Building Donor Loyalty
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Your donors have only one question that bothers them.
If you want to acquire more donors, you have to answer it. If you want to raise more net revenue, you need to answer it. And if you want to increase the lifetime value of your donors, you must answer it.
Here's their question: "How will my donation change the world?"
Donors are confused
Donors ask this question for a number of reasons. For one thing, they're confused. If they live in Canada and want to support an organization that helps children with cancer, for example, should they donate to the Childhood Cancer Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Research Society, Cancer Recovery Foundation of Canada, Coast to Coast Against Cancer, Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation, Terry Fox Run, or someone else?
Many donors don't know. Or can't decide. So given that your non-profit organization has competitors who do similar work, you must tell prospective and current donors exactly how you will use their gift to transform lives. Otherwise your donors may donate somewhere else.
Donors have limited funds
There's another reason you must tell your donors how their gift will make the world a better place. Some of them are on a fixed income. Others just retired. More than a few have student debt. Or other kinds of debt. Some are broke. Either way, they can't support as many charities as they'd like, so they give their money to the few causes that promise to make the biggest difference with their gifts.
Donors fund specifics, not generalities
Have you upset one of your donors recently? Just how mad do you suppose they are at you, on a scale of 1 to 10? Take this quiz and find out.
1. Your major gift officer met a donor for lunch and ordered five martinis and spaghetti. 5 points
2. The folks in gift processing mailed a donation thank-you letter but it took over a month to arrive. 5 points
3. You spelled the donor's name incorrectly. 5 points
4. Your donor asked for no fundraising appeals by mail, but your annual giving officer thought Christmas was an exception. 5 points
5. Your donor asked your office not to phone her, so your receptionist phoned her to say OK. 5 points
6. You asked for a donation in a donation thank-you letter. 5 points
7. Your donor's spouse died and left you a six-figure bequest, but the folks in direct mail kept addressing your appeals to Mr. and Mrs. 5 points
8. A major donor asked your fundraising coordinator to send him your audited financial statements, but she was busy uploading a photo of her kittens to Twitter and forgot. 5 points
9. Your donor requested that you not acknowledge his gift in your annual report, but you did. 5 points
10. You told a major donor you would follow up in a week, but your Great Dane ate your day planner. 5 points
11. You engraved your wealthiest donor's name on your donor wall but put it under the wrong giving level (a smaller one). 5 points
