Donor loyalty plays a huge role in donor retention. By creating an emotional connection between you and your donors, you make it easier for them to keep donating. They’re highly engaged and motivated to see your cause do good.
Below are some key metrics from Abila’s recent Donor Loyalty Study:
- 74% of people who attend an event are more likely to donate to the same cause again;
- 73% of those who volunteer are more likely to donate again;
- 71% of donors say personalized communication makes them feel more engaged;
- 72% of donors say polished content keeps them more engaged.
Tips for Retaining More Donors
To help you improve your donor loyalty in 2017, or simply retain more donors, we’ve put together the following tips:
Engage Your Event Attendees Year Round
Send thank you emails: This is more than just one month after your event. Continue to follow up with your donors, showing them what their contributions that night helped accomplish. It’s also a great way to let them know when the next event is, or offer them discounted tickets for being loyal donors.
Send handwritten thank you notes: While a little extra effort, the effect of a handwritten thank you note can strengthen donor relationships tenfold.
If you use your Raiser’s Edge software to help you plan and organize your events, you’ll be able to send targeted emails to the different event audiences because you have their data stored in your accounting software.
Interact With Your Volunteers
Your volunteers are vital to your organization because of the time and effort they are willing to give. And not only are they willing to give time and effort, but they most likely also donate money because they believe in your mission.
By showing your appreciation for their hard work, you can strengthen both your volunteering relationship and donor relationship. Check out Ways to Recognize Your Volunteers Throughout the Year and How to Say Thank You to Your Volunteers for specific ways to engage and interact with your volunteers.
Produce Quality Content
Donors are picky about the types of content they want to receive, especially when the content they do receive doesn’t meet their needs.
Where should you spend your content resources?
Short YouTube videos! According to the Donor Loyalty Study, short YouTube videos inspire donors to action, are easy to consume and understand, and keep donors engaged.
Other content avenues include: social media posts, 2-3 paragraph articles or letters, medium length YouTube videos, and infographics.
Attracting the High Wealth Donor
High wealth donors can make a significant effect on your contributions. While not all your donors are going to be high wealth, it’s important to note that their motivations can differ from regular donors. Read How to Attract High Wealth Donor Loyalty to learn more about engaging with these types of donors.
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Capital Business Solutions is a financial and fundraising solution provider for nonprofit organizations. Learn more about fund accounting software and nonprofit accounting software training by contacting Bob Schilling at bschilling@capitalbusiness.net, (888) 249-6008 ext.110, or contacting us here.