Retaining Donors Through Tough Economic Times

RETAINING DONORS THROUGH TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES Presented by Sean Triner © Pareto Fundraising 2009

My favourite Charity: The Sumba Foundation

How you support: Regular gift from credit card & occasional donation

Why?

I went to see them at Christmas last year and met loads of the kids. It was fantastic, we met ....

You as a donor © Pareto Fundraising 2009

What’s happening right now? © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Individual/Organisational giving trends Base: Total gross income, excluding Bequest and Events to give underlying trend Growth from Individual giving is much more stable than from Organisational giving. © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Gross Income trend – Ind. Vs Org. Base: All donors © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Sources of individual giving Base: All individual giving © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Gross income by channel - cash Base: All individual cash giving © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Tax Appeal change +ve -ve © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Major Donors – Gifts $1,000+ Base: All cash gifts $1,000+ in 2008 from individuals © Pareto Fundraising 2009

New donors since 2000 Base: All individuals © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Cash gift acquisition volume trend © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Regular gift acquisition volume trend © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Gross income trend Base: All donors © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Changes in Cash and RG income Base: All individuals © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Vulnerability Index © Pareto Fundraising 2009 Very Important Insignificant Very vulnerable Relatively safe

SWOT © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Developed 22 Christmas appeals

In Australia, NZ, Hong Kong and Canada

13 up on income versus 2007, 9 down on 2007

Overall income 2008 around $41.7m versus $39.3m in 2007

New charities ALL up – averaging over 30% up

Organisational income falling

Specifically corporate support

What are we seeing at Pareto? © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Internal v External © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Thanked just 66% of the time

Customer care 47% of monthly gifts not set up Complaint resolved 62% of occasions Welcome pack took on average 22 days © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Crisis or Opportunity? © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Crisis or opportunity? © Pareto Fundraising 2009

What do our donors want? M eet me U nderstand me V alue me R emember me © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Donors being ignored © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Good relationship management © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Find out who they are © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Make it personal © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Give feedback © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Thank properly © Pareto Fundraising 2009

It’s worth the effort – long term © Pareto Fundraising 2009

It’s now or never © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Smarter , rather than less acquisition © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Smarter, rather then less activity

Trim “fat” or areas that offer marginal returns and protect the muscle

Ideally keep the savings to reinvest back into fundraising

Don’t sacrifice long term for short term

“ We normally send a bequest mailing in April, but this year we are scrapping it because we need to save $20,000…”

Don’t sacrifice long term for short term Now have over 1,500 confirmed bequestors © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Don’t sacrifice long term for short term BUT, only now reaping the rewards © Pareto Fundraising 2009

It’s all about the 80/20 rule © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Growth: Regular giving and bequests © Pareto Fundraising 2009 443M 394M 345M 295M 246M 197M 147M 98M 49M

Pareto Principle © Pareto Fundraising 2009 Decile Cumulative Gross Income Count Cumulative Count % of Donors Cumulative % of Donors 1 $ 6,854,383 45 45 0.0% 0.0% 2 $ 13,708,765 292 337 0.2% 0.3% 3 $ 20,563,148 716 1,053 0.6% 0.9% 4 $ 27,417,531 1,291 2,344 1.1% 1.9% 5 $ 34,271,913 2,171 4,515 1.8% 3.7% 6 $ 41,126,296 3,557 8,072 2.9% 6.6% 7 $ 47,980,679 5,712 13,784 4.7% 11.2% 8 $ 54,835,061 10,018 23,802 8.2% 19.4% 9 $ 61,689,444 19,807 43,609 16.1% 35.5% 10 $ 68,543,827 79,193 122,802 64.5% 100.0% 122,802 122,802 100.0% 100.0% 80%

Spend time where it makes a difference © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Spend time where it makes a difference © Pareto Fundraising 2009 Impact of spending time and effort on a small group – 463 donors

Cost of fundraising incl bequests © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Cost v value: the balance © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Cost vs value: the balance

Do you know the REAL cost of each program you run (including staff)?

Income per fundraiser?

Do you know the Value To Date of donors recruited from different sources two or three years ago?

My favourite Charity: The Sumba Foundation How you support: Regular gift from credit card & occasional donation Why? Their cost of fundraising is really low and I am impressed by their effective admin systems... © Pareto Fundraising 2009

My favourite Charity: The Sumba Foundation How you support: Regular gift from credit card & occasional donation Why? I went to see them at Christmas last year and met loads of the kids. It was fantastic, we met .... © Pareto Fundraising 2009

ANALYTICAL

Your Growth

Your donor

behaviour

ENVIRONMENTAL

How much is given

Growth

Competition

PERSONAL

Transactions

Bequest status

Pet name

Motivations

STRATEGIC DATA - informs TECHNICAL DATA - used © Pareto Fundraising 2009

How do we measure up? © Pareto Fundraising 2009

What’s your story

I am a donor and I want to know what you do.

Write down in a few short paragraphs what you do and why I should support you with a donation.

You have six minutes.

What’s your story

I am a donor and I want to know what you do.

Write down in a few short paragraphs what you do and why I should support you with a donation.

You have six minutes.

“ Relationship fundraising is an approach to the marketing of a cause which centres not around raising money but on developing to its full potential the unique and special relationship between a charity and its supporter.”

Burnett (1992)

“ If you are really nice to your donors

they are more likely to give you more

money for more time.”

Triner (2007)

www.seantriner.blogspot.com

Last year The Benevolent Society received a copy of a receipt sent from our organisation to a donor – what’s so great about that you ask? © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Well…the letter was dated Christmas Eve 1920 and it was sent to a little girl aged 5 called Gwen. © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Gwen had kept her receipt all these years, in her little box of treasures and her daughter found it recently. © Pareto Fundraising 2009 Gwen had done some fundraising for us, and raised 10 shillings.

Gwen is now 93 years old and would have accumulated much in her time, imagine keeping a donation receipt from when you were 5!! © Pareto Fundraising 2009

© Pareto Fundraising 2009 The thank you letter reads: ‘ I have just heard that your daddie has been reading you the stories in our Christmas book, and that you then started off to get money to send us, so that we could buy things for poor children to eat at Christmas time.

© Pareto Fundraising 2009 Do you know what was done with the ten shillings? They brought bread, wheat, milk, porridge, jam, golden syrup, tinned fruit, and a plum pudding, for some children whose mother had no money to go to the shops.

© Pareto Fundraising 2009 You did not know that when you were making pin-holes in those flowers you were going to make some poor mother glad because she could make Christmas day a happy one, for her little children. But you have done so”

Isn’t that gorgeous? I know the language is old fashioned, but what a lovely receipt – it acknowledges how she came to make her gift and lets her know just what a difference it’s made. © Pareto Fundraising 2009

Just today I met Gwen’s daughter and got to see the original letter – she also brought a photo of her mum aged about 5, in what looks like her Sunday best complete with ringlets. © Pareto Fundraising 2009

The Pareto Group exists to make the world a better place, by expanding the not-for-profit sector's capacity worldwide to ensure as many beneficiaries are helped as possible. sean.triner@paretofundraising.com www.paretofundraising.com