If you’ve ever been a first-time donor, you know how exciting it is to make that initial donation. You’ve found a cause you’re passionate about, identified a nonprofit organization doing great work for those in need, and proudly offered your support.
If this donation is met with communications like email welcome materials, thank-you messages, and a list of other ways to get involved, first-time supporters like you will be excited to learn more. You might engage with the organization on social media and even sign up for a volunteer opportunity. On the other hand, complete silence or minimal, delayed interactions from the nonprofit have the opposite effect.
This is why a strong donor stewardship strategy is so vital to fundraising. It fosters deep donor relationships laced with mutual trust and appreciation, which you need to secure reliable support for your cause. Here are four strategies to help you achieve these relationships and retain more donors.
The current state of donor retention
Donor retention measures the percentage of donors who continue giving to your nonprofit at least once yearly after their initial gift. High donor retention rates indicate a loyal, dedicated community of donors. Additionally, nonprofits with high retention rates can enjoy lower fundraising costs as they won’t need to acquire as many new donors.
However, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project Report for Q1 2024 indicates a continued decline (a 3% drop) in donor retention. While these dips can be discouraging, some statistics indicate improving conditions for nonprofits — for example, total fundraising dollars are increasing.
But even as sector-wide retention rates fluctuate, your nonprofit has the power to mitigate drops in donor retention and inspire them to visit your donation page again and again. You simply need to create a strategic plan, leverage your data, connect with donors, and frequently communicate what donors want to hear: that they’re helping you make a difference.
4 strategies to boost donor retention
1. Prepare a detailed stewardship plan.
Retention falls within the stewardship phase of the donor cultivation cycle. This phase involves consistently connecting with donors to keep them engaged in your work, encourage them to make their next contribution, and even inspire them to upgrade.
Manage these activities with a stewardship plan outlining how you’ll motivate donors to continue providing sustained support. Start by assessing your needs, strengths, and weaknesses so you can effectively prioritize your time. Then, determine how you’ll manage these core elements of donor stewardship:
- Acknowledgment and recognition: Most donors support your nonprofit for reasons other than feeling recognized for good deeds. However, acknowledging their support is still best practice. It shows that your nonprofit values donors’ contributions and puts their funding to good use.
- Ongoing engagement: One of the top challenges nonprofits face is keeping donors engaged in their work for the long term — the key here is frequent, regular outreach. Share communications like newsletters, project updates, invitations to events, and volunteer opportunities to educate them on your cause and ways to get involved.
- Feedback and listening: Seek out feedback from donors on how to improve your communications or their experiences with your nonprofit. Listen when they have feedback to offer, implementing suggestions when possible.
Each of these areas will strengthen a different area of your relationship with donors, offering well-rounded connections. For example, get to know your donors as individuals and update them on your nonprofit’s work to root the relationship in furthering your purpose.
2. Communicate on a personal level.
With the rise of artificial intelligence and automated marketing tools, personalizing is ubiquitous in the industry. Thus, your nonprofit must add personal details to donor communications for more authentic, engaging messages.
Some of the ways to add a personal touch to every touchpoint include:
- Using donors’ preferred communication channels to reach out to them.
- Calling donors to personally thank them, chat about the feedback they offered, or discuss other ways they can support your cause.
- Segmenting donors by shared characteristics like giving level to ensure communications are relevant and compelling.
- Personally inviting donors to events like fundraising galas or donor appreciation banquets.
Perhaps most importantly, thank-you messages should always be personalized and warm. Aim to include the donor’s preferred name, mention their specific contribution, and send the message as soon as you can. Don’t be afraid to leverage automation to streamline the process.
Additionally, keep in mind that some donors don’t want gifts or handwritten snail mail cards — they feel that what nonprofits spend on these items can outweigh or minimize their contribution. This is another reason understanding your donors’ preferences is so crucial to boosting your retention rate.
3. Offer a variety of engagement opportunities.
Engaged supporters don’t just donate — they also give back and support your cause through other avenues. To retain more donors, highlight non-financial engagement opportunities in your communications.
Inspire them to go beyond a donation by inviting donors to:
- Volunteer.
- Attend your events.
- Enroll in your monthly giving program.
- Subscribe to your newsletter.
- Follow your organization on social media.
- Refer friends, family members, or colleagues.
- Publicly advocate for your cause.
- Serve on your board of directors.
Tailor these recommendations to donors’ preferences and interests as indicated by data stored in your donor management software. For example, maybe a segment of supporters frequently attend and donate to fundraising events held at your library. These supporters would likely be open to volunteering at your next event.
4. Highlight your impact.
Donors support your cause to help you achieve your goals and serve your community. While they know this work comes first, telling supporters how their contributions impact your beneficiaries can significantly improve donor retention.
As much as possible, provide tailored, tangible impact updates. Personalize these messages at scale by creating various donation thresholds and assigning each one a concrete impact. For example, here’s what these thresholds might look like for an animal rescue:
- $20 = Helps feed one rescued cat for a month.
- $100 = Covers spay/neuter costs for one animal.
- $1,000 = Supports one month of outreach and adoption events to find rescues forever homes.
- $5,000 = Covers operating costs for one month, allowing staff to focus more time on bonding with the animals.
Communicating impact doesn’t have to be a strain on your time or resources. Identify the key metrics that exemplify your nonprofit’s success, and report these metrics quarterly. For instance, an animal rescue might round up metrics like the total number of animals rescued, number of adoptions, revenue from donors, volunteer engagement, and outcomes or goals achieved.
The Keys to Donor Retention
The keys to donor retention include strategic planning, warm and personal communications, and tailored experiences. Make donors feel recognized for their contributions, and show them the tangible ways they transform the lives of others. By following these steps to steward and retain your donors, your nonprofit will create deep donor relationships, the pillars of any strong fundraising department.
