Four Step Donor Stewardship Process
Most nonprofits are laser-focused on getting donors. But what about keeping them?
While it can be tempting to assume that once a donor gives, she’ll continue to make a donation year after year, data says otherwise. According to the AFP 2018 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey, the 2017 donor retention rate was only 45.5%. That means that, overall, one out of every two donors won’t make a second gift.
The best thing you can do to keep your donors is to have a stewardship plan in place, and that starts with a great thank you letter. If you’re ready to start stewarding your donors with enthusiasm and sophistication, here are four ways you can create a simple yet powerful donor stewardship plan.
One: Have a Great Automated Email Receipt
When a donor makes a gift to your organization, they’ll get an automated receipt. Unless you customize it, however, that receipt will be dull and lifeless —and say nothing about your organization, your work, or the impact of the donor’ investment.
A receipt that says “Thank you for your support. Keep this for your records.” is not a thank you email and does nothing to give your donor the warm and fuzzy vibes you want them to have.
Instead, treat that automated receipt as your first thank you letter. Even a few tweaks to your current template can breathe some life into the receipt. What if you…
Had an interesting and fun subject line that puts a smile on your donors’ faces…
Personalized the salutation to remind your donor that you know who they are and care about them…and...
Included a story, a video, or call to action that let your donor learn more about your organization?
Just that human touch will elevate your receipt into a meaningful touchpoint rather than an email that will just get deleted. And, updating your automated email receipts is a quick, easy, and free way to deepen that donor relationship!
Automate This
Automating your email receipts is easy. Your CRM or gift processing software likely has canned email responses that you can update and personalize. Plan on refreshing your receipts at least annually, if not a few times per year.
Two: Send a Sincere, Timely Thank You Letter
When it comes to saying thank you, an email doesn’t count. Not only does email come across as impersonal, data shows that mail is remembered more than email. You’re more likely to make a positive impact on your donors if you send them a physical thank you letter. It’s science, y’all.
Sending a physical thank you letter is a priceless opportunity to forge a strong connection with your donors. A prompt thank you (and by prompt, I mean sent less than a week after you received their gift) illustrates that your organization is well-run and that you value their investment. And, so few organizations take the time to say thank you—your letter will make your work shine even brighter than it already does!
Your thank you letter also gives you the opportunity to tell your donors more about your work and invite them to become further involved. Use your thank-you letter to highlight a compelling story, share how you’ll use your donors’ investment, and invite them to a site visit or other upcoming event.
Automate This
Depending on how many donations you get each week, automating your thank you letters may be more of a hassle than it’s worth. A good place to start is by making sure you are taking advantage of any acknowledgement letter features in your donor database or CRM so that you can generate personalized letters with pre-loaded copy!
Want to dive in more? Check out our self-paced donor stewardship e-course!
Three: Pop a Postcard in the Mail
A physical thank-you letter is great and is already way more than most nonprofits take the time to share with their donors! But, even those thank you letters can seem “official”. A handwritten postcard or notecard with a quick “thanks!” can go a long way towards furthering the donor relationship.
Postcards and notecards also let you be a little more informal — and a little more playful — than an official letter. You can use photos, quotes, and stories about your work to really bring to life the impact that your donor is having on your organization.
Share the work by pre-addressing notecards and postcards with donor information, and then asking your board to write handwritten notes. This is an easy and tangible way for your board to be involved in fundraising, and will leave a profound impact on your donor!
Automate This
Ideally, you can get your board members to handwrite postcards or notecards. But, this system can be streamlined and automated in several ways. Consider:
Setting up a monthly report in your CRM/Donor Database to generate a list of gifts received that month (plus donor information) so you print address labels and easily share relevant details with your board.
Using tools like Zapier and a company like Handwrytten or IgnitePOST to automatically send postcards (written by ROBOTS!)
Four: Have your Board Members Call and Say Thank You
One of the easiest — and yet most effective — ways to say “thank you” is with a phone call! Through a “thank-a-thon” we can acknowledge our donors, and thank the people who invest in our organization in a way that will resonate with them. Phone calls are a low-cost, high-impact way to connect with donors, and are the perfect way to get your board involved with donor stewardship. All you need is a report of your donors to call, and some willing board members!
Automate This
Obviously, there’s some real people-power involved in these phone calls. However, just like with notecards, you can set up a monthly or quarterly report that generates donor details including their name, date and size of their last gift, any other history, and their phone number. Having that report pre-prepared and set to run monthly is one less action item standing in the way of you and some very happy donors!
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