Your  Website  Successfully  
Secured  Donors,  But  How  Do  
You  Keep  Them  Giving    
Year  after  Year?
Your  Presenter
Jay  B.  Love    
•  30  Years  of  Technology  Leadership  
•  Over  20,000  Database  Installations  
•  Former  Founder  &  CEO  of  eTapestry  
•  Former  CEO  of  Master  Software/Fund-­‐Master  
•  AFP  Board  Member  
•  AFP  Ethics  Committee  Chairman  
•  Center  on  Philanthropy  at  IU  Board  Member  
•  Innovation  Fund  at  Butler  University  Board  Member  
•  Gleaners  Food  Bank  Board  Member  
•  Co-­‐Chair  of  Indianapolis  YMCA  Capital  Campaign
3
Do  you  know  your  retention  rate?  
In  our  surveys,  less  than  
45%  of  fundraisers    
knew  their  current  
donor  retention  rate.
Do  you  know  your  retention  rate?
Fundraising  Effectiveness  Project  (FEP)  
A  project  to  help  nonprofit  organizations    
measure  and  compare.
Participating  Donor  Software  Firms:  
• Donor2/Campus  Management  Corporation     
• PhilanthrAppeal  (FundTrack  Software)  
• DonorPerfect  Fundraising  Software        
• The  Raiser’s  Edge  ®  (Blackbaud)  
• eTapestry                         
• Avectra  
• Bloomerang        
• Sage  Software  
• MatchMaker  FundRaising  Software        
• Telosa  Software  (Exceed!)  
• Metafile
Fundraising  Effectiveness  Survey  »
2013  Results  »  
www.afpfep.org
2013  Results  »  
2014  Results  »  
http://www.afpneworleans.afpnet.org/International/RepResdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=28547
43%!  
(highest  since  2007)
Donor  Attrition  Over  Five  Years
#  of  Donors Attrition  
Rate
Donors  
Remaining  
After  1  Year
Donors  
Remaining  
After  2  
Years
Donors  
Remaining  
After  3  
Years
Donors  
Remaining  
After  4  
Years
Donors  
Remaining  
After  5  
Years
1,000 20% 800 640 512 410 328
1,000 40% 600 360 216 130 78
1,000 60% 400 160 64 26 10
So  what?
So  what?
Improving  donor  
retention  rates  by  just  
10%  can  increase  the  
lifetime  value  of  your  
database  by  
150-­‐200%!  
- Dr.  Adrian  Sergeant,

Bloomerang  Chief  Scientist
Donor  retention  math  »
     #  of  Donors  in  Current  12  Months  
(from  the  previous  years  pool)    
divided  by  
        #  of  Donors  in  Previous  12  Months
Calculating  your  retention  rate  »
https://bloomerang.co/retention
What  do  online  donors  look  like?
Online  donors  »
http://www1.networkforgood.org/online-­‐giving-­‐continues-­‐grow-­‐charities-­‐across-­‐country
Online  donors  »
http://www1.networkforgood.org/online-­‐giving-­‐continues-­‐grow-­‐charities-­‐across-­‐country
Online  donors  »
http://www1.networkforgood.org/online-­‐giving-­‐continues-­‐grow-­‐charities-­‐across-­‐country
Online  donors  »
http://www1.networkforgood.org/online-­‐giving-­‐continues-­‐grow-­‐charities-­‐across-­‐country
• Online  giving  accounts  for  less  than  10%  of  all  
charitable  giving    
• (only  2%  according  to  The  Chronicle  of  Philanthropy)  
• 30%  of  annual  giving  occurs  in  the  month  of  
December.    
• (10%  of  annual  giving  occurs  on  the  last  3  days  of  the  year.)  
• Branded  giving  pages  account  for  54%  of  online  
giving.  Branded  giving  pages  raise  six  times  more  in  
contributions  than  generic  giving  pages.  
• P2P  (peer-­‐to-­‐peer)  growing  the  fastest  
• Employee  Giving  is  the  largest  online  segment
Online  donors  »
How  do  we  retain  donors?
