I’ve been asked a lot recently about what separates great fundraising from mediocre and it’s often not what happens during solicitations, but what happens in between.
Too often nonprofits invest the vast majority of their time, energy, and financial resources acquiring donors. And then they are puzzled when those donors don’t give again.
Indeed, across the nonprofit sector more than 75% of donors who give for the first time don’t give a second.
Just because this is a huge problem across the sector doesn’t mean the response should be to throw up your hands and accept it. Because there are tried and true donor stewardship practices that lead some nonprofits to secure a much higher renewal rate.
Donor stewardship is not rocket science.
At its heart, donor stewardship is a three-legged stool:
Leg 1: Helping donors better understand the work you do and its importance/impact.
Leg 2: Making donors feel appreciated by the organization as an individual, not a checkbook.
Leg 3: Strengthening personal relationships between the donor, organizational leaders, and other organizational supporters.
In this article, I lay out a few key concepts to keep in mind and some tactical steps you can take that should boost future fundraising at both the grassroots and major donor levels.
I like to think of donor stewardship as an upside down pyramid.
The small end of the pyramid is the base
This is the bare essential.
- An effective and timely thank you
Not just a tax receipt. Language that reminds people why they gave and what their dollars will accomplish.
The thank you should be personalized above a certain threshold.
That may depend on the size of your organization and team. When I first started at the Oregon League of Conservation Voters in 1997, anybody who gave $250 or more got a phone call or a personal handwritten thank you note in the mail in addition to the tax receipt. By the time I left in 2009, that threshold was more than $500.
Beyond the threshold, I also personally thanked people I knew who gave $100 or more. Over time, many of them either gave more or helped recruit new donors.
2. Email newsletter
In this day and age, every nonprofit should produce a regular update at least once a month. You might not call it a newsletter. And it may be your email frequency is considerably more than once a month.
What goes into an email newsletter from a donor stewardship perspective?
- Opportunities to take action. Recruit volunteers. Get people to attend events. Sign petitions, write letters, or other types of advocacy.
- Opportunities to learn about the organization and/or the importance of its work. Successes achieved. Community needs being addressed. This will look radically different for different types of organizations.
- Opportunities to learn about the people involved. This could be profiles of or Q&As with staff, board, volunteers, or donors (example: a monthly donor profile).
Above the base
While getting the base right is essential, if that’s all you do you’re still going to be leaving donors less informed about your organization than you’d like and you’ll lack the personal connections you are trying to build.
The concept: You want donors to feel good about their past donation by reporting back what you’ve done, while learning more about them and their priorities.
A few tactics I’d consider prioritizing:
3. Don’t forget the postal mail.
I’d build into plans sending one or two things via the mail during the year aimed at educating donors. This is a way to reach donors who won’t read your email newsletters and get a subset to interact with your information in a setting that isn’t staring at a screen.
This could be a short Annual Report.
This could be a one-page oversized postcard Impact Report.
This could be a Holiday Card or Insider Update sent to 100-200 of your top donors, with personal handwritten notes included. And sent by first class postal mail with hand addressed envelopes to increase the percentage opened/read.
4. Online surveys
I’m a big believer in using an online survey at least once per year to solicit input, shared both by email and social media.
In some years this may be to inform strategic planning.
In other years you could ask about their priorities or communication preferences.
You should learn things of relevance that could inform your programs, the topics you write about in your email newsletter, or otherwise.
A subset of donors will feel more “part” of the organization from having participated.
And those who see the offer, but don’t respond, will at least see that you’re trying to get their input.
5. Webinars/Online Briefings
This became very common during the pandemic, yet some organizations have moved away from the opportunity even though some donors love to learn and participate in this way.
The idea is to give people an opportunity to learn more about the organization and its impact in a group setting.
Your organization should have a standard 30 minute presentation that can be turned into a webinar with opportunities to ask questions. You could also bring in experts to talk about topics of direct relevance to your nonprofit.
6. In-person opportunities to learn and interact
This could come in many forms:
- A volunteer or donor appreciation picnic
- A happy hour
- A fun activity to do together while learning
- A Meet the ED (or other staff) event, particularly after a leadership transition
- A hike/tour of someplace of relevance to your nonprofit.
The idea isn’t to get 50 people to these. Better is to aim for 10-20 at each — a small enough group that you can really mingle and get to know people, not just talk at them.
The top-most layer
This is the broad top of the upside down pyramid. Stewardship becomes the most personal, so there’s even more potential tactics to consider.
The concept: you’re trying to get your top donors in particular to recognize that you don’t see them as ATM machines, but rather as individuals with whom you’re working to have a relationship. You also want to do more to inspire them in ways that line up with their priorities.
7. Invite donors to individual meetings not tied to a specific ask
Ask people for coffee or lunch to chat about what’s happening in the field (whatever challenge the organization addresses) and to hear what they feel should be the priority. Use this as an opportunity to ask them questions and learn what motivates them.
If they don’t seem keen on meeting in that format, invite them to chat over a walk/hike.
And don’t just give up after an initial soft no or failure to respond to an email. I had countless success stories as an Executive Director when donors whose initial response was “there’s no need to meet with me, I’m already going to support you” who I made the case for the value of meeting and subsequently met with and this led to higher levels of giving. Check out my separate blog on this topic.
8. Go to them if they don’t want to come to you
Especially for your very top donors who don’t want to meet individually, figure out where they are likely to be and go there yourself.
I had a donor giving $10,000 to us who gave $100,000 to a peer nonprofit where he served on the board. After he declined two meeting requests, I went to the fundraising event of the organization whose board he served on. During the social part, I had the chance to chat with him about both organizations and how their work dovetailed. The next year he doubled his donation to us. (Of course, don’t do this if you won’t genuinely be happy to support the other organization).
There’s also a virtual version of this. Follow their social media. If appropriate, “friend” them. See what they post about. If a topic of relevance to your nonprofit comes up, don’t be afraid to interact with them and strike up an online conversation.
Bottom line: figure out if there’s some other group or activity they participate in that you’d also like to participate in. And seize the opportunity to engage.
9. Send top donors personalized communications on topics they will find of high interest
Set a google alert to their name (unless it’s very common) and reach out if they are in the news.
If there is a topic of high interest to them, tag that in their donor record and shoot them an email if you see a news article of relevance or know of an upcoming event that might interest them (even if that event is not put on by your organization).
10. Ask for their advice or assistance
This is the personalized version of the online survey in the middle tier.
Meet with them when you’re doing strategic planning and ask their advice.
Ask for them to serve on an Advisory Council (and then use that Advisory Council).
Ask them to serve on a leadership committee for a specific fundraising campaign or program.
Other things to keep in mind
Throughout all tiers and all the tactics described above, a few other things to keep in mind:
- When meeting with people, it’s more about getting them talking than you pitching them. Be curious. Ask meaningful questions. Listen actively.
- Database what you learn and your interactions. Six or nine or twelve months later, you may not remember that they were highly interested in one of your programs in particular.
- Don’t get bogged down in the weeds as you communicate. Focus on the why – what you believe. Show your passion to ignite theirs.
- It’s a team sport. While a major donor officer, Development Director, or Executive Director should expect to carry most of the load and relationships, find opportunities to involve your board. Boards reluctant to directly solicit, are often willing to make thank you phone calls or organization stewardship activities and events.
- Lastly, don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. You don’t have to start firing on all cylinders. If you’re not yet doing the base, lock it down. And then pick a couple tactics from the middle and top tiers. Flesh out the stewardship program as you get more adept and add staff capacity or board support.
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