donor engagement

4 Tips to Optimize Your Donor Database to Boost Engagement

Ann Green database, donor engagement, donor relations, fundraising , ,

Your donor database is an effective tool for boosting engagement at your nonprofit—if you optimize and leverage it strategically. Learn more in this guide.

By Sarah Tedesco

It’s no secret that effective donor engagement is vital to your nonprofit’s success. Individual donations make up a large portion of most nonprofits’ funding, and those donors generally want to feel connected to and appreciated by the organizations they support. So, you need to build strong donor relationships to secure the necessary resources to further your organization’s mission (and simply to keep the lights on!).

A robust donor database or constituent relationship management (CRM) system is one of the best tools you have at your disposal to boost engagement at your nonprofit. However, this solution can only serve your organization to its fullest potential if you maintain it carefully and leverage it strategically.

In this guide, we’ll discuss four ways to optimize your nonprofit’s donor database so it’s as useful as possible for increasing engagement. Let’s dive in!

1. Create Thorough Donor Profiles

Donor profiles are essential relationship-building tools that are built into nearly every nonprofit CRM. These resources track all of the important information you’ve learned about current and potential supporters of your organization—one profile per donor.

While your database may come with some pre-built fields, you’ll likely have to customize your profiles to account for all of the data you need to track. DonorSearch’s guide to donor profiles recommends including the following sections in each one you create:

[alt text: A checklist of elements to include in supporter profiles to optimize your donor database, which are explained below.]

  • Donor overview: Displays the donor’s name, giving status (prospect, one-time donor, repeat donor, etc.), and the date of their last interaction with your nonprofit for quick reference.
  • Basic details: Tracks contact information and other general personal data (full and preferred name, pronouns, birthday, preferred communication method, etc.).
  • Personal history: Includes a donor’s education level, wealth information, and interests so you know why they support your nonprofit and how much they could give.
  • Familial information: Makes your interactions with donors more personal and allows you to involve their spouse, children, and other family members in your mission.
  • Professional affiliations: Helps you dive deeper into donors’ financial situations, networking connections, and ability to participate in workplace giving.
  • Organizational connections: Compiles donors’ giving history and involvement in other activities at your nonprofit to help you choose the right next steps for engaging them.
  • Philanthropic ties: Lets you know if donors have contributed to other similar nonprofits, so you can more accurately gauge their affinity for your mission.

Treat your donor profiles as living documents. Every time a supporter engages with your organization, update their profile with the new data (either manually or automatically) so you can stay on top of their involvement and more effectively strategize ways to deepen your relationship with them.

2. Segment Your Supporters

Once you’ve created profiles for individual donors, segmentation allows you to keep your database organized and communicate more personally with large numbers of supporters. To segment your donors, group them according to shared characteristics found in their profiles, such as:

  • Demographics: Age, location, education, marital and family status, wealth
  • Psychographics: Hobbies, interests, values, connections to your mission, preferred communication channels
  • Giving history: Average donation amount, frequency and recency of giving, lifetime value to your nonprofit
  • Non-donation engagement: Event attendance, volunteer hours, board service, in-kind contributions, advocacy campaign participation

From here, you can more easily choose which segments to prioritize during particular fundraising initiatives and send targeted appeals using their preferred channels. For example, a segment of older, wealthy donors might be the best group for direct mail outreach promoting your annual fund. However, a segment of younger supporters who tend to make smaller donations but are passionate about advocacy may be the most likely to see, contribute to, and share a crowdfunding campaign on social media.

3. Integrate Your Database With Other Nonprofit Software

Integrations allow data to transfer automatically from your nonprofit’s other fundraising and management platforms to its CRM, saving your team time and reducing the risk of errors that come with manual entry. 

Depending on your current technology stack, consider integrating the following tools with your database:

  • Online donation processors to update supporters’ giving history in real time and track their status as recurring or sporadic donors.
  • Event management solutions to log donors’ registrations, merchandise and auction item purchases, and peer-to-peer fundraising participation for a-thon style events.
  • Corporate giving tools to track which donors are eligible for and have requested matching gifts or volunteer grants, as well as connections to businesses that might partner with you to sponsor events or host team volunteer days.
  • Accounting software to ensure your giving data matches your financial records for accurate reporting and compliance.
  • Volunteer management systems to link supporters’ volunteer involvement with their giving, which can help you encourage volunteers to become donors and vice versa.
  • Communication platforms to more easily send targeted messages to specific segments and monitor donors’ engagement with emails, text messages, social media posts, and other digital marketing content.
  • Prospect research databases to dig deeper into supporters’ wealth and philanthropic details so you can find potential major and planned giving donors who already have a relationship with your organization, which makes cultivation easier.

Some of these tools (particularly corporate giving and prospect research solutions) are usually sold separately from donor databases, while others might be built into or available as add-ons for more robust CRM systems. Before you invest in a new platform, ensure there isn’t a comparable tool available in your CRM already, so you can avoid paying for duplicate software subscriptions. If not, check whether the solutions you’re considering integrate with your existing donor database so your whole tech stack can work together once you make your final decision.

4. Practice Good Data Hygiene

Your donor database will be most useful to your nonprofit if you consistently maintain the data within it to ensure accuracy and relevance. To set up a solid management system, Double the Donation’s guide to data hygiene best practices explains that you should:

  • Audit your CRM—i.e., review your entire database to identify and remove any inaccurate, inconsistent, or duplicate data and migrate in any information stored in other locations.
  • Assign data responsibilities so your staff knows who is in charge of managing specific categories of information or performing certain ongoing maintenance tasks.
  • Evaluate your data collection strategy to ensure you’re prioritizing the right segments and storing data that will help you achieve your nonprofit’s current goals.
  • Develop standards for when to enter new data, how to solve common CRM problems, and how to format certain types of information (e.g., abbreviations for streets and state names as seen in donors’ mailing addresses) to ensure consistency.
  • Continuously update and validate information, leveraging your prospect research tools or investing in data appending as needed.

Hold training sessions to introduce these best practices to your team, and compile them in a handbook for easy reference going forward. Remember to also cover your organization’s rules for ensuring data security and ethical collection methods in this training to help you maintain donors’ trust and avoid legal issues related to your database.

