1214 Nonprofit Success Webinar slides

1. Dec. 14, 2022
Increase
Retention for
Giving Tuesday
Donors

2. Margie Worrell
Margie Worrell is the Curriculum Manager at
Bloomerang. She serves on the board of the
Peace Learning Center in Indianapolis, and has
worked extensively with nonprofits as both a
staff member and a lead volunteer. Her
passions include education, theatre, her two
children and her two small dogs.
Curriculum Manager, Product Marketing

3. Agenda
1.
2.
3.
4.
Why is Donor Retention so important
Final thoughts
Why do donors lapse, leave or stay loyal?
What is typical donor communication for Giving Tuesday?
5.
What should we be doing and how can we do it?

4. Giving Tuesday is a big deal…

5. …and this year was no exception….
● $3.1 billion of critical support for
communities and causes donated in
just 24 hours in the US alone.
● 25% increase in giving since 2020.
● 37 million adults in the U.S.
participated in GivingTuesday in
some way, a 6% increase over 2021.

6. Christmas eve and new years eve are bigger
10% of all giving happens in the last 3 days of the year
https://neonone.com/resources/nonprofit-impact-trends-data-hub/

7. Why is Donor Retention
So Important?

8. POLL
Do you know your
donor retention rate?

9. All Donors in
Year #1
Return Donors in
Year #2 Donor
Retention
Rate

10. Average Donor Retention Rates
Over the past few years
45.1% 47.2%
44.6% 45.4% 43.6%
41.6%
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
0%
10%
50%
40%
30%
20%
Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project

11. Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project
18.6%
First Time
Donors
41.6%
Average
Donors
(all donors,
all gifts)
60.7%
Repeat
Donors
Average Donor Retention Rates
As of Jan 2022

12. Why Donor Retention is Important
Original Retention Rate: 41%
Grand Total: $820,859 Grand Total: $1,277,208
Total Savings: $456,349
Improved Retention Rate: 51%

13. Cost of Donor
Acquisition vs.
Donor
Retention
It’s easier and cheaper to
retain a donor than it is to
acquire one Cost Per
Acquisition
5X
Cost per
renewal
Cost Per
Acquisition
2-3X
Initial donation
amount
Renewal Response
Rates
20-30X
Higher than
acquisition
response rates
Source: Fundraising Effectiveness Project

14. Why Donors Lapse,
Leave or Stay Loyal

15. Why Donors Stop Giving
2001 study by Adrian Sargeant
5% - Thought charity did not need them
8% - No info on how monies were used
9% - No memory of supporting
13% - Never got thanked for donating
16% - Death
18% - Poor service or communication
36% - Others more deserving
54% - Could no longer afford
INSIGHT: We can make
a meaningful impact
on the above reasons!

16. Why Donors
Keep Giving
2011 study by DonorVoice
1. Donor perceives organization to be effective
2. Donor knows what to expect with each interaction
3. Donor receives a timely thank you
4. Donor receives opportunities to make views known
5. Donor feels like they’re part of an important cause
6. Donor feels his or her involvement is appreciated
7. Donor receives info showing who is being helped

17. What
Subscription-
based Donors
Tell Us
Source: IU Lilly School of Philanthropy
52% - Stories and experiences shared by the people
my gifts have helped
32% - Frequent updates about organization’s
programs and services
32% - Emails with my donations impact and heartfelt
thank you(s)
25% - Educational and interactive webinar series
related to the organization’s mission and impact areas
Preferred communication and content
from nonprofit organizations they
support
INSIGHT: Stories, heartfelt
thank yous and impact-based
communications lead the way!

18. How to
Improve
Donor
Retention
1. Thank quickly + personally
2. Illustrate that you know who the donor is
3. Segment communications
4. Tell them how gifts are used / will be used
5. Tell them what comes next
6. Be curious about donor motivation and
solicit feedback
7. Prioritize monthly giving
ACTION: Pick one or
two to start.

19. What is the typical
donor communication
for Giving Tuesday
donations?

20. Steven’s Great $5 Donor Communications
Experiment
What do you see here that could be improved upon?

21. What should we be
doing and how can we do
it?

22. Four things you
can do now to
increase your
retention from
Giving Tuesday
1. Phone calls to first time
donors
2. Segment and
communicate promptly
3. Send a survey to get
their input
4. Share impact storytelling
to emphasize the
importance of their
donation

23. Consider
phone calls for
first-time
donors
Research into the efficacy of phone
calls to first-time donors
First-time donors who get a personal thank
you within 48 hours are 4x more likely to give
a second gift. (McConkey-Johnston International UK)
A thank-you call from a board member to a
newly acquired donor within 24 hours of
receiving the gifts will increase their next gift
by 39%. (Penelope Burk)
Thank-you calls to first-time donors
increases:
● the retention rate
● speed to second gift
● the amount of the second gift
Source: Bloomerang, June 2022

24. Consider segmenting your donors
After you segment, create different follow-up plans
Repeat donor –
below average
donation
amount
New donor –
below average
donation
amount
New donor –
above average
donation
amount
Repeat donor –
above average
donation
amount
Consider calling them? This
could start to build a new
relationship. A three-minute
phone call will boost 1st
year retention by 30%.
Acknowledge their first gift
and explain how it will be
used. Tell a story and set
stage for what will come
next.
Do something special?
Consider sending a video
thank you. Recognize that
they have gone above and
beyond. Consider follow-up
for recurring giving.
Acknowledge their gift with
gratitude. Consider
reaching out to get
feedback.

25. Survey your
donors

26. Use impact
storytelling to
help donors
understand the
importance of
their gift

27. The Personal
Touch Works
Personal emails + video

28. Putting all the pieces together

29. Demo these four in
Bloomerang
1. Phone calls to first time donors
2. Segment and communicate promptly
3. Send a survey to get their input
4. Share impact storytelling to emphasize the
importance of their donation

30. Wrap Up
1. Make retention a priority
2. Have a second gift strategy
3. Segment your thank you list
4. Say thanks thoughtfully before asking
5. Pick up the phone
6. Ask for their input
7. Tell stories of impact

31. https://bloomerang.co/product/mobile-app/
“Putting our donor retention rate in front of us every day has been invaluable.
Our retention rate has risen to 70%, and we aim to increase it even more.”
-Kristen Westermann, Godparents of Tanzania

32. Resources
Want to learn more?
Donor Retention Calculator (article with active donor retention calculator)
What’s The Impact of Improving First-Time Donor Retention? (article)
What Is Donor Retention? (article)
The Art and Science of Retaining Digital Donors (downloadable ebook)
Personalized Communications: The Key To Donor Retention (video with transcript)
The Best GIving Tuesday Email Subject Lines of 2022 (article)
A Guide to Donor Retention (article)
5 Ways to Build Relationships and Increase Donor Retention (webinar)
Storytelling To Help Donors Understand the Value of their Dollar (video with transcript)
How Can Nonprofits Move From Exploitative Storytelling To Justice-Oriented Storytelling? (article)
The Fundraiser’s Guide to Loving Lapsed Donors
Recapture Lapsing Donors (Bloomerang Academy)
Giving Tuesday: Designing Engaging Emails (Bloomerang Academy)
List Segmentation (Bloomerang Academy)

33. Poll

34. Thank you for attending!
Visit our website to see more upcoming
Nonprofit Success webinars!