• 5%  -­‐  thought  charity  did  not  need  them  
• 8%  -­‐  no  info  on  how  monies  were  used  
• 9%  -­‐  no  memory  of  supporting  
• 13%  -­‐  never  got  thanked  for  donating  
• 16%  -­‐  death  
• 18%  -­‐  poor  service  or  communication  
• 36%  -­‐  others  more  deserving  
• 54%  -­‐  could  no  longer  afford
Why  nonprofit  donors  leave  »
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--
infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
• 5%  -­‐  thought  charity  did  not  need  them  
• 8%  -­‐  no  info  on  how  monies  were  used  
• 9%  -­‐  no  memory  of  supporting  
• 13%  -­‐  never  got  thanked  for  donating  
• 16%  -­‐  death  
• 18%  -­‐  poor  service  or  communication  
• 36%  -­‐  others  more  deserving  
• 54%  -­‐  could  no  longer  afford
Why  nonprofit  donors  leave  »
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--
infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
• 5%  -­‐  thought  charity  did  not  need  them  
• 8%  -­‐  no  info  on  how  monies  were  used  
• 9%  -­‐  no  memory  of  supporting  
• 13%  -­‐  never  got  thanked  for  donating  
• 18%  -­‐  poor  service  or  communication  
• 36%  -­‐  others  more  deserving  
Poor  communication  =  89%!
Why  nonprofit  donors  leave  »
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--
infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
Donor  communications  »  
“Successful  donor  
communications  are  
quite  simple.    
At  heart,  they  are  love  
letters  to  donors  &  
prospects,  woven  
through  with  clear  cries  
for  help.”  
- Tom  Ahern,

Bloomerang  Donor  
Communications  Head  Coach
http://aherncomm.com
https://bloomerang.co/blog/infographic-­‐the-­‐great-­‐5-­‐donor-­‐communications-­‐experiment
https://bloomerang.co/blog/infographic-­‐the-­‐great-­‐5-­‐donor-­‐communications-­‐experiment
$5  experiment  »
• 48/50  email  receipts  
• 17/50  snail  mail  letters  
• 3/50  hand  written  notes  
• 0/50  phone  calls  (19  asked  for  phone  #s)
• Acknowledge  offline  gift  within  48  hours  
• First-­‐time  donors  who  get  a  personal  thank  
you  within  48  hours  are  4x  more  likely  to  
give  a  second  gift.  
• Acknowledge  online  gifts  within  1  hour  
• Send  payment  processor  email  
• Send  branded  email  from  organization
How  to  improve  retention  »  
Email  acknowledgements  »  
https://bloomerang.co/blog/5-­‐ways-­‐to-­‐excite-­‐and-­‐keep-­‐new-­‐online-­‐donors/
• Survey  within  90  days  
• Snail  mail  should  include  handwritten  note  
• Call  ALL  new  donors  (if  you  ask  /  receive  phone  
#  on  donation  form)  
• A  three-­‐minute  thank-­‐you  call  will  boost  
first-­‐year  retention  by  30%.  
• Schedule  in-­‐person  meetings  
• Make  second  ask  quickly  and  appropriately
How  to  improve  retention  »  
Acknowledgement  segmenting  »
Above  average  gift  amount
At  or  below  average  gift  amount
Seattle’s  Lakeside  Upper  School  counts  …  Bill  
Gates  among  its  alumni.  Rumor  has  it  a  
fundraiser  for  the  high  school  called  Gates,  
who  asked:  “How  much  is  everyone  else  
giving?”  About  $75  he  was  told.  “So  put  me  
down  for  $75,”  said  Gates.  
        -­‐-­‐  Forbes,  Jan  22,  1996,  p.  16
Pay  attention  to  dollar  retention  »
Who  can  do  the  thanking?  »
• Board  members  
• Volunteers  
• DoD  
• ED
https://twitter.com/Mercetheseries/status/474366392712847360
Acknowledgement  via  social  media  »
Acknowledgement  via  social  media  »
Acknowledgement  via  social  media  »
Volunteers  are  10x  more  likely  
to  donate  to  your  organization  
than  non-­‐volunteers.  (source)  
Thank.    
Them.  
Duh.
Acknowledgement  via  social  media  »
Acknowledgement  via  social  media  »
• Utilize  communication  preference  
• Make  the  donor  the  star  of  the  show  
• more  “you”  than  “we”  
• State  exactly  how  donation  will  be  used  
• Communicate  impact
Acknowledgement  content  tips  »
Monthly  giving  »
Source: Target Analytics, 2009 DonorCentrics US Recurring Giving Benchmarking Analysis
• Make  it  an  option  on  donation  forms  
• Suggest  donation  amounts  
• Ask  quickly  after  the  first  gift  (upgrade)
Monthly  giving  »
P2P  donors  give  to  the  fundraiser,  not  the  org!  
