Are you “Firing” Your Donors? The Answer is in Your Donor Cycle

We tend to think of pipelining our donors as just that, a pipeLINE. We start on one end, not knowing each other, and we end at the other end of the line with a gift. This linear thinking ensures that we move our prospects along the line to get the gift, but then what? We start over with another prospect? Hopefully not!

Unfortunately, donor retention rates are not great nationally, and they’ve gotten worse every year over the last 7 years. The average US charity is hovering at just above 40% returning donors, which is not only disheartening, but expensive. We also know it can cost 10 to 20 times as much to acquire new donors to keep your existing ones, so let’s take a look at converting our donor pipeline into a donor cycle, optimized to keep our existing donors around and support our mission!

There are anywhere between 4 and 7 segments of the cycle, depending on which fundraiser you ask, so we have identified the top 6. These are sometimes not exactly in this order and can vary by gift size, but here are the most important ones:

1) Identification - Discovering and evaluating prospective donors, and their interests, relationships, inclination to give, and philanthropic capacity to support an organization’s fundraising efforts

Identifying our BEST prospects, not ALL our prospects. We rate them on 3 criteria:

• Inclination

• Ability

• Access

2) Cultivation - The process of continually adding new donor prospects to your solicitation list, motivating major donors to make repeat gifts, and encouraging small donors to increase the size of their gifts

Effective cultivation includes:

• Getting to know your prospect/donor

• Finding commonalities and connection to the organization

• Building a relationship

• Sharing stories

3) Solicitation - The act of asking for or trying to obtain something from someone

Making the ASK:

• Define the need

• Why should they support your organization?

• Be specific in what you are asking

• Be silent

4) Acquisition - The process of obtaining new donors or contacts to support your cause through fundraising or marketing efforts

Where can you find new donors (through border, less one-on-one efforts)?

• Mailings

• Event Attendees

• Utilizers of your service

• Connections to your volunteers

5) Retention - Engaging existing donors so they continue to give to the organization each year

Strategies to increase donor retention through stewardship:

• Recognition

• Communication

• Engagement

• Relationship building

6) Upgrade - The process of increasing a donor’s giving over time

Ask for it! With a deepened connection, most people will want to do more if they can, but you have to ask for it and make it simple:

• Recurring or monthly giving

• Multi year pledges to upgrade over a period of longer time

If you are missing any of these components in your program, it’s likely you may also struggle with donor retention. Want a more in-depth look at how to keep your donors engaged? Reach out! We’d love to chat and learn about your unique challenges!

Do you want to learn how you can increase donor retention at your own organization? Let’s Chat!