The tips above should give you a solid foundation for leveraging your nonprofit’s CRM to boost donor engagement. Remember to adapt your strategy to align with your organization’s goals and the capabilities of your specific database and complementary solutions. Happy fundraising!

Sarah Tedesco is the Chief Operating Officer and Part Owner of DonorSearch, a prospect research company that focuses on proven philanthropy. Sarah is responsible for managing the production and customer support department, which focuses on client contract fulfillment, retention, and satisfaction. She also collaborates with other team members in various areas like sales, marketing, and product development. Sarah holds an MBA from the University of Maryland and worked as a foundation prospect researcher before joining DonorSearch, providing her with industry experience that she applies to her responsibilities day-to-day.


How to Make Your Nonprofit Messages Stand Out In a World Filled With Information

Ann Green Communications, direct mail, donor engagement, donor-centered, email, planning, writing , , , , ,

Our world is chock full of information. When I was growing up, we just had a few TV channels to choose from. Now there are countless streaming options. We also have email, the internet, and social media, just to name a few. It’s not only the volume of options, it’s also the content. And in our current climate of crisis and uncertainty, it’s information overload on steroids.

How does your nonprofit organization compete with all this? You need to communicate regularly with your donors and you need to do it well. But in this deluge of information, they might miss your messages. 

Here are a few ways you can make your messages stand out and get noticed. 

What’s your intention?

What’s the purpose of your message? What do you want your reader to do? Are you asking for a donation? Maybe you’re thanking your donor or sharing an update.

Think from your reader’s perspective. What would she be interested in or what would make him take action?

Don’t muddle your messages with too much information. Keep it simple and stick to one call to action or type of message. If you ask someone to make a donation, volunteer, and contact their legislators in the same message, they may not do any of that.

Choose the right channels

Most likely, you’ll use more than one channel to communicate. Pay attention to the channels your donors are using and focus your efforts there.

Email may be your primary mode of communication and there’s a reason for that. It’s fast, easy, relatively inexpensive, and almost everyone has an email address. You can quickly get a message out to a lot of people. Also, unlike social media, it’s something you can control. You don’t have to rely on a social media algorithm to hope your message ends up in your donor’s feed.

The downside is people get an enormous amount of email from a variety of different sources. Political organizations and candidates here in the U.S. send a ton of email messages, especially now, and it won’t let up anytime soon. Some of the PACs send emails that are so obnoxious they give fundraising a bad name. I tend to ignore a lot of those messages and then end up missing something important. Plan a strategy to help you break through the noise. 

Plus, the average email open rate is around 20%. And, social media is often just a lot of a lot.  

You can see how easy it is for your electronic messages to get lost in the shuffle. Your donors may just tune things out, even if you have something engaging to share. 

While you’ll likely use electronic communication pretty regularly, don’t discount direct mail. Your donors are more likely to see these messages. We get far less postal mail than electronic communication. Also, someone can put a piece of mail aside and look at it later. Don’t count on that happening with any type of electronic communication. You can also communicate by phone. This is a great way to thank your donors.

Going multichannel is usually your best bet. This is very common for fundraising campaigns and inviting people to events, as well as including a link to your email newsletter on your social media platforms. This way if people miss your initial message on one platform, they may see it on a different one. You’ll also want to send regular reminders for fundraising appeals and event invitations.

Get noticed right away

Your donors have a lot going on and you need to capture their attention right away.

Your fundraising letters and anything else you send by mail need to look appealing enough to open. You could put a tagline on the envelope. That doesn’t mean something like It’s Our Annual Appeal. Try something like – How you can help families move into their own homes. or THANK YOU!

Your envelope should look personal and not resemble a bill or junk mail. A few ways to make your mail stand out are to use something other than the usual white business envelope, hand address your envelope, and use stamps.

Once your donor opens your fundraising appeal, lead with a story followed by a clear, prominent ask. When they open your thank you letter, they should be greeted with gratitude.

A good subject line is the key to getting someone to open your email message. Keep in mind that your donor’s inbox is bursting with messages. Don’t use something boring like April e-newsletter or Donation Received. Entice them with Learn how you helped Jason learn to read or You just did something amazing today! Putting someone’s first name in the subject line can also help with open rates.

Keep them engaged once they open your message.

Keep it short

In many cases, a shorter message is best. You want a good balance between saying too much and saying too little. All your words should count, so be careful about adding too much filler. That often includes bragging about your organization and explaining what you do.

Keep in mind the average human attention span is about eight seconds.

Your goal is to get your donors to read your messages. If it looks long and boring, they probably won’t bother.

Make it easy to read and scan

Besides sending a short message, use short paragraphs and lots of white space, too. Your messages need to be easy to read and scan in an instant. Most people aren’t going to read something word for word. Be sure they can quickly get the gist of what you want to say. Don’t use microscopic font either – use 12 point or higher.

Be personal and conversational

Write directly to your reader using clear, conversational language – no jargon. Don’t confuse your donors with generic messages.

Don’t cast a wide net

It’s important to send your messages to the right audience and your audience isn’t everyone.

You’ll have more luck with a fundraising appeal when you send it to past donors or people who have a connection to your cause. The same is true for event invitations or recruiting volunteers.

You may want to reach out to as many people as possible, but that won’t guarantee you’ll get more donations or event attendees. Segmenting and engaging with the right audience will bring you better results.

Be a welcome visitor

If you communicate regularly and do it well, your donors should recognize you as a reputable source and are more likely to read your messages. If all you do is send them generic fundraising appeals, then you’ll be disappointed.

When you send email, make sure people know it’s coming from your organization. In the from field, put DoGood Nonprofit or Susan (Davis), DoGood Nonprofit. If you just put a person’s name, people may not know who it’s from and ignore your message, unless that person is well known to your readers. Also, don’t use info@dogoodnonprofit or even worse, no-reply@dogoodnonprofit. That just screams impersonal.

Only send email to people who have opted into your list. Otherwise, you’re spamming them. Some people will choose not to receive email from you and that’s okay. The ones who do are interested in hearing from you. Give people the option to unsubscribe, too. Measuring your email metrics will help you communicate more effectively. 

