Donor Loyalty Insights

The 2013 Sage Insights Survey on Donor Loyalty is now available.   The study conducted by Sage Nonprofit Solutions has some very interesting findings that are sure to bring value to any nonprofit organization.  Having had the pleasure of being a contributor to the study I was overwhelmed by the number of participants.  Loyalty continues to be a key theme for nonprofits and a driving force for development professionals.

Ironically, the study found that 67% of the people surveyed are not surveying their own donors.  I find it hard to believe that organizations, especially growing ones can reach their full potential without asking how they can get better and what they are doing well.  For me, surveying is always the thing I recommend an organization start with.  Donor/member feedback, should serve as your guiding light.

I was delighted to find that hand written thank-you notes reigned as the king of loyalty.  I have said it before and I will say it again, the value of a hand written thank-you cannot be over exaggerated.

The study goes on to share examples of what organizations are and aren’t doing today to ensure loyalty, and for those of you that were wondering, the most utilized give-away was none other than the classic pen.  My guess is the low-cost and  practicality make it the big winner.

In reviewing the study, I was most shocked to find 29% of nonprofits are doing nothing when a donor lapses.  This is good and bad news.  Great news for those of us looking for new donors and bad news for those of us failing to follow-up.

Overall, the study reveals numerous interesting facts and ideas for how your organization can insure that loyalty is a driving force.

Take-away: Check out the full survey, and see what your organization can do to improve loyalty.

Bridget Brandt

Marketing Director

Sage Nonprofit

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Know Your Donors By Name

I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart the other day, and Ben Affleck was his guest.  Ben’s new movie, in which he plays the lead role and directs, is called ARGO and is based on a true story.  During the interview, they talked about what it takes to play a character based on a real person.  Actors spend time learning mannerisms, accents, and what it’s like to walk a day in their shoes.  They want to know the real person on such a level that they can anticipate every move.

That’s when it clicked.

As fundraisers, we are not selling our solution to our funders because most of the time our donors are not using our services.  What we are promoting is a furthered emotional connection to the cause.  The key word in that sentence is “furthered.” Penelope Burk spoke recently at the Texas Nonprofit Summit on the topic of donor centered fundraising.  She emphasized that nonprofits need to get to know their donors and ask what’s important to them.  Similarly, Pragmatic Marketing preaches NIHITO, Nothing Interesting Happens In The Office.  Get out of the office, meet your constituents, get to know them by name, they are a wealth of knowledge.

Important to note, this is not a fundraising activity.  Your goal is to know your target audience so well you can anticipate their every move.  You have to learn to think like your donors so you can build campaigns and events that reach them on their terms.  Get to know people on a personal level to learn why they make the decision to fund one  organization over another.  An even better conversation might be to ask donors why they didn’t choose to fund your work.  Understanding the emotional connection to your organization will help you create communications and campaigns that will engage your donor base.

I would encourage every organization to establish a program to get out and meet their donors and, this is key, not ask for anything.  Be diligent about it, document it, create metrics, and build it into your calendar.  It is not by mistake that great campaigns and events are created.  Those that know their constituents by name are building the foundation for a sustainable organization for years to come.

Logan Kimble
Product Manager
Sage Nonprofit Solutions

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50 Asks In 50 Weeks Webcast

We should have named our webcast, 50 Asks In 50 Minutes.  Just like the book, the webcast was packed with great information and shared in less than one hour.  Amy Eisenstein’s presentation lasted about 40 minutes and was followed by an open and active QA session.   If you missed out last week, you can:

Watch a recording of the webcast here.
Read curated tweets from the event here.
Download slides on Slideshare here.

We received a tremendous amount of positive feedback and will be sure to host more sessions like this one in the future. Let us know if sharing these resources here is helpful by commenting below.

Sage Nonprofit

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