Major Gift Donor Retention
By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru
Stephanie – Do you have information that would be beneficial to someone who is just starting to look at starting a donor retention program?
Part 1 of this article discussed the importance of bonding first-time donors to your organization to boost their renewal rate. Now take the same process steps for your multi-year, habitual donors.
Have you done a personal discovery call with all of your top 25 major gift donors this year?
If not, get busy.
It’s amazing when I ask people why they give to an organization. “Joe asked me to.” “I don’t remember, I’ve been giving for 7 years but I’m not sure why I started or what your organization really does.”
Especially in this tough economy it’s important to interact with donors so they can remind themselves about why they give.
Share stewardship stories to show donors the impact of their giving.
We’re hearing from some donors that instead of giving 10 major gifts this year, they’re going to keep giving but to only 5. You need to get on this short list.
Never, ever lose a donor.
Start the renewal process at 10 months after their last gift by sending a friendly reminder.
Keep sending reminders every 3 weeks until you get a response. Once the donor is one month over due on their anniversary of giving, get on the phone and try to connect personally. Two months after the anniversary start to get worried and have some of your great volunteers check for people they know to help save the gift.
Of course all of this is easier if you or someone on your staff makes a concerted effort to see each major donor once a year.
Other ways to help the renewal process are brief, bimonthly quick-read newsletters showing how your organization is benefiting the community.
Supplement this written information with longer stories on your website, a major donors’ blog (see a previous post for more on this topic), and by inviting donors to attend quarterly on-site cultivation events with all of your other donors.
Let major gift donors see your organization in action – feature a physician, a faculty member, a program leader so donors begin to understand the depth and breadth of your organization. Staff’s job is to put on great programs, get the invitations out, and work with volunteers to ensure good attendance. As you get donors coming to these events and then reading about them in your short, frequent newsletters, they begin to build relationships with other donors. These new, interesting friends with a common interest in helping your organization are another benefit of giving to your cause.
If a donor does tell you they can’t renew their gift, try to conduct an exit interview. Is this just a timing issue? Do they really understand your organization? Did something screw up the relationship some how? Would paying monthly be easier than writing a single check? Could you revisit their decision in the future? What could your organization do better to communicate with donors? Listen hard, take their advice no matter how painful.
Bottom line, unless a donor dies, moves away, goes bankrupt, or has a major personal catastrophe, you need to gently pursue their gift renewal. Try to boost your first-time donor renewals from the 50% national average to 80% -- and boost your multi-year donors from the national benchmark of 80% to 95% (or better).
Donor retention through a good thank you system, frequent communications, personal visits, appropriate recognition, and evidence of stewardship and gift impact take time and money. Educate your management team and board that fundraising isn’t all about asking for money and receiving gifts – it’s building a lifetime relationship.
This article is part of a series. To read the other article in the series, please click the link below:
Permanent Link: Major Gift Donor Retention (part 2 of a series)
http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/08/major-gift-donor-retention-part-2-of.html
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