Because existing donors are already familiar with your organization, enlisting their help is easier (and cheaper!) than trying to acquire new ones. Retained donors provide consistent funding and make up a reliable community of supporters that your nonprofit can always count on. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of four tips nonprofits can use to improve donor retention:

1. 1. Connect with your donors
   2. Follow up after a donation
   3. Offer other opportunities to get involved
   4. Ask for donor feedback

Instead of looking for new audiences, spend more time cultivating a close-knit supporter community through effective donor retention strategies. Let’s take a closer look at the best ways to keep your donors coming back!

1. Connect with your donors

Your nonprofit is always learning more about donors, even if you don’t realize you’re collecting valuable details. Snowball’s guide to auction software shares how your CRM is a treasure trove of information, collecting engagement data and more donor details that make supporter outreach possible.

Fundraising tools may streamline data collection, but it’s up to nonprofit leaders to put that data to use. Consider leveraging the following information to better connect with your donors:

• • Demographics: Consider common demographics, such as age, employment status, and the geographic location of your donors. This information can guide the way you reach out to donors. For example, a younger donor might respond well to digital campaigns, as would the donor who lives 100 miles away from your upcoming event. 
  • Philanthropic interests: Do your donors align with your mission and vision? Are there certain programs they donate to, or other programs they don’t? Learn more about what drives your donors to contribute, then request their help in similar ways when you’re asking for them to continue giving.
  • Involvement history: Analyze the pattern of a donor’s involvement in your organization. For example, do they attend events or use the donation form on your website? Use this data to understand your donors’ preferences.

Think about donor retention like keeping in touch with an old friend—to continue the friendship, you need to know about each other and what’s going on in each other’s lives. In the same way, keep your nonprofit’s donor relations healthy by taking the time to get to know your donors. This dramatically increases the chances of a donor continuing to give to your organization.

2. Follow up after a donation

While donor appreciation is no new concept, it can’t be understated when it comes to improving your retention efforts. To perfect your follow-up, make it:

• • Personal: Make the content and method of your communication feel personal as if the donor is receiving a thank-you message from a friend. For example, if you’ve ever hosted a mobile giving campaign, use your list of donors’ phone numbers to send a quick text thanking them in a personal and convenient way.
  • Timely: Immediate follow-up helps donors feel appreciated and not forgotten. In fact, you should prepare these messages during the fundraising campaign so that you can send them immediately after a donor makes a gift.
  • Specific: Even if you work from a follow-up message template, adding details to help donors feel uniquely called out is crucial. For added impact, tell the story of what your nonprofit accomplished with the donor’s gift and how that work benefited the community you serve.

When donors feel noticed and recognized, they’ll return the investment in the relationship by continuing to support your organization.

3. Offer other opportunities to get involved

To capture those donors who only contribute during the giving season, switch up your appeal. After all, retained donors can offer a lot more than just monetary support. A community of loyal supporters will have an affinity for your cause, which your nonprofit can benefit from in nonmonetary ways. 

Direct your existing donors to:

• • Volunteer opportunities 
  • Advocacy campaigns
  • Upcoming events
  • Open staff positions

As a part of your outreach strategy, promote these opportunities on your communication channels to draw more attention to other ways donors can get involved. For example, you might create a designated page on your website to volunteer roles. Promote the page using Google’s Ad Grant program so that internet searchers can easily find these new opportunities.

4. Ask for donor feedback

What better way is there to retain donor support than by directly asking them for their thoughts on your organization? Donors’ opinions can greatly influence the way they choose to get involved with your nonprofit, so it’s crucial that you learn more about what they think.

To learn more about your donors, send out a survey asking questions about:

• • Event attendance: Ask donors what they enjoyed, what they’d change, and if they’d attend another event. MemberClick’s guide to event feedback notes this information is also helpful for measuring a past event’s success as well as planning future events. 
  • Reason for giving: Inquire about donors’ philanthropic proclivities, such as their involvement with other nonprofits or their motivations to give to yours. When you understand why your donors contribute, you’ll have a better idea of how to appeal to them.
  • User-friendliness: Supporters likely have opinions about the process of donating to your nonprofit, whether they prefer giving through your text-to-give fundraising initiative  or locating the donation form on your website. Find out if donors find your resources user-friendly and how you can make the donation process more enjoyable for them.

Add the information you collect to your donor database for future reference. Once you’ve organized all your survey responses, you’ll be able to analyze this information to find patterns in responses and identify areas that need to be addressed.

As you aim to re-engage your donors and retain their support for years to come, consider what involvement looks like from their perspective. How do your fundraising strategies and communication efforts affect them? 

Implement these donor retention strategies and standardize these practices across your team. When everyone in your nonprofit works toward deepening connections with existing donors, you’ll reap the benefits of a loyal nonprofit community.