe you need to reallocate your budget to cover some of these expenses. You could also look into additional sources of unrestricted funding. 

Of course, you can also use email and social media to communicate with donors. This reiterates the need for a good email service provider with professional looking templates for your email newsletter and other updates.

Invest in infrastrucure

We need to stop treating overhead or infrastructure as something bad. Some funders want us to spend our budget on programs, but how can we successfully run our programs if we don’t have enough staff and can barely afford to pay the people we do have? A rotating door of development staff makes it hard to maintain those important relationships. We also have to pay rent and other expenses.

Until these funders stop worrying so much about overhead, you may want to invest some time in finding unrestricted funding sources – often individual gifts, such as monthly donations and major gifts.

Don’t limit yourself by saying you can’t afford certain expenses. If you make the right investments, you should be able to raise more money.

Photo by creditdebitpro

Make Time for Some Spring Cleaning

Ann Green Communications, database, donor engagement, email, planning, thank you letters, writing , , , , ,

It’s spring here in the Northern Hemisphere, although in the Boston area spring doesn’t fully kick in until May. 

A lot of people use this time of the year to do some spring cleaning. I know, groan. I envy the people who do that because usually I’m not one of them. 

I know I should do more. As much as I dislike cleaning and organizing, I’m happy once it gets done. Often getting started is the hardest part.

Your nonprofit organization may be putting off some version of your own spring cleaning and decluttering. Make some time to tackle these so-called cumbersome tasks. Just think how happy you’ll be when you’re done. You’ll also make some much-needed improvements to your infrastructure and donor communication.

Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.

Clean up your mailing lists and CRM/database

Has it been a while since you updated your mailing lists? Did you have an influx of address changes, returned mail, and bounced emails after you sent your year-end appeal? This is a good time to clean up and update both your direct mail and email mailing lists.

Don’t wait until right before your next mailing to clean up your donor data. If it’s been a while since you’ve done this, then you really need to do what is known as data hygiene.

Even though it’s tedious, have someone who’s familiar with your donors (your development director?) go through your mailing lists and CRM/database to see if you need to make any additions, changes, and deletions.

Be meticulous. No donor wants to see her name misspelled, be addressed as Mrs. when she prefers Ms., or receive three mailings because you have duplicate records.

Your donor database is an essential tool and it needs to be up-to-date and filled with accurate information about your donors.

Run your donor list through the National Change of Address database. It may cost some money to do this, but it’s worth it if you come out with squeaky-clean data. Do this at least once a year.

Also, if you haven’t already done this, segment your donors into different groups – new donors, returning donors, monthly donors, etc. You may need to make some changes. For example, if a single gift donor starts giving monthly.

You might also want to move some lapsed donors who haven’t donated for several years into an inactive file. Don’t do this until you’ve sent targeted, personalized appeals asking them to donate again. And if you’ve never gotten in touch with any lapsed donors from 2022, you could reach out to them now.

Do the same thing with your email list. It doesn’t make sense to send email to people who don’t respond to it. Give these people a chance to re-engage, and if they’re not even opening your emails, move them to an inactive file. Don’t worry if people unsubscribe. You’re better off with an email list of engaged subscribers.

Freshen up your messages

Now that you’ve cleaned up your mailing lists and segmented your donors, it’s time to freshen up your messages, if you haven’t done that for a while. Ideally, you should do this at least once a year. I mentioned this in a recent post, emphasizing that your donor communication needs to be clear, conversational, and specific. Stay away from generic language and jargon. 

There’s a good chance your thank you letters need a refresh. Your thank you letters need to actually thank your donors, not brag about your organization. Also, make sure your automatically generated thank you emails and landing pages don’t look like boring receipts. Create separate templates for new donors, current donors, and monthly donors.

 Weed and grow 

People who have gardens spend a lot of time getting rid of weeds to ensure a beautiful garden. I’m no gardener. I live in a townhouse and don’t have a yard, but even I know I need to cut off the dead leaves on my houseplants to help them grow.

What are your weeds? Perhaps it’s events or grants. These can take a lot of time and don’t always bring in that much money.

