It goes without saying: donor retention is an essential component of the health of any nonprofit organization. While donor acquisition (the rate at which you grow your donor base by attracting new donors) is important for increasing revenue on a campaign-by-campaign basis, many nonprofits, especially smaller or younger ones, neglect one of the single most effective development strategies out there — focusing on retention. Some reasons why donors stop giving 3 steps to master donor retention 4 tips for a successful donor retention plan

1. 9 January 2020
Donors retention- the ultimate
key for nonprofit success

2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OF DONOR RETENTION
- Donor retention is a measure of how many donors
continue to donate to your organization.
- Nonprofits with a high donor retention rate have long-
term supporters who come back year after year.
- Unfortunately, nonprofits are still struggling to keep
donor retention high.
- There is only 45.5% of donors give the following year
(2018 statistics) again.
- The average donor retention rates for first-year
offline-only donors is 29%.
WHY DONOR RETENTION IS IMPORTANT
- Reflect and predict the stability of
nonprofit revenue
- Represent donor loyalty with the
organization
- Cost-effective for long term growth
- Maximize word-of-mouth marketing, P2P
fundraising

3. The three most common reasons for failure donation are:
1. Nonprofits did not acknowledge their previous
contributions
- Usually, the first donation can easily lead to the
following.
- However, a forgotten or cliché thank you note can
discourage your donors from staying with your
organization.
2. Donors are not asked to donate again
- People can easily forget your organization.
- Frequent updates on the goal achieving process or a friendly reminder of them making the next donation are
useful.
3. Lack of communication from nonprofit
- Showing them how their help can enhance their trust in your organization.
- Donors are thrived to see if they made any changes.
- Create your unique, heart-touching message for them!
WHY DONORS STOP GIVING

4. 3 STEPS TO MASTER DONOR RETENTION
STEP 1. GATHER DATA ABOUT YOUR DONORS
Donors Retention Rate (DRT) is the rate of donors who gave to your organization again after their first
giving.
- Knowing this rate can determine how well your fundraising effort is going.
- The donor retention rate is a primary indicator of your fundraising efficacy; it is vital to get your
calculation right.
- Now depending on each donor segmentation, you can calculate this rate based on the formula:
- DRR = (Number of returning donors (current year) / Number of previous years donors) X 100.
Types of donors:
- Not all donors are the same. They require different approaches to leverage their experience with you.
- Typical segments:
• First-time donors
• Repeat donors
• Major donors
•. Lapsed donors

5. Your donor's preference for communication
- Donors retention is about effective communication, so it is crucial to keep their preferred
contacting method in mind.
- Ask your donors what their communication approach by sending them a quick survey.
- Alternatively, you can go with demographic donor segmentation.
- Different age groups can prefer a different type of interaction.

6. STEP 2. CULTIVATE YOUR RETENTION STRATEGIES.
Suggested strategies you can use to implement for all your donors:
Strategy 1. Show an authentic attitude
- Genuine appreciation from your organization goes a long way in building good donor relations.
- Some donors would be happy with a simple text message. Others are thrilled with formal thank you
note. Either way, you choose, surprise them!
- 12 touches per year are recommended when engaging donors.
Strategy 2. Building a memorable branding
- Good branding can build trust in your audience and let you stand out from other organizations aiming
for the same donors as yours.
- Your branding includes your name, design choices, your mission statement, and how you communicate
your purposes.
- The goal of branding is to build a unique, memorable, likable in your audience's mind.

7. Strategy 3. Offering membership privilege
- Donors give toward good causes. But they would
appreciate gratitude from your organization in the form of
benefits.
- Some nonprofits provide their donors with a tiered benefit
system based on the donation amount.
- Some incentives to consider: branded merchandise,
discount tickets to events, food vouchers, recognition on
website/newsletter.
Strategies 4: Surveying your donors
- The survey helps you to learn how good you are with
current retention strategies and how to improve it based on
your donor's preference.
- Ask donors questions that can provide you actionable
data. Try to avoid Yes/NO problem, give them some space
to tell their thoughts.

8. Strategies 5. Demonstrate your impact.
- After a fundraising effort, 59.8%of donors want to
know how much total money was raised, 44.5% want
to see how the funds raised will be used.
- Update your donors on how their contribution is
being used for good causes.
Strategies 6. Make it simple to give
- Enable your donors to pick the channel via which
they want to donate.
- At every channel, make it consistent and simple to
follow.
- It's time for you to think about omnichannel!

9. Step 3. Periodically review your
recognition program
- Re-evaluated your plan as often as
your organizational needs change or at
least once a year.
- Collect feedback from your donors,
staff, volunteer for a better
communication plan.

10. 4 TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
DONOR RETENTION PLAN
TIPS#1 Make communication personalized
- Donors expect the usual auto-receipt.
- Add a personalized touch to your follow-up messages to
make your donors feel appreciated.
- A handwritten note from staff, for instance, can make
supporters feel instantly connected to the people behind your
organization.
- Try starting with their names instead of "Dear Supporter."
TIPS#2 Surprise and delight them
- Stay away from a typical fundraising letter asking mail or a
story about someone in need.
- Find playful ways to surprise donors and foster positive
emotional connections with your organization.
- You can try a humorous mail, joyful video, etc.

11. TIPS#3 Let donors touch and feel
- Donors need to interact physically with your organization.
- By giving your donors sensory experiences like volunteer
opportunities, tours of your facility, and small group meetings with
your staff and other donors, you are cementing the relationships
you have with your supporters.
TIPS#4 Keep it mission-focused
- Donors get tired of hearing transactional details, but they rarely
tired of hearing about your task.
- They wouldn't care for how many tickets they can get to your
annual party with $1000 donation; they care more about how
many children will be saved by their $1000 donation.
4 TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
DONOR RETENTION PLAN