Most of the discussion that occurs around the sorry state of donor retention deals with failure on the part of nonprofits to even take notice of their situation. In some cases to even know what to measure, let alone understand how to respond in terms of organization-wide attitude and communication tactics.

The underlying assumption is that just by ‘getting it right’ in terms of focus and mechanics a large proportion of haemorrhaging donors can be, well, salvaged.

Roger’s book, Retention Fundraising, is a great guide to getting a handle on that part of the equation.

But what if you have the right donor service culture and super-diligent attention to the fundraising mechanics and you’re still losing donors at a frightening pace?

When does a 30% renewal rate for first-time donors signal fatal disease and not ‘merely’ cold symptoms?!

Could it be that the day of reckoning has arrived — either because your cause has simply fallen out of favor, or because someone amongst your ‘competition’ is just doing a far better, more compelling job of tackling ‘your’ issue?

This recent blog post from Achieve — 5 Reasons the Public Is Losing Interest in Your Cause — attempts to take on this larger challenge:

“Let’s face it, it’s never easy to admit that the public is losing interest in your mission or cause. And that hurts. Your staff has spent countless hours working to design programs and craft messaging that appeals to potential supporters and moves them to action. So why don’t they get it? And where do you go from here? Is there any hope?”

Much of what Achieve suggests still falls in the category of fixing poor communications. But I thought two of their points went a bit deeper:

1. Stop the bus to fix the problem — resist looking for short term fixes. Really sit down, organization-wide, to thoroughly analyze the situation. The problem is likely to run deeper than what the ‘fundraising’ team itself can address. The fundraising team might sound the alarm, but the solution requires all hands on deck.

I see that as making an ‘inside’ commitment to get to the bottom of things. However, doing that requires a complementary ‘external’ commitment to revisit the people you are meant to be serving. So …

2. Bring the ‘outside’ back into the organization — re-focus on the external constituents and stakeholders of your organization. Listen to what they have to say. Chances are that they haven’t given up or gone stale or lost the edge … you have!

Marry the insights thus gained about your raison d’être with a first-class retention program and maybe you can turn the tide!

Tom