Retention is your most important fundraising strategy, and your online donors are seriously at risk. Among all your donors, they are the least likely to renew their gifts – unless you take specific, creative steps to engage and thank them.
This session will help you discover how to maximize the retention rates of your digital donors. We will examine the attributes of online donors, and outline the retention strategies that work best for this slice of your donor database.
Learning Outcomes:
Understand what makes online donors tick (their habits, patterns, likes and dislikes)
Learn how to formulate a retention strategy for online donors
Understand best practices in digital communications, including email gift acknowledgement and social media content.
2. Your Presenter
Jay B. Love
• 30 Years of Technology Leadership
• Over 20,000 Database Installations
• Former Founder & CEO of eTapestry
• Former CEO of Master Software/Fund-‐Master
• AFP Board Member
• AFP Ethics Committee Chairman
• Center on Philanthropy at IU Board Member
• Innovation Fund at Butler University Board Member
• Gleaners Food Bank Board Member
• Co-‐Chair of Indianapolis YMCA Capital Campaign
3
9. 2014 Results »
http://www.afpneworleans.afpnet.org/International/RepResdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=28547
43%!
(highest since 2007)
10. Donor Attrition Over Five Years
# of Donors Attrition
Rate
Donors
Remaining
After 1 Year
Donors
Remaining
After 2
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 3
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 4
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 5
Years
1,000 20% 800 640 512 410 328
1,000 40% 600 360 216 130 78
1,000 60% 400 160 64 26 10
So what?
11. So what?
Improving donor
retention rates by just
10% can increase the
lifetime value of your
database by
150-‐200%!
- Dr. Adrian Sergeant,
Bloomerang Chief Scientist
13. # of Donors in Current 12 Months
(from the previous years pool)
divided by
# of Donors in Previous 12 Months
Calculating your retention rate »
https://bloomerang.co/retention
19. • Online giving accounts for less than 10% of all
charitable giving
• (only 2% according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
• 30% of annual giving occurs in the month of
December.
• (10% of annual giving occurs on the last 3 days of the year.)
• Branded giving pages account for 54% of online
giving. Branded giving pages raise six times more in
contributions than generic giving pages.
• P2P (peer-‐to-‐peer) growing the fastest
• Employee Giving is the largest online segment
Online donors »
21. • 5% -‐ thought charity did not need them
• 8% -‐ no info on how monies were used
• 9% -‐ no memory of supporting
• 13% -‐ never got thanked for donating
• 16% -‐ death
• 18% -‐ poor service or communication
• 36% -‐ others more deserving
• 54% -‐ could no longer afford
Why nonprofit donors leave »
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--
infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
22. • 5% -‐ thought charity did not need them
• 8% -‐ no info on how monies were used
• 9% -‐ no memory of supporting
• 13% -‐ never got thanked for donating
• 16% -‐ death
• 18% -‐ poor service or communication
• 36% -‐ others more deserving
• 54% -‐ could no longer afford
Why nonprofit donors leave »
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--
infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
23. • 5% -‐ thought charity did not need them
• 8% -‐ no info on how monies were used
• 9% -‐ no memory of supporting
• 13% -‐ never got thanked for donating
• 18% -‐ poor service or communication
• 36% -‐ others more deserving
Poor communication = 89%!
Why nonprofit donors leave »
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--
infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
24. Donor communications »
“Successful donor
communications are
quite simple.
At heart, they are love
letters to donors &
prospects, woven
through with clear cries
for help.”
- Tom Ahern,
Bloomerang Donor
Communications Head Coach
http://aherncomm.com
29. • Acknowledge offline gift within 48 hours
• First-‐time donors who get a personal thank
you within 48 hours are 4x more likely to
give a second gift.
• Acknowledge online gifts within 1 hour
• Send payment processor email
• Send branded email from organization
How to improve retention »
31. • Survey within 90 days
• Snail mail should include handwritten note
• Call ALL new donors (if you ask / receive phone
# on donation form)
• A three-‐minute thank-‐you call will boost
first-‐year retention by 30%.
• Schedule in-‐person meetings
• Make second ask quickly and appropriately
How to improve retention »
33. Seattle’s Lakeside Upper School counts … Bill
Gates among its alumni. Rumor has it a
fundraiser for the high school called Gates,
who asked: “How much is everyone else
giving?” About $75 he was told. “So put me
down for $75,” said Gates.
-‐-‐ Forbes, Jan 22, 1996, p. 16
Pay attention to dollar retention »
34. Who can do the thanking? »
• Board members
• Volunteers
• DoD
• ED
40. • Utilize communication preference
• Make the donor the star of the show
• more “you” than “we”
• State exactly how donation will be used
• Communicate impact
Acknowledgement content tips »
42. • Make it an option on donation forms
• Suggest donation amounts
• Ask quickly after the first gift (upgrade)
Monthly giving »
43. P2P donors give to the fundraiser, not the org!
1. Have the fundraiser contact last year’s donors.
2. Have the fundraiser re-‐introduce the charity in the gift acknowledgement.
3. Start a dialogue in the first follow-‐up.
P2P acknowledgement »
https://bloomerang.co/blog/3-‐tips-‐for-‐improving-‐p2p-‐donor-‐retention/
44. • It’s not about you. It’s about the donor.
• Get that second gift.
• If you ask for a phone #, call.
• Make social media a communications
preference.
• Segment and personalize.
Final thoughts »