Exemplary Donor Stewardship
The recent e-letter of donor loyalty specialist Lisa Sargent describes how the Atlanta Union Mission builds relationships with its donors.
AUM provides emergency food and shelter, residential recovery programs and transitional housing for men, women and children.
Lisa’s article focuses on AUM’s cultivation program for $5,000+ donors, but I was equally intrigued by a brief mention of a “Thank you AUM” website for donors that is not available to the general public.
I can think of many reasons why a dedicated site for donors only would be a smart component of a donor retention and cultivation strategy. For starters, building and maintaining such a site would (should!) place a focus on donor-centric thinking … “What do my donors want to see and know?” versus “What do we want to tell them?”
Most nonprofits see their web investment in outreach terms … their websites are intended to be virtual fishing nets waiting for the fish to swim by. Unfortunately, the data indicates that these web “nets” catch only 2-3% of passers-by.
Arguably, a “Members Only” or “Donors Only” site would have a different approach to content and engagement. And its ROI would be easier to establish!
But I must say, I can’t think of any other examples of this off the top of my head. Can anyone help me out?
Tom
3 responses to “Exemplary Donor Stewardship”
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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The NSPCC here in the UK has a donor and volunteer fundraiser only site.
http://www.nspcc.org.uk (mynspcc)
I too am really interested in how this works and am aiming to find our more! Will keep you posted.
What about the Convio model, on which donors/members can have some latitude to manipulate content and interact with their donor profiles?
I don’t work for Convio but I do work for a human rights org that deploys their solution.
Some of the better walk/run events have microsites that take steps in this direction by giving me the story of the person I know (or their loved one) who is asking me to contribute to their personal fundraising efforts. These micro sites are typically only available to the people who are contacted about the walk. It’s not the tremendous potential described above, but a good cultivation sign, in my opinion.