When you send email, it’s important to strike a balance between being known and being annoying. Unlike the political organizations I mentioned above, many nonprofits don’t communicate enough. Be sure to reach out anywhere between once a week and once a month. 

Don’t let this current climate of uncertainty stop you from fundraising and engaging with your donors. They want to hear from you. With all the negativity and depressing news, be a friendly factor.

Even though people only get a few pieces of mail a day, most of it’s junk mail. You never want any of your letters, newsletters, or postcards to be perceived as junk mail (see above).

By putting in a little time and effort, you can help ensure that your messages stand out in a world filled with information.

It’s Time to Say Goodbye to Boring Nonprofit Newsletters

Ann Green Communications, direct mail, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, donor-centered, email, newsletter, writing , , , , , , ,

In an ideal world, a newsletter can be a great way to engage with your donors. In the real world, that doesn’t often happen because most donor newsletters can be used as a cure for insomnia. They’re too long and filled with boring articles that brag about how wonderful the organization is.

A newsletter is a vital part of the ask, thank report, repeat formula and you can’t just go on autopilot. The good news is that it’s possible to create a better, engaging newsletter your donors will want to read and won’t put them to sleep. Here’s what you need to do.

Think about what your donors want

You need to include content that will interest your donors. Do you think your donors would rather read an article about your CEO receiving an award or one about Tina, a single mother who is having trouble making ends meet but is grateful because, thanks to your generous donors, she can get healthy food for her family at the Westside Community food pantry? 

The answer should be obvious. Your donors want to hear about how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community. Before choosing content, think carefully about whether or not your donors would be interested in it. 

If you’re a larger organization, you could create different newsletters for different programs or one specifically for monthly donors.

You need a print newsletter

You may opt not to do a print newsletter because it’s more expensive and takes too much time, but you’re making a mistake if many of your donors prefer print.

I think you’ll have more success if you can do both print and email newsletters. I recommend a short email newsletter once or twice a month and one to four print newsletters a year.

Donors are more likely to see any communication that comes in the mail, as opposed to the enormous volume of email most of us get.

Follow the Domain Formula, which was developed by the Domain fundraising group. A couple of things they recommend are sending your print newsletter only to donors and putting it in an envelope, not sending it as a self-mailer.

They also recommend putting a donation envelope in your print newsletter. This is a proven way to raise additional revenue and you may be able to recoup your expenses. Print newsletters are a great way to boost your retention rate, too.

You can also save money by creating a shorter print newsletter (maybe two pages instead of four) or only mailing it once or twice a year. You can print them in-house, as long as it looks professional.

Be sure you have a clean mailing list. If you can get rid of duplicate and undeliverable addresses, that’s another way to save a little money.

Remember, donors are more likely to read a print newsletter. But ask them what they like, and listen to what they say. If a majority of them prefer print, then you need to find a way to accommodate them.

Give some thought to your email newsletter

Your print and email newsletters are separate entities. Therefore, you shouldn’t email people a PDF of your print newsletter. Use an email service provider and a newsletter template to create the best experience for your readers.

Send your email newsletter to anyone who signed up for it and only to people who signed up to receive it. This can be both donors and non-donors. It could be a good cultivation tool for future donors. Give people ample opportunities to sign up for your e-newsletter, but understand that not everyone will want to receive it.

Use an engaging subject line (something like Learn how you’re helping families find a home of their own and not April newsletter) so you can stand out in your donor’s inbox. And be sure people can read it on a mobile device. Get a little creative with your e-newsletter by including a short poll or quiz.

Share your stories

Stories are the most important part of a nonprofit newsletter (print and email). Each newsletter needs to begin with a compelling story. If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell.

Client stories are best, but you could also do profiles of volunteers, board members, and donors. Focus on what drew them to your mission (more on that below).

Create a story bank that includes at least four client stories to use every year.

Don’t stray from your mission

A common article I see in many nonprofit newsletters is one about a foundation or major donor giving a large gift. This may be accompanied by a picture of someone holding a giant check. Of course, you should recognize these donors (and all donors), but why is this gift important? How will it help your clients/community?

For example – This generous $50,000 grant from the Westside Community Foundation will help us serve more students in our tutoring program. Many students fell behind during remote learning and are still struggling to catch up.

Something else I see a lot is a profile of a new board member. Instead of focusing so much on their professional background, let your donors know what drew them to your organization. We welcome Kathy Stevens, Vice President of First National Bank, to our board. Kathy has a brother with autism and is very passionate about finding ways for people with autism to live independent lives. 

Write to your donors

Write your newsletter in the second person, emphasizing you much more than we. Be personal and conversational. Say – You helped Tina feed her family or Because of donors like you, X number of families have been able to get healthy food every week. This is important because so many families are struggling to make ends meet right now.

Leave out jargon and other language your donors won’t understand. Write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend.

I’m not a fan of the letter from the CEO because those tend to be organization-centered instead of donor-centered. If you feel you must include one of these, be sure to thank your donors. And if you’re mailing your newsletter in an envelope (recommended), do a separate letter and don’t make it part of your newsletter. 

Pour on the appreciation

Never miss an opportunity to thank your donors. You couldn’t do your work without them. Every one of your newsletters needs to show gratitude and emphasize how much you appreciate your donors.

Make it easy to read (and scan)

Most of your donors aren’t going to read your newsletter word for word, especially your e-newsletter. Include enticing headlines and email subject lines (if you don’t, your donors may not read it at all), at least a 12-point font, and lots of white space so your donors can easily scan your newsletter.

Stick to black type on a white background as much as possible. Colors are pretty, but not if they’re hindering your donor’s ability to read your newsletter. Photos can be a great way to add some color, as well as tell a story in an instant.

Use the inverted pyramid and put the most important story first (client story or profile), keeping in mind that your donors may not get to all the articles.

Short and sweet

Your print newsletter should be no more than four pages. Limit your monthly email newsletter to three articles. Some organizations send an e-newsletter twice a month. Those should be even shorter – maybe just two articles. There’s a lot going on right now and people don’t want to be bombarded with too much information.

Shorter, more frequent updates are often better.

Other ways to update your donors

For some of you, putting together a newsletter may be too much to take on. You don’t have to do an actual newsletter, but you do need to keep your donors updated.

