It’s easy to get caught up in the dollars and cents when fundraising for your nonprofit. After all, there are goals to meet, important programs to fund, and beneficiaries who are counting on your organization’s services.
However, it is essential to remember that behind every donation is a donor—a person who believes in your mission and wants to be part of the change you’re making in the world. Focusing on the connections you have with your donors can inspire deeper engagement and lead to better outcomes for your nonprofit in the long term as you retain their support.
In this short guide, we’ll cover tips for fundraisers who want stronger donor relationships and fundraising success. Let’s dive in.
1. Ask donors to solve problems with their donations.
One of the best ways to form genuine connections with your donors is to help them see how they can be active players in solving the problems they care about. You can do this by structuring your fundraising asks like this:
- Tell donors what the world looks like in its current state.
- Example: “Farmers can’t feed their families because they can’t yield enough crops to sell!”
- Tell donors what the world could look like.
- Example: “Imagine a world where farmers could afford better education for their children… Where they could sell their produce to neighboring communities in need.”
- Issue your call to action.
- Example: “Would you help us feed a hungry village by investing $18 in their irrigation system?”
As you can see, this strategy still allows you to ask for a specific donation amount, but it puts the donation into perspective. It shows donors how their donation could directly impact beneficiaries, making the ask much more powerful and compelling.
No matter what medium you use to ask donors for gifts—in-person solicitations, emails, social media posts, videos, etc.—you can always follow the arc of problem, solution, and call to action.
2. Personalize communications.
Donors want to feel seen and valued as individual people, not walking ATMs. One of the best ways to humanize your communications—from your monthly newsletter to donation requests—is to personalize each message to align with their interests and preferences.
For major donors whom you speak with or meet with on a regular basis, this will be a little easier. You have a solid knowledge of who the donor is, what is going on in their life, and which aspect of your work they’re most interested in. Use these insights to customize each interaction to their needs and preferences, whether that means choosing their favorite coffee shop as a meeting spot or thanking them with a bouquet of their favorite flowers.
You have many more lower-level donors, so you’ll need to find ways to make personalization more efficient while still making it feel genuine. That’s where your organization’s data comes into play.
Using tools like your nonprofit CRM, fundraising software, and more, you can brush up on details about your lower-level donors, like:
- Basic demographic information: Details such as gender, preferred names, geographic location, and marital status
- Communication preferences: Information about how donors like to receive information from your nonprofit (email, text, phone, mail, etc.) and preferred communication frequency
- Giving and engagement history: Past donations, event attendance, volunteer status, and participation in surveys or other feedback opportunities
One winning strategy many nonprofits use to make their personalization efforts more efficient and effective for large groups of donors is segmentation. This is the process of sorting donors into groups based on certain characteristics, like location, communication channel preference, or giving level. It allows you to achieve personalization at scale to create messages for larger groups rather than individuals.
3. Show genuine appreciation.
Imagine you have a friend who asks you for help getting their house ready for company. You sacrifice your weekend to help them clean their house from top to bottom, prepare multiple meals, and plan activities they can do when their visitors arrive.
At the end of a long day of preparations, you get ready to leave your friend’s house, noticing they didn’t thank you for all of your help. This rubs you the wrong way, and the next time your friend asks you for a favor, you feel hesitant to accept.
While you won’t be asking your donors to help you clean your house, this anecdote illustrates the importance of thanking donors for their contributions: Gratitude leads to strong, reliable relationships that stand the test of time.
Like your other communications, your donor appreciation efforts need to be personalized to be meaningful, so think through how your donors want to be thanked. Here are a few fun ideas from eCardWidget’s guide to thanking donors:
- Send a thoughtful eCard.
- Share impact stories on your website to illustrate how donations served your beneficiaries.
- Create a donor wall of fame.
- Mail a handwritten letter.
- Create a donor appreciation video.
- Send gifts branded to your organization (coffee mugs, t-shirts, hats, etc.)
- Throw a donor appreciation event.
Note that some donors will enjoy being thanked in a public way, like having their name on a donor wall. Others will prefer quieter forms of thanks that involve less fanfare. Use what you know about your donors to choose the best method for them!
4. Invite donors to engage in other ways.
Your donors will start to experience donor fatigue if you’re constantly asking them to donate over and over again. Plus, giving money isn’t the only way that they can help move your mission forward. To deepen their investment and engagement, consider inviting them to get involved in other ways.
Here are a few things you might suggest your donors get involved in:
- Volunteering: Volunteering allows your donors to get up close and personal with your mission and see how your everyday work leads to positive outcomes for those you serve. Volunteering also allows donors to use their skill sets to make a difference. For instance, if you have a donor with a green thumb, they might find working in your community garden fulfilling.
- Events: Events allow donors to be part of a community of like-minded individuals who care about your cause. Plus, they allow your team members to interact with donors in person and make memories, whether you’re dancing the night away or enjoying a special performance or lecture.
- Campaign planning: For donors who have supported your organization for a long time and given at high levels, you may want to get them involved in different aspects of your operations. For example, you might ask them to help you create your annual fundraising plan or participate in a feasibility study.
- Leading your nonprofit: Similarly, long-time donors may want to do more for your cause by stepping into a leadership role. Consider the makeup of your nonprofit’s current board of directors and whether you have any major donors who might be interested in helping govern your organization.
As always, when suggesting an engagement opportunity, keep your donor’s interests and preferences in mind. One donor may be really excited about volunteering to get hands-on experience with your mission, while another may prefer to bring their family or friends along to one of your events.
5. Solicit donor feedback and listen.
You want your donors to feel like active players in your cause. One of the best ways to ensure they feel involved in your work is to ask them for feedback.
For example, say your organization recently completed a successful capital campaign. You decide you want to assess the campaign and how you could make future fundraising efforts more engaging for your supporters. You ask some of your key donors to take a survey about the campaign and notice a common trend: They wish your marketing materials for the campaign had been more clear. Knowing this, you can act on the feedback to make the marketing materials for your next fundraiser more effective.
You can gather feedback through surveys, focus groups, or even informal discussions. No matter the method, assure donors that you’re listening and that you value their input.
To show appreciation for their time and thoughts, let them know what steps you’ll take to implement their feedback. This will make them feel heard and improve your organization—a win-win!
Donations are important to your nonprofit but not as important as your relationships with your donors. Use the tips in this guide to strengthen your connections and retain their support for years to come.
