5 Steps to Growing Your Individual Donor Pool
Recent reports from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project and in the Chronicle of Philanthropy point to a growing decrease in individual donors. While the amount of money donated has been rising, the number of people giving has gone way down. This is especially problematic for smaller nonprofits whose donors tend to give smaller gifts.
For organizations who have numerous donors making 6 and 7 figure donations, the implications are minimal—though they will get fewer gifts, the larger size of each gift will mitigate the problem. But if your largest donor has made a $2,500 gift, the decrease in number of donors will hit you—hard.
This means that you must engage and re-engage with ALL your donors regularly. What does that mean in practical terms?
Develop a robust annual giving program that reaches all your donors on a regular basis, on many different platforms. Remember, donors are not a monolithic group. Some will like to get a letter they can hold in their hands; others will want something electronically. Some of your donors prefer short (no more than 3 minutes, please) videos, which others will linger over still photos.
Segment your donors, getting ever more granular as you learn more about each donor. The more personal you can make your outreach, the more your outreach will engage your donors. Remember, donors want to be seen. Show them that you see them as unique individuals.
Reach out and touch every single donor at least once a quarter, and preferably more often than that. Tell your donors what they mean to you and how important they are in moving your mission forward. Telling stories of how donor generosity has made a difference is key.
As you ask for support make sure you make a strong case for why their support is needed. You do not need to match dollars with goods or services but you must show how their support makes a big difference. And do be realistic—one gift of $50, 100, or even 250 dollars may not have a huge impact, but hundreds of gifts at that level will. Show your donors that they are part of a larger family where the sum is greater than each individual gift and where every contribution counts.
Don’t forget to ask your donors about them! Develop ways where they can share why your organization matters to them—and highlight these wonderful stories. If you have a newsletter, use it to tell stories (in your words or—preferably—theirs) that your donors have shared. Remember, they won’t generally just tell you; rather, you must ask.
Donors tend to leave because they feel that their generosity has fallen into that yawping black hole. Or worse, that a smaller gift does not matter. Show them how much it does. According to FEP, decline in number of donors last year was over 7%. Think about how much more you could accomplish if instead of shrinking, you grew your donor pool by just 5%. Truly, if you cherish your donors—all your donors, regardless of size of gift—they will repay you by ensuring that the support that is needed is there.