Do what you can, but be sure to update your donors at least once a month. You may find you have more success with shorter, more frequent email updates and postcards with an infographic a few times a year. You could also send a Donor Care Letter. 

Take time to create a great newsletter that will engage your donors and not bore them.

Why Ask Why?

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, impact report, newsletter, thank you letters, writing , , , , , ,

As you work on your nonprofit messages, remember the word why. Why, you ask? Because a lot of nonprofit communication doesn’t focus on why something is important. There’s usually a lot of what and how, but not much why.

The typical fundraising letter and newsletter article rambles on about accomplishments without explaining why something matters. Some organizations also like to pour on the statistics. These numbers don’t mean much without more information.

You need to dig deep into why something is important. Imagine you’re a four-year-old who keeps asking, “But why?” over and over again.

Why is what you do important?

Here’s something you might see in a newsletter or impact report.

We expanded our tutoring program to four more high schools.

Okay, but why is that important?

To serve more students.

That’s good, but why is that important?

After six months of weekly tutoring sessions, 85% of the students in our program have improved their math skills, as well as their grades. Many of these students fell behind during remote learning and are still struggling to catch up.

There you go. Tell your donors about the impact you’re making. This is especially important during this time of economic uncertainty. You want to emphasize the importance of your work.

Why should someone donate to your organization?

Do your appeals focus on why it’s important to donate to your organization? Instead of saying something generic like please donate to our year-end appeal, tell a story emphasizing why someone should donate to your nonprofit.

Jason, a 10th grader at Porter High School, can’t stand algebra. It just doesn’t make sense to him. He’s always had trouble with math and fell behind during remote learning. He was still struggling to catch up and afraid he’d have to take that horrible class again. 

Then Jason started weekly tutoring sessions with Brian, a volunteer tutor. It was difficult at first, but thanks to Brian’s patience and guidance, Jason got a B on his last test. 

Many other students fell behind during remote learning and could use a tutor. After six months of weekly tutoring sessions, 85% of the students in our program have improved their math skills. With your help, we can expand our program to serve more students in more schools.

Again, focus on why.

Why is your donor’s gift valuable?

When you thank your donors, do you tell them why their gift is valuable? Give a specific example.

Thank you so much for your generous gift of $50. This will help cover the expenses of our one-to-one weekly tutoring sessions. After six months of these tutoring sessions, 85% of the students in our program have improved their math skills. This is crucial since many of these students fell behind during remote learning and are still struggling to catch up.

It’s all about the why.

Why are you sharing this information?

When you write a newsletter article or something for an impact report, why are you including that information? Will this be something of interest to your donors? If it’s focused too much on your organization and sounds like you’re bragging, then probably not. 

Your donors want information that lets them know how they’re helping you make a difference and why that’s important. Sharing stories is a great way to do that.

Why do you appreciate your donors?

Finally, do your donors know why you appreciate them? You need to tell them this again and again.

Thank you so much for doing your part in helping high school students boost their math skills. We couldn’t do this without you.

Always remember to focus on why.

Is Your Donor Engagement Actually Engaging?

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, planning, thank you letters, writing , , , , , , ,

You may think you’re practicing donor engagement by sending thank you letters and newsletters, but is the content actually engaging? It’s often formulaic and just downright dull.

Many nonprofits send all their donors the same appeal and thank you letters. In these letters, they never thank a donor for their past support or acknowledge they’re a monthly donor.

If that’s not bad enough, many of these letters use vague and impersonal language and even worse, jargon.

It sounds obvious, but your donor engagement should be engaging. If it’s not, it’s time to move away from generic and impersonal communication. Your donors deserve better. Here are a few suggestions to help you improve your donor communication to make it more engaging.

Segment your donors

Your donors aren’t the same, so they shouldn’t all get the same letter or other types of communication. Segment your donors into different groups as much as you can. At the very least, create different letters for new donors, repeat donors, and monthly donors. You can also personalize letters to lapsed donors, event attendees, volunteers, etc.

I emphasize segmenting your donors a lot in my posts because it’s so important. Both because it allows you to send your messages to the right audience and you can personalize those messages. Donors like it if you recognize their past giving or anything that shows them this is more than a generic, one-size-fits-all message. 

Also, please stop sending Dear Friend letters. You’re not being a good friend if you don’t even use your donors’ names.

I know this will take more time, but it’s worth the investment. So is a good CRM/database to help you with this. Your donors will feel appreciated and are more likely to give again, possibly at a higher level.

Use language your donors will understand

If you use vague, generic language and jargon, you’re going to instantly bore and/or confuse your donors. Most of your donors don’t have a medical or social services background. They don’t use terms like food insecurity, at-risk populations, and underserved communities – and neither should you. Stay away from insider language. 

Connect with your donors by using language they’ll understand. Instead of writing about food insecurity, give an example of a single mother choosing between buying groceries and paying the heating bill.

What do you mean by at-risk or underserved? Are high school students less likely to graduate on time? Do residents of a certain community not have good health care nearby? Is housing too expensive? Get specific, but at the same time, keep it simple. Also, terms like at-risk and underserved undermine your clients/community. Remember, these are human beings you’re writing about.

A great way to break free from generic language and jargon is to tell stories. Most people respond better to a human-interest story than a bunch of boring statistics.

Make time for improvement

You may be between fundraising campaigns right now and have a little more time (or maybe not). If so, work on segmenting the donors in your database, if you haven’t already done that. Segment your donors on an ongoing basis. For example, some of your single-gift donors may have upgraded to monthly. If you can do this after every campaign, you should have fairly up-to-date information on your donors.

In addition, dust off those templates and freshen up your appeal letters and thank you letters. Situations in the U.S. and throughout the world keep changing and your communication needs to be relevant. How is what’s going on now affecting your clients/community? Create letter templates for different donor groups and replace your vague, generic language with something clear, conversational, and specific.

You can also use this time to add new stories to your story bank or start putting one together, if you don’t already have one.

Have someone outside of your organization, a friend or family member, look at your messages. Something that’s clear to you may confuse others.

Create communication that shows your donors how much you appreciate them by recognizing who they are and giving them engaging content they can relate to.

