As a fundraiser, you wear many hats. You plan, you market, you sell. You collect money, manage volunteers and organize activities year-round. And your role is constantly evolving because the needs of your organization and the scope of your resources can vary year to year and sometimes even month to month.
Through all the normal ebbs and flows, highs and lows, busy times and not-so-busy times of fundraising, one thing remains constant: your responsibility to bring money (and thus, donors) in the door.
But, how do we keep individual contributions consistent or growing year over year, making our jobs easier (and more secure)? The answer is donor retention!
Studies like the Association of Fundraising Professional’s Fundraising Effectiveness Project have shown us that donor retention rates increase compared to the number of gifts a donor makes. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that you’ll hold onto donors making second or subsequent gifts at higher rates than first-time donors.
You may have even seen a number of the blog posts and resource guides our CauseVox team has compiled around the subject over the years. We focus on retention because we see these gifts as “money in the bag” for your cause.
And while there is no sure-fire way to guarantee 100% donor retention or even to ensure every donor is happy, there is one underlying component to every tip and strategy we’ve offered over the years: relationships.
To retain your donors, we believe you must prioritize building quality, genuine, two-way relationships with your donors. These relationships aren’t just about what your donor does for your organization (read: hand you money), but what you do for your donor
To begin wrapping our heads around this idea, let’s think back to how we used to “engage” with donors.
Fundraising methods have changed over the years and many strategies we used in the past aren’t as effective today as they were before.
Do you remember collecting names from real estate records and making cold calls? Maybe you put a weekly ad in the local paper to promote your capital campaign or mailed some pledge cards out to prospective donors. It’s possible you recently ramped up your website’s SEO and even put some money into Google and Facebook ads.
After all, it’s important to be seen and heard, and that’s what these strategies helped with. You got in front of a lot of people, which is exactly what you wanted to do.
But, guess what? Everyone else has the same idea. It’s a hard truth to swallow, but it’s one all of us in the nonprofit sector need to face. Our nonprofit or charity is putting out promoted Instagram posts, but so is XYZ organization. We’re all paying for attention.
With so much information, stories, and “asks” passing by our donors every day, how can you differentiate yourself from the pack?
The answer is relationship building.
In today’s fast-paced, noisy, and connected world, what sets you apart from others isn’t your aggressive marketing, Google ads, promoted Facebook posts, or perfectly timed fundraising emails. No, it’s the relationships you form with donors that make you memorable, relevant and keep your donors coming back time after time.
Similar to any sort of partnership, the donor to nonprofit relationship is built on a foundation of trust, habit, and loyalty.
trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.
You trust your hairdresser to cut your hair without nicking your ear. You trust the dry cleaner to take good care of your cashmere sweater. As consumers, we trust companies to give us safe products and services that improve our lives. We do this because, as humans, we’re hardwired to want to trust. Not surprisingly, trust makes us happier and less stressed.
Trust lies at the core of all our relationships. It’s the currency of influence in every workplace and organization.– Margie Warrell
Ultimately, your relationship with donors is built on trust. Your donors deserve to give to a transparent, effective organization. To cultivate, build, and sustain donor trust, focus on the following:
Establishing and then maintaining trust is the first step toward building relationships with your donors.
habit: a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.
When we talk about habits, we tend to focus on the ones that are “bad.” You know what I’m talking about—letting out the occasional swear word, eating fast food, watching a Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathon. We’re all guilty of them!
But some habits are good and actually beneficial for both your donor and your cause. So, if you find your donor connecting with you online or even making gifts in a seemingly automatic or regular way, then you’re on your way to a stronger relationship, and thus, a retained donor.
When all’s said and done, you want donors to connect out of habit.
In fact, humans are supposed to respond to habits because it’s just a form of automation. Per the Harvard Business Review, research into the workings of the human brain suggests that the mind loves automaticity more than just about anything else—certainly more than engaging in conscious consideration.
There are quite a few ways that you can make giving and connecting a habit for your donors, including:
When donors come to you out of habit, that means you’ve earned their trust. They no longer have to “think” or consider giving, they just need to be asked.
loyalty: a strong feeling of support or allegiance
Loyalty is another part of the foundation of a strong relationship between a donor and nonprofit.
Donors may choose to give because they trust you, or automatically give out of habit because they’ve done so before. But when donors seek you out and connect because they wholeheartedly believe in your cause, they’ve moved past being passive participants in the process. Instead, they’re active, engaged, and ready to rally.
“When customers have an emotional connection with your brand, they’ll make an effort to get it.”
But loyalty doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t necessarily happen after a year. It takes nurturing.
Here are some ways to cultivate donor loyalty:
Once a donor starts inquiring about the next fundraiser or asks how they can get involved, then you know they’ve become loyal to your cause. And here is where the fun begins because you know this donor is now ready to not just give, but participate in the process.
To maintain loyalty and further cultivate your relationship, incorporate aspects of People Fundraising. With People Fundraising, you aren’t just asking for donations, you’re actively rallying donors behind your cause. Try one or more of these tactics:
When you have a loyal donor, you’re not just receiving the occasional donation. You’re getting a cheerleader, a volunteer, a constructive critic, a personal fundraiser—a true friend to your cause.
Now more than ever, it’s time to step away from those transactional, one-sided requests. You know the one’s we’re talking about: “We are asking you to give $50” “Please help us reach our goal by making a donation”
Instead, focus on building trust, loyalty, and habit with donors so that down the road they don’t just want to hand you a check, but instead become volunteers, advocates, fundraisers—active participants in your cause.
Remember, just like friendships, connections with donors don’t form overnight. They’re a process. But after you’ve put in the time, proven your worth, earned trust, gotten into a rhythm, and established loyalty, you’re on your way to a long, fruitful, active, and fulfilling relationship.
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