GuideStar Blog

Sometimes we spend so much time and effort and energy trying to get all of the systems and materials and research and processes of fundraising right that we plumb forget the most important things.

The Simple Truth about Donors

Your donors—no matter who they are or how much they give—want two things.

Don’t you hate it when you have donors (or potential donors) who are not supporting your efforts to the extent you believe their passion would indicate?  They’ve expressed support, maybe even enthusiasm, for your mission, and yet their financial gifts don’t reflect the same level of engagement.

In my years working with nonprofit and development directors, I’ve noticed a certain underpinning fear of major donors. This is not a monster-under-your-bed fear (or maybe it is for some of us). Rather it’s a reverence, awe, caution, and wariness that permeates the relationship and all interactions with the donors. 

And this makes sense. Your mega donor is literally the epicenter and foundation of charitable giving to your organization. And even I, an advocate of crowdfunding and the power of micro-donations, still realize that the majority of your monetary support will be generated by major givers. 

But sometimes this reverence and fear can lead to unhealthy practices. 

The list of things that can keep us from getting out to ask is really long. Not enough time. Fear of rejection. Not thinking our donors are ready. Not wanting to step on relationships. Are any of these on your top 10 list?

At the end of the day, what gets us out there is mostly a combination of enthusiasm for the cause and a sense of responsibility.

On December 31, 2017, I became a statistic.

I joined the 60 percent of donors who become former donors to the charities they had been supporting.

Ask short questions and hope for long answers. That’s one of my key mottos for fundraising.

We’ve all been in a class or at a conference when someone got up to ask a question and delivered a soliloquy. When they finished we might even have wondered if there was a question!

If you do that in fundraising, you’ll be dead in the water. As you start going on and on your donor’s eyes will glaze over.

When it comes to member engagement, I often stumble across this nonprofit story as old as the industry itself: 

It’s the belief that just the passionate expression of an organization’s mission is somehow all that's needed to be engaging. That upon hearing the mission or the work of the organization, a donor, a volunteer, a company, a foundation will simply leap into action. And that action will not only be beneficial, but befitting to the organization’s known needs. 

Oh, if only it was ever that easy. 

Here’s a natural, friendly and much more successful approach to major gift fundraising.

I’m showing you how to develop a warm, easy relationships with your major gift prospects. Relationships where they feel heard and understood. A relationship that builds trust and credibility.

When you take a donor-centered approach to a major gift, you let the donor lead the way. She feels entirely in control. She never feels “presented” to or pushed.

And she’s much more likely to end up with a generous major gift coming from her heart—and she’s with you for the long term.

The days of the seemingly infinite pool of new donors available to quickly and inexpensively replace those who have stopped their support are long gone. Today, as more and more donors abandon ship, the cost of replacing them has grown so great as to be no longer affordable for most nonprofits. 

Research has shown that first-time donors who receive a personal thank-you within 48 hours are four times more likely to give again. Yes, thanking in 48 hours equals a 400 percent improvement in renewal rates.

First-time donors are ardent, as I discuss in my book, What Your Donors Want ... and Why. But that ardor cools fast if you don't sustain it. It's like a campfire ignited by match from tinder. It blows oxygen across an ardent new donor, keeping that small flame alive, excited by your mission, your vision, and your potential in their lives.