From Fatigue to Fantastic: Donor Management 101
Donor Fatigue is something many nonprofits, private schools, churches, and ministries struggle with. Let’s take a look at some of the causes of donor fatigue and ways to spin it right back around in a positive way:
Problem – Too many “urgent” requests – Be careful when marking those asks as “urgent” – only use them when truly appropriate. People are less likely to take it seriously and take notice if everything is an “urgent” request. It can be an annoyance to donors to create an urgency that isn’t actually there.
Solution – The Givedot platform allows donors to connect with a story and prepare to give or plan on giving on a specific date. The ability to have multiple campaigns under one group will keep your admins organized while allowing donors to go right to the campaign they connect with the most.
Problem – Failure to close the loop – You ask someone for a donation and they make the donation, so you’re done, right? Nope! If you’re telling a story or fundraising for something specific like a new playground, your donors are invested in this story! They want to know what happened, did you meet the goal? Donors want to know their gift was received, used, and appreciated.
Solution – Follow up! Don’t just send a generic thank you. Did you reach your goal? Is there an update to a story you told during the campaign? #GivingTuesday is an opportunity to tell a great fundraising story with a beginning, middle, and most importantly, an end! Once you effectively wrap it up, you can move on to end of year fundraising.
Problem – Poor donor management – Donor engagement is all about building relationships. Many organizations get into the habit of just sending out generic emails that don’t speak to who the individual is and what kind of relationship they have with the school/ministry. Are they recurring donors? Are they volunteers? Have they made a donation one time then never again? No one will know if they all get the same email!
Solution – Givedot’s reporting system provides the ability to track and see what themes arise from a donor’s giving pattern. For example, a specific ask to a new athletic fundraiser for donors who have given to athletic fundraisers before. You can also customize emails based on who has given and how many times.
Check out our series “Fundraising: Engaging vs. Exhausting”, for a more detailed breakdown on donor fatigue!
