Where are my donors?

Are your donors no longer responding to your calls, letters or emails? Or are they donating less frequently?

If so, you might be asking your donors for too many donations. Soliciting gifts too often from the same pool of donors can lead to donor fatigue which is defined as “a lessening of public willingness to respond generously to charitable appeals, resulting from the frequency of such appeals.”

According to the Fraser Institute, a national research think-tank, “Canadians are also donating a smaller share of their income. Collectively, Canadians contributed 0.53 per cent of their household income to registered charities in 2016—the lowest percentage since 2006—compared to 0.78 per cent 10 years earlier, indicating that donations as a share of income declined by 32 per cent.”

This is incredibly important to note as these donations not only contribute to essential services to those less fortunate, but help advance a variety of things such as culture, the arts and sciences.

What can we do?

All is not lost. Canadians are still very generous and willing to donate to great causes. However, charities need to find ways to be more strategic in how they ask donors for gifts, and in the frequency of their asks.

Data can help

Tracking donations is an essential component to good fundraising. Data can provide many insights, such as individual donor preferences or the different segments that exist in your database such as new donors, and repeat donors.

It’s important to not only keep good records at every touchpoint, but also to be as accurate as possible. Making sure that there is a clear standard for data input is important so that your database is as error free and uniform as possible.

What should I track?

There are many measures that can be tracked to avoid over soliciting donors, but we can start with some simple ones just to get started.

1. Your fundraising goal: Knowing how much money is needed will guide your ask amounts. Also, as a general rule, avoid asking the same donor more than once for the same campaign.

2. Individual donation amounts: If you are properly tracking your donations, you will know what the average donation is for any particular donor, and you will have a better idea of what they are able to give.

3. Dates when donor was contacted: This is very important. If donors are constantly receiving mailings and emails, it will be likened to “junk mail” from your organization and tossed out or deleted from their mailbox. There is a fine line between regular contact and completely overwhelming your donor.

4. Dates that donations were received: This is a great metric to track, as you can see if there are trends in the donor’s giving patterns. Additionally, these dates will inform your organization on when to send out thank you letters. Not to mention, if you are a charitable organization providing tax receipts, this metric is essential.

5. Previous campaigns that donors have supported: Donors may be enthusiastic to give to one project, but not necessarily another. By keeping track of this data you can avoid asking for donations to a cause that a donor is not likely to give to.

By keeping good records, you can help eliminate donor fatigue. Good records help to tailor your approach to donors so you can ask for the right amount of money, and avoid asking too often. The best way to find out donor preferences is to ask. You can always reach out to your donors to see how often they would like to hear from you and from which communication channel, for example email or phone.

Knowing how your donors prefer to give can be fruitful for your organization. Platforms such as online giving have created new opportunities for many nonprofits. According to the Giving Report 2018, a report by CanadaHelps outlining trends in Canadian giving, “the number of individual online donors has steadily increased to 20.5% annually over the past five years. Online donors also increased their annual donation amounts at a much higher rate than average donation amount for all dollars (2.8% vs. 1.2% per year).” If your donors prefer online giving, you can make donating easier, an example may be allowing them to set up regular monthly donations online.

Money isn’t the only way to help

Good records can provide your nonprofit with valuable information to create personalized connections with donors. You can let them know what their money is being used for, and follow up with how their contribution has helped by sharing stories from the people who are impacted by their generosity. Bring donors into your organization to get their thoughts, or solicit their suggestions or even fundraising ideas. And if you have an event, contact them to ask for their feedback on how it went.

It’s important to note that deeper involvement with your organization doesn’t have to involve money. Let donors know that simply volunteering their time to your organization can be just as impactful as their ability to give.

Once you establish these habits, your donors will see that not every call they receive from you is for a gift solicitation. More importantly, by building strong and lasting relationships with donors and considering them as partners in furthering your mission, you are helping your respective communities. And that’s what really matters most.

With over a decade in the financial sector, Rochelle Greaves has used her technical knowledge to help businesses measure key metrics and trends, driving strategic decision making. Currently, as the Co-founder and Director of Analytics & Strategy at Story Point Consulting, Rochelle continues to use her skills to help nonprofits increase their fundraising capacity and revenue. You can reach her at info@storypoint.ca.