Another Nugget From The Lapsed Donor Mine
We’ve recently had some very informative Agitator posts and commentary from practitioners regarding best approaches to lapsed donors. I don’t want those insights to get lost in the summer doldrums. Start here to review.
In particular, I want to draw attention to the Comment of Chip Heartfield, who thankfully shared some hard data on the bequest potential of lapsed donors. Here’s what he reported …
“I agree on the importance of researching and establishing a profile of those who have left bequests in the past before jettisoning really low-dollar donors. When I was Dev Dir for a regional animal shelter/vet hospital, we averaged 10-15 bequests a year of $5K or more from under $25 donors who had either lapsed in previous 3 years or gave less than $10 at a time and no more than twice a year; this out of an active donor base of 20,000. Does not mean one should just keep mailing $1 donors forever but best to research past bequests to see … if a worthwhile share of your low-dollar folks are those who live on a fixed income or are thrifty in life but have also put you in their will.”
Others also commented on the ‘hidden’ value in small gift donors, but special thanks to Chip for sharing some hard data. His example showed the strong potential even in smaller nonprofits.
To capitalize on fundraising potential like this, one barrier many large nonprofits must overcome is the internal wall typically separating direct response fundraising from ‘donor development’.
Is that wall costing your organization significant bequest income?
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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