Engaged donors are repeat donors.
In the last couple of years, more and more organizations have been shifting to digital giving, and engaging with your donors might seem more difficult without having that face-to-face interaction, but here are some things you can implement to stay in your donor’s mind and make the most out of these.
Improve your donor retention rate
To improve your donor retention it’s important to know how to calculate it. Here’s a simple formula:
(# of last year donors giving this year / # of total donors last year) x 100 = retention rate %
Once you have this information, you can plan accordingly. Track how different approaches work and make sure to always have your donor in mind. Using corporate matching is a great way to improve donor retention since it will keep your organization on your donor’s mind, and make them feel like they’ve donated more to a cause they care about, without using more of their own money.
Build relationships
We all know that donors offer more to your organization than simply the money they contribute. They are the heart of your mission and without them, your cause can’t flourish. Make sure they feel valued. If they are donating to your cause, it’s because they care about it. They want to help you, and simple things like a tier list for donors with simple rewards can help.
Use social media
Having a social media presence is very important. People love sharing their likes and interests online, so if you post your organization’s story or invite donors to be part of your social media campaigns, they’ll feel more connected to you.
Everyone wants to feel like they’re part of a bigger cause.
Also try using hashtags to raise exposure, but don’t overdo it! Using 1 or 2 for tweets and facebook posts, or less than 10 for Instagram will make them more likely to be retweeted/shared.
Reduce donation page abandonment
Remember donors can be busy with life. If donating takes a long time, they are more likely to get distracted and forget. Make donating simple and efficient by leaving unnecessary questions for later.
Instead:
- Use an employer search widget to quickly know if they can get their donation matched.
- Offer recurring donation options and make it attractive to donate again. A way to do this would be to have a tier list with special titles or even prizes when they reach a certain level.
- Provide suggested giving amounts for faster giving. Click and go!
Send follow up emails
Once your donor has donated for the first time, make sure you thank them. From here, make sure the emails you send have valuable information to them regarding your cause and organization. Ask yourself if you really need to send that email, and if not, then wait. The least you want to do is end up on their spam mail. Their inbox is probably already saturated, so if you want to stand out, make sure you are sending what your donors want to receive.