If that’s the case for you, a better option is to grow your individual giving program. Start with monthly giving. You can think of this as a houseplant approach, relatively easy to take on and maintain. Then move on to major and legacy giving. These will take more time, just like a seedling that with care and attention will grow into a tree.

As you work on your weeding, this article on simplicity might be helpful. It suggests you do an audit of various aspects of your life and ask –  Is it necessary and is it creating energy? If you answer “Yes” to both, keep it. If you answer “No” to both, remove it. If you answer “Yes” to one, think about it. 

For your nonprofit, the energy question can be turned around and you can ask if something is depleting your energy. You could also ask, is it producing results?

It can be hard to let go. Maybe you’ve held a particular event for years. But like weeds in a garden, it might be prohibiting your growth. Let go of this event (or whatever doesn’t serve you) and find ways to raise money that will help you grow.

Don’t wait too long

I know you have a lot going on, but you need to take on these initiatives sooner rather than later. Just like the clutter and dust in your home, along with the weeds in your garden, they won’t disappear on their own. The longer you ignore it, the worse it gets. 

Get started on these spring cleaning projects as soon as you can. You’ll be happy once they’re done. Your donors will be happy if they don’t get duplicate mailings and a fundraising letter laced with jargon, but do receive a personalized appeal and a stellar thank you letter. Your organization will also benefit by taking on initiatives that help you grow.

Pay Attention to Your Donor Retention

Ann Green Communications, database, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, gratitude, planning , , , , , ,

Donor retention continues to be a problem for nonprofit organizations. Many organizations spend a lot of time and energy on acquiring donors, concentrating more on volume, and don’t seem to be concerned that they’re churning through different donors year after year.

Acquiring new donors is more expensive than keeping the ones you already have, so it’s important for you to keep track of your retention rate. 

There are many reasons donors don’t give again. Some you can’t control, but many you can. Maybe you’re losing donors because you’re either not communicating enough or communicating poorly. Fortunately, this is something you can fix, but you need to give it your full attention.

Pay attention to your donor relationships

One of the most important components of fundraising is building relationships with your donors. 

Donor relations should be easier than raising money, and it can be fun, too. Make it a priority, as well as something you do throughout the year.

Follow the ask, thank, report formula and give more attention to thanking and reporting. Donors are not ATM’s. They were drawn to your organization because they felt a connection to your work. They want to feel appreciated and hear how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community.

If you don’t pay attention to building relationships, your donors are less likely to give again.

Pay attention to your first-time donors

The retention rate for first-time donors is around 20%. Obviously, we can do better.

If you can get your first-time donors to give again, it’s much more likely they’ll keep giving. That second donation is known as the golden donation. This is why it’s important to engage with your new donors. 

Create a welcome plan that includes a series of messages for new donors. Recruit board members to make thank you phone calls. This is a proven strategy that results in donors giving again.

Let these donors know how much you appreciate this new relationship. If you don’t, it’s likely to be a short relationship. 

But don’t stop there, you also want to acknowledge your longer-term donors and make them feel special.

Pay attention to your lapsed donors

A lapsed donor is someone who hasn’t donated for at least a year. Make a plan to reach out to some of these donors and invite them to give again. Also, ask why they haven’t given. Maybe they forgot. Maybe they can’t afford to give right now. Maybe they were never thanked.

If a donor can’t afford to give right now, stay engaged with them. Maybe they’ll give again in the future. Also, some donors may choose to cut back on their giving. Don’t let them choose between an organization that does a great job of thanking them and sending engaging updates and the one that just sends a bunch of generic appeals.

Donor engagement is so important. A study by Donor Voice shows that donors are more likely to give again when they feel appreciated and the organization lets them know the impact of their gifts.

Pay attention to growing your monthly giving program

I’m a big proponent of monthly giving. Monthly donors have a much higher retention rate. Getting more monthly donors is one way to raise your overall retention rate.

Reach out to your single gift donors who have given at least twice and ask them to join your family of monthly donors. You can also invite donors to give monthly in your welcome package.

Pay attention to your donor communication 

Do you barrage donors with appeals and then go silent for a while? 