Why It’s Important to Pay Attention to Your Donor Retention Right Now

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

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

Another perennial problem is uncertainty and disruption in our world. Right now we’re dealing with cuts in federal funding, tariffs, a plunging stock market, etc, which are creating constant chaos for us. Both your nonprofit and your donors may be feeling financially strained.

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. You don’t want to lose your donors right now. Granted some may not be able to give at the moment, but just as we saw during the pandemic, many will step up and continue to support you.

There are also reasons donors don’t give again that aren’t financial. Many of these you can control. 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, repeat formula and give more attention to thanking and reporting. Your donors are not ATMs. 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 and I hope you’ve done that with your most recent new year-end 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. Hopefully, 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 boring, generic appeals.

Donor engagement is so important. According to fundraising expert Penelope Burk, 93% of 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 fan of monthly giving. Monthly donors have a much higher retention rate – around 90%. Getting more monthly donors is one way to raise your overall retention rate. It’s a great option for donors who are feeling financially strained, because it allows them to spread out their gifts over the year. Monthly donors are also more likely to give an additional donation.

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, repeat 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. 

Put together a communications calendar to 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.

I know a lot is going on right now, but your donors want to hear about your success and challenges.

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. In this current climate of uncertainty, it’s important to pay attention to your donor retention so you don’t lose the donors you already have.

Remember These Four Words – Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat 

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, fundraising, gratitude, impact report, newsletter, thank you letters, writing , , , , , ,

It’s important for you to remember these four words – Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat If your nonprofit follows this fundraising formula, you should be more successful. 

Many organizations just practice Ask, Ask, Ask. If that’s what you’re doing, are you raising the money you need? Because what’s most important is to thank and report before you ask for another donation. Going a step further, fundraising expert Penelope Burk recommends seven touches before asking for another gift.

Of course, formulas are good in theory, but you can’t just go through the motions. Some organizations practice Ask, Bore, Brag. If you do it well, the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula can help you raise more money, build relationships, and boost your retention rate.

Asking for donations is not all or nothing

Many nonprofit organizations spend a lot of time asking and not that much on thanking and reporting.

At certain times of the year, such as GivingTuesday and year-end, nonprofits blast donors with a bunch of generic appeals. Other organizations are skittish about asking for money. They might bury the ask in the appeal or think donors don’t want to give during uncertain times, such as when there are proposed cuts in federal funding or a recession (absolutely not true). Donors often step up during times of uncertainty, if they can.

A good fundraising appeal starts with a story followed by a clear, prominent ask. You’ll want to repeat your ask at least once more in the appeal. Make sure you include that first ask right away.  Many people don’t read the end of the appeal. One exception to this is the P.S., which you should include.

Your fundraising appeal shouldn’t focus too much on your organization – rambling on about how great you are. Your organization may be great, but let your donors figure that out. Your donors are the ones who are great and they want to hear how they can help you make a difference for your clients/community.

Segment your appeal to the appropriate audience. Thank past donors or reference your relationship to a potential donor. Maybe they’re event attendees, volunteers, or friends of board members.

Address your appeal to a person and not Dear Friend.

Don’t use jargon or other language your donors won’t understand. Instead of saying we’re helping at-risk youth, say something like – With your support, our tutoring program can help more students graduate from high school on time. 

Your appeal should make people feel good about donating to your organization. Think of fundraising as the start or continuation of a relationship, not a transaction.

You can and should also thank and update/report back to your donors in your appeal.

Thanking your donors is all about thanking your donors

Your thank you letters/emails/handwritten notes need to be all about thanking your donors. Sounds obvious, right, but many thank you letters don’t do a great job of saying thank you.

First, your thank you letter (or better yet, a handwritten note) needs to open with something like You’re amazing! or Thanks to You! and not On behalf of X organization.

It shouldn’t come across as transactional and resemble a receipt. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Yes, you need to acknowledge the donation is tax-deductible, etc, but most donors are more concerned about how their gift made a difference.

You also don’t need to explain what your organization does or ask for another gift. Remember, this is the thanking phase.

Let your donors know the impact of their gift. For example – Thanks to your generous donation of $50, a family can get a box of groceries at the Westside Community Food Pantry. This is crucial since we’re seeing more people coming in due to rising food prices.

Address your thank you letter to a person and not Dear Friend.

Recognize each donor. Is this the first time someone has donated? If someone donated before, did she increase her gift? Acknowledge this in your letter/note.

While you shouldn’t ask for a donation in a thank you letter, you can provide an update.

Let your donors know the impact of their gifts

The most common way to report back or update donors is with a newsletter. These can be print, electronic, or a combination of both. You should definitely thank your donors in your newsletters and other updates. You can also ask for a donation. Many organizations put a donation envelope in their print newsletter and it’s a good way to raise additional revenue. It’s less successful in an e-newsletter. If you include too many calls to action in an email message, sometimes donors don’t respond to any of them. Also, if you do include an ask in your newsletter, make sure some of your other updates don’t include a donation request.

Your newsletter shouldn’t sound self-promotional and focus on all the wonderful things your organization is doing. Donors want to see the impact of their gifts, not hear you brag. Share at least one story. Client stories are best. Use phrases like Because of you and Thanks to donors like you. In addition, include engaging photos and other content your donors would like to see.

Another way to update your donors is with an impact report. I like that term better than annual report. You can also do one of these more than once a year. Shorter, more frequent updates are better than one of those long, boring traditional annual reports. Be sure to focus on how your donors helped you make a difference. I’m not a fan of asking for a donation in an impact report, but you will want to pour on the gratitude. 

Something else you can do is send a Donor Care Letter. It’s a way to share updates without putting together an actual newsletter. I always like to recommend engaging by mail. If you’re worried about costs, reach out with a postcard. You can and should also send frequent updates by email and social media.

Repeat this throughout the year

The key word here is repeat. Be sure to follow the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula throughout the year. Most likely, you’ll need to do more thanking and reporting than you’re doing right now. Try to stay in touch with your donors at least once a month. A communications calendar can help you with this.

Remember, the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula should help you raise more money, build relationships, and boost your retention rate. The Better Fundraising Co. refers to this as the Virtuous Circle.

