Acknowledging Donor Loyalty
I could easily spend a couple of hours each day reading articles (and books) on customer loyalty and loyalty programs in the commercial space.
Here’s a typical example from DM News about companies like Target, Hilton, Best Buy etc and what they’re doing to capture more share of wallet from existing customers.
I guess the first point to make is that they’ve "found religion" in focusing more than ever (in a down economy) on existing customers and leveraging the information they have on individual customers. There shouldn’t be anything new in that principle for nonprofit fundraisers.
But generally, there’s not a lot by way of directly transferable tactics to adapt from the world of Gold Clubs, Gold Cards, REDcards etc and their points and rewards systems. Still, I keep fishing.
Here are two possibilities that any nonprofit might consider:
1. Recognizing individual donors when they reach certain tenure thresholds, as in …
"Tom, we see that you’ve now been a member for two (three, five, whatever) years and we want to remind you of some of the accomplishments your contributions have made possible over that period."
2. Recognizing individual donors when they reach certain cumulative giving thresholds, as in …
"Tom, you might not realize it, but with your last gift of $50, you’ve now generously contributed over $500 to XXX. Let me tell how much we appreciate your steadfast support … and here’s a small token of our appreciation."
And maybe those notes are handwritten (even if the giving was online).
Any Agitator readers doing something basic like this? It might sound simple, but it’s a very competitive world out there for nonprofits … and getting much more so, as we’ll be discussing next week.
Tom
P.S. Of course, if your nonprofit is doing something far more sophisticated to recognize donor loyalty, go ahead, brag to us!
4 responses to “Acknowledging Donor Loyalty”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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We’re absolutely doing this! For one organization’s first renewal, we personalized the letter to the year the donor first joined and what was happening then (e.g., if the donor joined in 1980, he/she were supporting the organization’s Call to Halt the Arms Race … or, when a donor joined in 2008, they were supporting the counter-recruitment movement) and then the key milestones the donor helped achieve since they first contributed.
We didn’t just pull out a date or reference a package – the customization was several paragraphs long and really took the donor through the organization’s history and the donor’s involvement and recognized that none of this could have happened without them.
Of course, the key was linking the past accomplishments and donations to why their support was need today, in 2010. We think we did that—revenue is up 54%!
My department sends a handwritten thank you note for every tribute gift given and every gift from a mail campaign. Yes, this includes the occasional $5 check. We’ve only been doing this for a few months but we think it will be worth it.
Tom, it amazes me how many blog posts, book chapters, lectures, email campaigns, are dedicated to this basic message: thank someone. There is never enough thanks to go around and always enough reason to keep reminding ourselves that success lies in doing the obvious and simple things first, well, and sincerely.
This is a great point about reminding loyal donors of past accomplishments. I will use this.
We’ve routinely mentioned the date of initial membership in our messages (i.e. Thank you for beeing a loyal supporter since 1998)and our meembers really appreciate it. Lately we’ve added this twist when sending updates to long-time donors who have reached certian financial benchmarks: Did you know you are just $X dollars away from being a LIFE MEMBER? This really boosts response and donation amounts. In adddition, it seems that once somebody becomes a Life member, they actually start donating more. I’m not allowed to say how much … but it is a lot.