Ideally, you want to reach out somewhere between once a week and once a month. And not just with appeals. You need to thank donors and share updates. Remember the ask, thank, report formula. This is crucial for good donor retention. 

Try to reach out by mail at least a few times a year. It’s more personal and your donors are more likely to see your messages. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. A handwritten thank you card or a postcard infographic can be a quick, but effective, way to engage. 

Putting together a communications calendar will help you with this. 

You also want to focus on quality. Just because you send thank you letters and newsletters, doesn’t mean you’re actually engaging with your donors. Write a heartfelt, personal thank you and create a newsletter and other updates with content they’ll be interested in.

Pay attention to your donor data

Something else that will help you with donor retention is to invest in a good CRM/database. This will let you segment donors and personalize their communication. Then you can send targeted communication to new donors, long-time donors, lapsed donors, potential donors, etc. Invest in the best database you can afford. It should pay off.

You may think that paying attention to your donor retention sounds like a lot of work. Well, so is finding new donors.

Bloomerang has a lot of great information on donor retention and keep reading for more ways to pay attention to your donor retention.

Focus on Donor Retention This Year

Donor Retention Strategies: Get Donors to Give Again

Engage, request, repeat: The proven formula for retaining donors

Image via One Way Stock

3 Technology Tools For Improved Nonprofit Grant Management

Ann Green database, grants, planning , ,

Are you looking for tips to elevate your grant management strategy in 2023? Explore three technology tools that can level up your grant fundraising efforts.

By Carl Diesing

Alongside moves management and capital campaigns, grant fundraising is one of the most intricate fundraising activities that a nonprofit organization will undertake.

Rooted in a foundation of strong relationships with grantmaking organizations, successful grant fundraising requires nonprofits to manage and track multiple priorities— specific application requirements, timelines, funding usage guidelines, and reporting expectations. The process is complicated for nonprofits managing a single grant, and that’s before considering that often organizations are juggling many applications and ongoing donor relationships at the same time.

In this guide, we’re going to briefly cover three popular technology tools for grant management. For an in-depth look at grant management and how these tools can assist your nonprofit, explore DNL OmniMedia’s guide on the topic.

Here are the tools we’ll review:

  • Salesforce’s foundationConnect
  • Blackbaud’s Financial Edge NXT
  • EveryAction

Whether you’ve received a foundation grant to be used for a specific project or you’ve been accepted into the ongoing Google Ad Grants program, all grants come with ongoing stipulations and reporting requirements after they’re won. Effective grant management is crucial to remain compliant, but it’s incredibly difficult to stay organized with sub-par grant management software.

The following three solutions are distinguished from the competition in the world of grant management software. 

Salesforce’s foundationConnect

Though Salesforce first emerged as a provider of corporate business solutions, the vendor ventured into the nonprofit world when it created its Nonprofit Success Pack— an overlay that configures the main Salesforce constituent relationship management solutions to be useful for philanthropic organizations. Investing in software can help your nonprofit raise more funds. 

Since then, several nonprofit-specific Salesforce Apps and overlays have emerged to further align with the specific needs of philanthropy. One example is Salesforce’s foundationConnect, a grant management system created to be useful for both grantmakers and grantees alike.

Salesforce’s foundationConnect elevates the grant management process by:

  • Giving grantmakers the tools to track grant funding through all of the major stages in the process, from receiving applications, to dispersing funds, to measuring the outcomes achieved with dispersed funds.
  • Providing applicants with a portal made specifically for grantees, in which they can not only submit completed applications but save in-progress applications while documentation is finalized.
  • Generating status reports for both grantmakers and grantees at each step in the process, so both sides can access ongoing updates as needed.

As a nonprofit, it’s unlikely that you’ll be purchasing and implementing foundationConnect for your own organization’s software lineup. Rather, you’ll interact with it if you choose to apply for a grant with a foundation that uses the system. Regardless, from the grantee’s perspective, it’s still a solution that will elevate your nonprofit’s grant management process when you encounter it.

