When we think about fundraising, it can be difficult not to directly jump into focusing on the solicitation or the ask for a gift. Our palms start to get sweaty, we play through the scenarios of what happens if they say no, and we psych ourselves up to do something that we’re often taught not to do: talk about money.
But what if we told you that you already have all the skills you need to be a great fundraiser? What if fundraising was as simple as being a good friend?
First, let’s revisit the donor cycle.
- Acquisition: how we get new people to become donors and reconnect with former donors
- Cultivation: how we build and maintain relationships with donors
- Solicitation: how and when we ask donors for their support
- Stewardship: the ways in which we show gratitude for donors’ support
To put this cycle into plain language, let’s look at it from the perspective of a friendship.
- Acquisition: how we make new friends and reconnect with old ones
- Cultivation: how we build and maintain relationships with our friends
- Solicitation: how and when we ask our friends for their support whether that’s borrowing a book, coming to your birthday party, carpooling to a party, and more
- Stewardship: how we thank our friends for doing us a favor, giving us a birthday gift, and more
Recent studies show that the average retention rate for nonprofits is only 29%. This also would suggest that the other 71% of fundraising revenue to break even would need to be found from new donors, grants, and other means of income.
Now imagine that this year, you only keep 29% of the friends you had in 2022. What happened? We all have friendships that come and go, but what happened to the other 71% of your friends?
Well, there’s a lot of reasons people can drift apart:
- Lack of communication
- Life transitions
- Change in interests or values
- What else? What other reasons do friends lose touch?
The list above also includes key factors in why nonprofits lose donors. When we’re focused on solely asking for money, we sometimes forget to ask our supporters what’s going on in their lives and what they care about. Sometimes we naturally grow apart from our donors because they move, their financial situation changes, or their philanthropic passion is focused elsewhere.
The main element we have control of as fundraisers is how we communicate and how we make people feel when they interact with our organizations and missions.
Below, we have started to compile a list of ways you might take what you know about maintaining friendships and applying it to your donors. Remember, you are the expert in your people and your mission; this is only a very short list, and you may choose activities for which you have capacity and you think will resonate with your donors.
- Increased communication. Keep donors up to date not only with what your organization is doing, but find ways to be part of their lives too!
- Sending a regular newsletter to keep donors in the loop with your organization’s news and activities
- Asking donors to share their birthday with you so you can reach out with a special note
- Making thank you phone calls and engaging in conversation with donors to learn more about why they support your organization
- Two-way conversations. Not only do you want to share what your organization is up to, but knowing what donors care about is important for strategizing around your communications and fundraising plans. Some ways to get feedback include:
- Sending a simple donor survey to ask for their feedback, what energizes them about your work, and to learn more about their motivation for giving
- Phone calls, virtual town halls, or in-person events are all great ways to connect with donors in an authentic way. You’ll be surprised what you can learn from a casual conversation!
Our organizations’ donors are people who care about your mission and have raised their hand to be a supportive friend in your work. When you create stronger relationships with these advocates, you’re also more likely to see an increased retention rate. That’s means you’ve been a good friend and they feel like an important part of your community!