How to Create an Engaging Nonprofit Impact Report

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, gratitude, impact report, photos, planning, stories, writing , , , , , , ,

Is your nonprofit still producing one of those multi-page “annual reports”?  If so, why? Anything that’s more than four pages is too long. Besides that, they’re often boring, they focus too much on the organization and not on the donors, they require a lot of time and effort from staff, and there’s no guarantee donors will even look at them.

Now you have a dilemma. Organizations need to share accomplishments and show gratitude to their donors, but is the “annual report” the best way to do that? 

First, let’s stop calling it an annual report and call it an impact or gratitude report instead. Plus, sharing accomplishments and showing gratitude is something you can do more than once a year (more on that below). In this post, I’ll use the term impact report (but don’t forget about gratitude). I’ve also seen organizations use the term Donor Impact Report, which I like.

However, renaming it is just the first step. If you’re still creating one of those long, boring booklets, you’re not making much of an improvement.

It’s possible to make this a better experience for both donors and nonprofit organizations. Here’s how.

You don’t have to do an “annual report”

Nonprofit organizations aren’t required to do an annual report. This doesn’t let you off the hook for sharing accomplishments with your donors. You could send short impact reports a couple of times a year. This makes a lot of sense if taking on a big report sounds too overwhelming. Shorter, more frequent updates are better for your donors, too.

If you decide to do a report once a year, I encourage you to move away from the traditional multi-page one. Aim for something no longer than four pages. Bigger isn’t always better.

Your impact report is for your donors

Keep your donors in mind when you create your impact report and include information you know will interest them. Also, donors have a lot going on, so that’s another reason not to create a huge report they may or may not read. 

You might want to consider different types of impact reports for different donor groups. You could send an oversized postcard with photos and infographics or a one-to-two-page report to most of your donors. Your grant and corporate funders might want more detail, but not 20 pages. See if you can impress them with no more than four pages.

Keep in mind that the human attention span is about eight seconds. Granted, most of us can stay focused longer than that, but your impact report is competing with other pieces of mail and whatever else is going on in your donors’ lives, and right now there’s a lot. 

Imagine your donor receiving a traditional long report and thinking it might be interesting but she doesn’t have time to read it right now, so it sits in a pile for two months and then gets recycled, unread. But if you send a postcard or a short report, your donors can get a quick glimpse of how they’re helping you make a difference.

Pour on the gratitude

Donors want to feel good about giving to your nonprofit. Make sure your impact report is focused on thanking donors. You could go one step further and call it a gratitude report. If you decide to do three or four short reports a year (highly recommended), make at least one of them an all-out gratitude report.

Use phrases like Thanks to you or Because of you to show appreciation to your donors for their role in helping you make a difference. 

Tell a story

Donors want to hear about the people they’re helping. You can tell a story with words, a photo, or a video. 

For example – Mara, a single mother with three kids, has been struggling to make ends meet over the last few years. It’s been hard to find steady work and she’s having trouble affording groceries. She also wonders if she’ll have enough money to pay rent and utilities each month. 

Mara had never gone to a food pantry before and felt ashamed to have to do that. But when she reached out to the Westside Community Food Pantry, she was treated with respect and dignity. Now, thanks to donors like you, she’s able to bring home healthy food for her family.

An engaging story is one of the most important elements of your impact report.

How are you making a difference?

The theme of many reports is look how great we are. They’re organization-centered instead of being donor-centered and community-centered.

They also include a bunch of statistics, such as the number of clients served. You need to share specific accomplishments that show how you’re making a difference.

Focus on the why and not the what. Numbers don’t mean a lot without a story or example. For instance, Thanks to donors like you, we were able to serve more students in our tutoring program. X number of students are now getting better grades and can graduate from high school on time.

Make it visual

Remember, your donors have a lot going on and won’t have much time to read your report. Engage them with some great photos, which can tell a story in an instant. Choose photos of people participating in an activity, such as volunteers working at a food pantry or a one-to-one tutoring session. Be sure to get permission if you want to use pictures of clients.

Use colorful charts or infographics to highlight your financials. This is a great way to keep it simple and easy to understand. Include some quotes and short testimonials to help break up the text.

Be sure your report is easy to read (and scan). Use at least a 12-point font and black type on a white background. A colored background may be pretty, but it makes it hard to read. You can, however, add some color with photos, headings, charts, and infographics.

Write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend

Be careful about using jargon. Most of your donors don’t use words like underserved or at-risk, and neither should you. Use everyday language such as – Because of you, we found affordable housing for over 100 homeless families. Housing prices continue to skyrocket and a shelter or motel is no place to raise a family. Now, these families have a place to call home.

Write in the second person and use a warm, friendly tone. Use you much more than we.

Skip the donor list (and the letter from your executive director)

Think twice about including a donor list in your impact report. It takes up a lot of space and there are better ways to show appreciation. If you feel you must have a donor list, you could put one on your website or just include major funders. Including a QR code or link directing people to your website for more detailed information is a good way to ensure a shorter report.

Also, do you need a letter from the executive director as part of your report? These tend to be very organization-centered. If you must have one, make sure it focuses on thanking your donors. You could also include it as a cover letter if you’re mailing your report in an envelope.

Send it by mail

Be sure to send your impact report by mail. It’s more personal and donors are more likely to see it. Don’t let costs deter you from sending something by mail. Remember, you have the option of sending short impact reports.

You could also send an electronic version a few weeks later as a follow-up.

Planning is crucial

I know putting together a yearly impact report can be time-consuming. One way to make it easier is to set aside a time each month to make a list of accomplishments. This way you’re not going crazy at the end of the year trying to come up with a list. You can just turn to the list you’ve been working on throughout the year.

You also want to create a story and photo bank and you can draw from those when you put together your impact report.

Creating a shorter report or an infographic postcard will also help make this easier for you. Once again, you have the option of not doing a yearly impact report and sending periodic short updates instead.

Whatever you decide, put together an impact report that’s a better experience for everyone. 

Create an Attitude of Gratitude at Your Nonprofit

Ann Green Communications, direct mail, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, gratitude, planning, thank you letters, writing , , , , , , ,

We all like to feel appreciated and that includes your donors. Thanking your donors should be a priority for your nonprofit organization. Is that the case? Unfortunately, the answer is usually no.