Blackbaud’s Financial Edge NXT

Blackbaud is a highly-regarded provider in the world of nonprofit technology, with numerous constituent relationship management, marketing, and fundraising solutions available for mid-sized to enterprise organizations. Its grant management solution is called Financial Edge NXT and was created to assist grantees with post-award management once they’ve been granted funding.

To illustrate the importance of post-award management, consider the example of challenge grants.

Double the Donation’s guide to challenge grants defines them as “donations that are made to a nonprofit by a grant-making party once the nonprofit organization has successfully fulfilled a predetermined list of requirements.” Most often, these requirements revolve around raising a specific amount of funding independently before the nonprofit can receive the grant. But, that initial fundraising often has specific parameters as well— including the timeframe in which it must be raised, which types of donations are eligible, and how updates about the process need to be communicated with the grantor. Meeting the “challenge” is reliant on effective post-award management.

Challenge grants are only one example of the importance of post-award management. Most grants require dispersed funds to be used on a specific timeline and for a project or area of operations. The exact use of dispersed funds needs to be reported back to the funder on a predetermined timeline and in the reporting style of the funder’s choice.

Financial Edge NXT was created with an understanding of the complexity of post-award management and has the following functionality to make the process less harrowing for grantees:

  • Multi-Grant Management: Nonprofits that have received numerous grants, each with unique usage, reporting, and timeline requirements, can easily add each grant opportunity to the system to track and meet the requirements.
  • Detailed Records: Record the history of the grant, associated projects, usage thus far, and more within each grant record. This information can be used for your annual report.
  • Reimbursement Management: In the instance that some costs are to be reimbursed by the grantmaker, grantees can record both direct and indirect costs associated with the grant.

Because Financial Edge NXT can be used to manage numerous grants at once, it’s the ideal solution for nonprofits looking to create evergreen grant fundraising procedures. You can create processes within the system, train your team, and use the same procedures for years to come.

EveryAction

EveryAction provides a constituent relationship management solution that’s known most for its advocacy features. However, within this CRM are a number of useful major gift and grant management features to improve the process for nonprofits.

What’s most interesting about EveryAction’s CRM is that, rather than investing in an additional grant management solution, you can access the tools built-in to your CRM. This includes features such as:

  • Workflows to guide your team through identifying and researching funding opportunities prior to submitting applications.
  • The ability to track deadlines and documents from the applications through fund usage and outcomes reporting.
  • Results analysis to help your nonprofit understand areas of improvement for future campaigns.

For advocacy organizations looking to implement grant fundraising into their efforts, it’s hard to find a grant management solution better suited than EveryAction.

Bonus! Tips for Choosing the Right Grant Management Software For Your Nonprofit

We’ve discussed three different grant management tools in this guide, and there are numerous other solutions available for nonprofits. However, it’s important to recognize that not all solutions are created equal— and, when funding as significant as a grant is on the line, choosing the right solution for your specific circumstances is crucial.

To wrap up, keep the following three tips in mind when researching grant management tools for your nonprofit:

  • Partner with a consultant. A nonprofit technology consultant can examine your current software solutions alongside your grant fundraising goals and help you choose the right management software with both in mind. Further, this partner can manage grant management software implementation to ensure your team is positioned for success.
  • Integrate your grant management tools with your other solutions. Your constituent relationship management solution contains the most comprehensive view of your nonprofit’s activities, including how funds are allocated and used for different projects and expenses. An integration between your grant management solution and your CRM ensures that there is a seamless transfer of information between your nonprofit’s main database and your grant solution.
  • Create a grant management plan before funding is awarded. Don’t invest in grant management software after you’ve already won a grant. It takes time to implement new software and train your team to use it, and that time could slow down the management of your grant. Aim to fortify your grant management software and processes before you begin applying for grants, so you can reap the benefits from the start of the application process through disbursement and beyond.

Whether you choose to implement a complete grant management system or simply seek grant management-specific tools when you upgrade your CRM, the choice will be worthwhile in advancing your grant management procedures.

