It’s a new year and it’s the time when many nonprofits start to look at how they can revamp their fundraising strategies. Donor attrition remains high in the nonprofit world, but by putting the focus on building donor loyalty you can start to see organizational growth and donor retention.
This year, we encourage you to put the focus on donor loyalty, and we have the tips and tricks to help you do it!
- Make your fundraising personal, not transactional. We encourage you to do a little digging into the psychology of your donors and identify why they give to your organization. Of all the nonprofits out there, they chose yours to donate to, and when you figure that out you can continue to put emphasis on what makes your organization unique and appealing to donors. You don’t want your constituents to feel like they’re just a number and that they are donating to just any nonprofit. Your donors are unique, just like your organization, so it’s important to keep your communication and marketing personal. Creating a strong relationship and generating a personal connection with donors will result in more loyalty.
- Try a membership program. If this isn’t something you’ve already established, we encourage you to start a program that offers benefits. They’re a great way to increase revenue, while also continuing to offer long-term benefits to your donors, thus increasing donor loyalty. One of the keys to a successful membership program: Tangible perks! Pens, shirts, gift cards, etc. are items that members can look forward to receiving.
- Figure out the lifetime value of your donors. The lifetime value is how much money the donor has given to your organization throughout your relationship with them. Once you’ve discovered that, you can identify the donors with the highest lifetime value and focus your loyalty/retention efforts on these donors. If their lifetime value is high, it is likely that they already feel a sense of loyalty to your nonprofit.
Remember, it is more beneficial – from both a reputation and cost standpoint – to retain donors than it is to acquire new ones. Retaining loyal donors is vital to the continued success of your organization, and we want you to have a loyal team of constituents behind you!