Thanking your donors is not just something you do after you receive a donation and then do nothing for a while. You need to show gratitude all year round and with Valentine’s Day coming up, that’s a great opportunity to thank your donors and show them how much you appreciate their support.

Maybe you would rather not go the Valentine’s Day route, which may seem superficial considering everything that’s going on in the world. The U.S. is not a calm place to be right now. But Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just for couples and we could all use a lot of joy and kindness. 

Whatever you decide, you should still do something to show appreciation this month (and every month). The holidays are over and February can be a dreary month if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. Many of us are dealing with frigid temperatures and what’s going on when places like Houston and New Orleans are getting measurable snow?

This is also a good opportunity to keep in touch with the people who gave to your year-end appeal, especially first-time donors. If you haven’t shown any appreciation since your year-end appeal, don’t wait much longer.

Your donors have the option to give to countless nonprofit organizations, but they chose yours. I like this quote from Mark Phillips –“They are not your donors; you are one of their charities.” Don’t they deserve to feel appreciated?

Here are a few ways you can thank your donors now and throughout the year.

Create a thank you photo

Make your donor’s day with a great photo like this one.

You can send thank you photos via email and social media, use one to create a card, and include one on your thank you landing page.

Make a video

Videos are a great way to connect with your donors. They’re simple, yet effective, so don’t worry if you weren’t a film major. It’s not hard to create a video.

One idea for your video is to show a bunch of people saying thank you. You’ll want your video to be short, donor-centered, and show your organization’s work up close and personal. You can also create personalized videos, which are always a nice gesture.

Your thank you landing page is the perfect place to put a video. This is your first opportunity to say thank you and most landing pages are just boring receipts (and receipts are unacceptable when it comes to showing gratitude). You can also put your thank you video on your website and share it by email and social media.

Send a card

A handwritten thank you card will also brighten your donor’s day. If you don’t have the budget (Although you should have a decent mail/print budget. More on that below.) to send cards to everyone, send them to your most valuable donors. These may not be the ones who give you the most money. Do you have donors who have supported your organization for more than three years? How about more than five years? These are your valuable donors. Don’t take them for granted.

That said, I do think you should make every effort to send a card to ALL your donors at least once a year. You can spread it out so you mail a certain number of cards each month, ensuring all your donors get one sometime during the year. You could also opt for a thank you postcard.

Many organizations don’t send thank you cards, so you’ll stand out if you do.

Share an update 

In addition to saying thank you, share a brief update on your success and challenges. Emphasize how you couldn’t have helped someone without your donor’s support. For example – Thanks to you, Steven won’t go to bed hungry tonight. His family has been struggling to make ends meet right now.

Phrases like Thanks to you or Because of you should dominate your newsletters, impact reports, and other updates.

How you can do better

Make this the year you do a better job of thanking your donors. Remember, it should be a priority.

Thank your donors as soon as you can and send a thank you note/letter or make a phone call. Electronic thank yous aren’t good enough.

Be personal and conversational when you thank your donors. Don’t use jargon or other language they won’t understand. Write from the heart, but be sincere. Give specific examples of how your donors are helping you make a difference.

Also, make sure your thank you note/letter puts gratitude front and center. You don’t need to explain what your organization does, brag, or ask for another donation. You have plenty of opportunities to ask for donations, and if you do a good job of thanking your donors you can raise more money. Plain and simple, the purpose of a thank you letter is to thank your donors.

I’m a big fan of communicating by mail, even if it’s only a few times a year. It’s much more personal. Yet, many nonprofits are skittish about spending too much on mailing costs.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to mail handwritten cards, is there a way you can change that? You may be able to get a print shop to donate cards. You could also look for additional sources of unrestricted funding to cover cards and postage. Think of these as essential expenses for your essential donors.

Maybe you need a change of culture – a culture of gratitude. This comes from the top, but you also need to get your board, all staff, and volunteers invested and involved in thanking your donors. 

Ideally, thanking your donors should be something you enjoy. If you think of it as a chore, it will show. If you can visualize your donors choosing to give you a gift, that can help put you in gratitude mode.

You can’t say thank you enough. Make a commitment to thank your donors at least once a month. Create a thank you plan to help you with this. Planning ahead and creating systems makes a difference.

Keep thinking of ways to let your donors know how much you appreciate them. You don’t even need to wait for a holiday or special occasion. Just thank your donors because they’re amazing and you wouldn’t be able to make a difference without them. Don’t they deserve that?

Read on for more information about how you can create an attitude of gratitude and make your donors feel appreciated.

#21daysofthankology

The Do’s And Don’ts When Thanking Donors

Donor Appreciation: Creating a Strategy (And 22+ Ideas!)

Donor Recognition: When & How to Acknowledge Supporters

Go All In on Monthly Giving

Ann Green donation page, donor engagement, donor retention, fundraising, gratitude, monthly donors, planning , , , , ,

Monthly giving is one of the few types of fundraising that does well. If your organization doesn’t have a monthly/recurring giving program or it’s fairly small, why is that?

Whether you’re a big or a smaller organization or your fundraising went well last year or it didn’t, monthly giving makes so much sense (or cents).

In this post, I’ll tell you why monthly giving is important for your nonprofit, how to start or grow your program, and how to nurture it going forward. 

In short, you need to go all in on monthly giving.

Monthly giving helps you raise more money

Monthly or recurring donations can help donors spread out their gifts and it’s easier on their bank accounts. They might be apprehensive about giving a one-time gift of $50 or $100. But if you offer them the option of giving $5 or $10 a month, that may sound more reasonable. 

It can also give you a consistent stream of revenue throughout the year instead of at certain times, such as when you do individual appeals and events and when grants come in.

Monthly gifts are smaller, but you can raise a lot of money with lots of small donations. Political candidates do it all the time. Also, monthly gifts aren’t as small as you think. The average is around $25 a month.

It can also be a more feasible way to get larger gifts. A gift of $100 a month may be more appealing to a donor than giving a large sum all at once. Even if they start with a smaller donation, monthly donors are more likely to become mid-level, major, and legacy donors.

It raises your retention rate, too

The retention rate for monthly donors is around 90%. That’s significantly higher than other retention rates. 

One reason is that monthly gifts are ongoing. But your donors have agreed to that, so this shows they’re committed to your organization. 