Carl Diesing co-founded DNL OmniMedia in 2006 and has grown the team to accommodate clients with ongoing web development projects. Together DNL OmniMedia has worked with over 100 organizations to assist them with accomplishing their online goals. As Managing Director of DNL OmniMedia, Carl works with nonprofits and their technology to foster fundraising, create awareness, cure disease, and solve social issues. Carl lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife Sarah and their two children Charlie and Evelyn.

A Few Ways You Can Raise More Money This Year

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, donor engagement, donor retention, fundraising, monthly donors , , , , ,

It’s year-end fundraising time. You may have already started your campaign or are planning to soon. 

Nonprofit organizations rely on year-end for a good chunk of their revenue. Maybe you haven’t raised as much money as you planned this year and need to make up for that. Maybe your fundraising appeals never seem to perform as well as you would like.

Fundraising is hard and you can’t just send a bunch of generic appeals and hope the money comes in. If you want to raise more money, you need to put in some extra effort.

One way to raise more money is to segment your donors and send targeted appeals. You also need to have a good CRM/database and follow the ask, thank, update, repeat formula. 

Here are a few ways you can use these tactics to raise more money.

Ask for an upgrade

Many nonprofits don’t ask their donors to upgrade their gifts and they’re missing an opportunity to raise more money. You may be reluctant to ask donors to give more right now because of the uncertain economy, but that’s why you should ask. 

Your clients/community may be struggling and your need is growing. If you can relay this to your donors, some of them will give more. Many donors step up during tough times.

Of course, some of them won’t be able to give more now, but it’s unlikely any of them will upgrade if you don’t ask. They’ll also be more receptive to upgrading their gift if you’ve done a good job of thanking them and sharing updates throughout the year.

Target your upgrade asks based on past giving. Be reasonable. A donor who gave $50 is unlikely to give $500. Here’s an example.

We really appreciate your past gift of $50. Could you help us out a little more this time with a gift of $75?  We’re seeing more people at our food pantry right now because of rising food prices. Your generosity will help our community during this difficult time.

If your donors upgrade their gifts, do something special for them such as sending a handwritten thank you note or creating a personalized thank you video.

Promote monthly giving

Monthly donors are the backbone of nonprofit organizations. The retention rate is an impressive 90%.

The more monthly donors you have, the better. Promoting monthly giving is always a good way to raise additional revenue. You can also send targeted appeals to donors encouraging them to convert to monthly giving.

Your best bet is single gift donors who have supported you for at least two years. They’ve already shown some commitment to your organization. Now it’s time to take that to the next level.

You could do this at year-end, as well as other times of the year. You want to ask for gifts more than once a year, so this can be another opportunity to request an upgrade.

You could also reach out to your new donors in a few months to encourage them to join your family of monthly donors.

Here’s a sample ask. We really appreciate your past gift of $50. Could you make your generous support count even more by becoming a monthly donor? Five or 10 a month will help us serve more families at our food pantry.

Once your donors start giving monthly, they should always be acknowledged as monthly donors. Be sure to give them a special thank you (see above).

Get in touch with your lapsed donors

In January or whenever you finish a campaign, get in touch with your lapsed donors. Not all lapsed donors are the same. A donor who gave last year is more likely to give than the mother of a staff member who left your organization five years ago.

Donors who gave a year ago but not this year may have been too busy to give at year-end. Focus your efforts on more recent donors. If you have donors who haven’t given for several years, you may want to move them to an inactive file. It’s costing you money to mail appeals to donors who are unlikely to give.

You can create appeals based on how long a donor has lapsed. If that’s too complicated, try an ask like this.

We really appreciate the $50 gift you made in 2021. This helped us serve more families at our food pantry. We’re still seeing a growing number of people coming in because of rising food prices. Could you help us out again with another gift of $50 or more?

Some donors won’t give again. Maybe they can’t afford to. More likely it’s because of poor communication. Remember –  ask, thank, update, repeat.

If your lapsed donors give again, be sure to give them an extra special thank you, so they’ll continue to support you without interruption.

I know there’s a lot of economic uncertainty, but it’s important to be savvy. Spend some time segmenting your donors and sending targeted appeals. Don’t forget about showing appreciation and sharing updates, too. All of this can help you can raise more money