Monthly donors are long-term donors and long-term donors should always be one of your priorities.

How to get started

If you don’t already have a monthly giving program, make this the year you start one. Remember, it will help you raise more money and shouldn’t be too hard to set up.

A good way to start is to invite your current donors to become monthly donors. Your best bet for monthly donors are people who’ve given at least twice. These are donors who have shown a commitment to you.

That doesn’t mean you can’t ask first-time donors. This could be a good way to connect with donors from your most recent campaign. And if you haven’t officially welcomed your new year-end donors, do that now. Create a series of welcome messages and conclude it by inviting people to become monthly donors.

You could create testimonials from current monthly donors to entice future monthly donors.

If you’re having trouble getting donors to commit to monthly giving, maybe you need to do a better job of thanking and updating them.

Make monthly giving your go-to option

Put monthly giving front and center in all your campaigns. It should be an easy option on your donation page. Include it on your pledge form and make it a prominent part of your appeal letter.

I can speak from personal experience that once I started giving monthly, that’s the way I wanted to give to all organizations. Your donors would probably agree. Each year I’m happy to see that more organizations are going all in on monthly giving.

Organizations that don’t offer a monthly giving option are making a mistake. Some have a minimum donation, which I would also not recommend, if possible. If you do have a minimum, make it $5 a month instead of $10. 

If your reason for having a minimum donation amount is to save money on your expenses, is that happening if your minimum deters someone from giving at all? You often have to invest a little to raise more money. And you should raise more money with a monthly giving program.

Make your monthly donors feel special

You need to do a good job of thanking your monthly donors. Start by segmenting your monthly donors into new monthly donors, current monthly donors, and current donors who become monthly donors.

This way you can personalize their thank you letters to make them feel special. Be sure to mail a thank you letter, or even better, send a handwritten note. An email acknowledgment is not enough.

Many organizations send a monthly acknowledgment email or letter, and most are just okay. Some are basically only receipts, and as I’ve mentioned many times in the past, your thank yous need to be more than a receipt. Yes, it’s helpful to know the organization received your donation, but you’re not practicing good donor stewardship if that’s all you do.

You could spruce up these monthly acknowledgments, both by making them sound like they were written by a human and not a robot or AI, and by providing some engaging updates.

You can include a list of your monthly donors in a newsletter, impact report, or on your website. Donor lists are just one of many ways to show appreciation and not the only one, so do much more than just that. Of course, honor any donor’s wish to remain anonymous.

One thing you should do is send your donors an annual summary of their monthly gifts. This is extremely helpful for people who itemize tax deductions. Make this letter more than just a receipt and use this opportunity to connect with your donors. Pour on the appreciation and let them know how their monthly donations are helping you make a difference. If you send one by mail, go one step further with a Thank You teaser on the outer envelope.

Reach out at least once a month

Your monthly donors made a commitment to you by giving every month. Make the same commitment to them by reaching out at least once a month.

You could create a special newsletter for monthly donors or include a cover letter referencing monthly donors. If that’s too much, you could give a shout out to your monthly donors and include information on how to become a monthly donor in your newsletter.

A thank you video is a great way to connect. Consider personalizing it, if you can. You could also provide other video content, such as a virtual tour, for your monthly donors.

Thank yous, newsletters, and updates are not a one-and-done situation. Keep it up throughout the year. Many nonprofits start out communicating regularly with their monthly donors and then disappear after a couple of months. Always make a point to stay in touch with your donors.

Create a special section in your communications calendar specifically for monthly donors to help you with this.

Go the extra mile for your monthly donors

I highly recommend a contact person for your monthly donors in case they need to update their credit card information or make a change to their gift, hopefully an upgrade. Include this information in their welcome letter or email. If you send a monthly acknowledgment email, be sure to include a link where your donor can make changes. 

If you change your payment processor, make it easy for donors to transfer their information. For one organization I give to, all I had to do was click on a link they provided and presto…..

Another way to help your monthly donors is to let them know when their credit cards are about to expire. Don’t rely on your donors to remember this, because most likely they won’t. You also don’t want to miss out on any revenue. Remember, small donations add up.

If your payment processor doesn’t automatically update credit cards, set up a system where you can flag cards that will expire in the next month or two. Then send these donors a friendly reminder email/letter or give them a call. 

When my monthly giving credit card expired a few years ago, only a couple of nonprofits contacted me before the expiration date. Of course, a few slipped through the cracks and I didn’t hear from these organizations until after the donations didn’t go through. There were also a few instances when I checked my credit card statement and realized the donations weren’t getting charged. Remember to take the lead on this and pay attention, or once again, you’ll miss out on receiving this important revenue.

You could encourage donors to give via an electronic funds transfer from their bank account instead. Then neither you nor your donors need to worry about expiring credit cards.

Once a monthly donor, always a monthly donor

Once someone becomes a monthly donor, you must always recognize them as such. You most certainly should send fundraising appeals to monthly donors, but not the same ones you send to other donors.

You can ask your monthly donors for an additional gift during one of your fundraising campaigns, but you MUST recognize they’re monthly donors. For example – We really appreciate your gift of $10 a month. Could you help us out a little more right now with an additional gift? People in our community are having a hard time paying their heating bills.

You can also ask your monthly donors to upgrade their gifts after a year or so. Be as specific as possible – We’re so happy you’re part of our family of monthly donors and are grateful for your gift of $5.00 a month. Many families are having trouble making ends meet and we’re serving more people at the Eastside Community Food Pantry right now. Could you help us out a little more with a gift of $7.00 or even $10.00 a month?

If you send the usual generic appeal, imagine your donor saying – “I already give you $10 a month and you don’t seem to know that.”

But if you let those committed monthly donors know you think they’re special, they’ll be more likely to upgrade or give an additional gift. Many monthly donors have stepped up and given additional donations over the last few years. That’s what you want. And, if they do give an additional donation, be sure to thank them for that. Here’s the opening from a great thank you card I received – “How generous of you to make a gift that goes above and beyond your monthly donations.“

Be sure to invest in this proven way to raise more money, boost donor retention rates, and provide an easier giving option for your donors. 

Need more inspiration, get some ideas here.