1.  Have  the  fundraiser  contact  last  year’s  donors.  
2.  Have  the  fundraiser  re-­‐introduce  the  charity  in  the  gift  acknowledgement.  
3.  Start  a  dialogue  in  the  first  follow-­‐up.
P2P  acknowledgement  »
https://bloomerang.co/blog/3-­‐tips-­‐for-­‐improving-­‐p2p-­‐donor-­‐retention/
• It’s  not  about  you.  It’s  about  the  donor.  
• Get  that  second  gift.  
• If  you  ask  for  a  phone  #,  call.  
• Make  social  media  a  communications  
preference.  
• Segment  and  personalize.
Final  thoughts  »
Free  educational  resources  »
https://bloomerang.co/retention
Free  educational  resources  »
https://bloomerang.co/resources
•Daily  blog  post  
•Weekly  webinar  
•Downloadables  
•Nonprofit  Wrap-­‐Up  
•Bloomerang  TV
Questions?  
jay.love@bloomerang.co  
@JayBarclayLove

Your Website Successfully Secured Donors, But How Do You Keep Them Giving Year after Year?

  • 1.
    Your  Website  Successfully  Secured  Donors,  But  How  Do   You  Keep  Them  Giving     Year  after  Year?
  • 2.
    Your  Presenter Jay  B. Love     •  30  Years  of  Technology  Leadership   •  Over  20,000  Database  Installations   •  Former  Founder  &  CEO  of  eTapestry   •  Former  CEO  of  Master  Software/Fund-­‐Master   •  AFP  Board  Member   •  AFP  Ethics  Committee  Chairman   •  Center  on  Philanthropy  at  IU  Board  Member   •  Innovation  Fund  at  Butler  University  Board  Member   •  Gleaners  Food  Bank  Board  Member   •  Co-­‐Chair  of  Indianapolis  YMCA  Capital  Campaign 3
  • 3.
    Do  you  know your  retention  rate?  
  • 4.
    In  our  surveys, less  than   45%  of  fundraisers     knew  their  current   donor  retention  rate. Do  you  know  your  retention  rate?
  • 5.
    Fundraising  Effectiveness  Project (FEP)   A  project  to  help  nonprofit  organizations     measure  and  compare.
  • 6.
    Participating  Donor  Software Firms:   • Donor2/Campus  Management  Corporation     • PhilanthrAppeal  (FundTrack  Software)   • DonorPerfect  Fundraising  Software       • The  Raiser’s  Edge  ®  (Blackbaud)   • eTapestry                   • Avectra   • Bloomerang       • Sage  Software   • MatchMaker  FundRaising  Software       • Telosa  Software  (Exceed!)   • Metafile Fundraising  Effectiveness  Survey  »
  • 7.
    2013  Results  »  www.afpfep.org
  • 8.
  • 9.
    2014  Results  »  http://www.afpneworleans.afpnet.org/International/RepResdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=28547 43%!   (highest  since  2007)
  • 10.
    Donor  Attrition  Over Five  Years #  of  Donors Attrition   Rate Donors   Remaining   After  1  Year Donors   Remaining   After  2   Years Donors   Remaining   After  3   Years Donors   Remaining   After  4   Years Donors   Remaining   After  5   Years 1,000 20% 800 640 512 410 328 1,000 40% 600 360 216 130 78 1,000 60% 400 160 64 26 10 So  what?
  • 11.
    So  what? Improving  donor  retention  rates  by  just   10%  can  increase  the   lifetime  value  of  your   database  by   150-­‐200%!   - Dr.  Adrian  Sergeant,
 Bloomerang  Chief  Scientist
  • 12.
  • 13.
         # of  Donors  in  Current  12  Months   (from  the  previous  years  pool)     divided  by          #  of  Donors  in  Previous  12  Months Calculating  your  retention  rate  » https://bloomerang.co/retention
  • 14.
    What  do  online donors  look  like?
  • 15.
  • 16.
  • 17.
  • 18.
  • 19.
    • Online  giving accounts  for  less  than  10%  of  all   charitable  giving     • (only  2%  according  to  The  Chronicle  of  Philanthropy)   • 30%  of  annual  giving  occurs  in  the  month  of   December.     • (10%  of  annual  giving  occurs  on  the  last  3  days  of  the  year.)   • Branded  giving  pages  account  for  54%  of  online   giving.  Branded  giving  pages  raise  six  times  more  in   contributions  than  generic  giving  pages.   • P2P  (peer-­‐to-­‐peer)  growing  the  fastest   • Employee  Giving  is  the  largest  online  segment Online  donors  »
  • 20.
    How  do  we retain  donors?
  • 21.
    • 5%  -­‐ thought  charity  did  not  need  them   • 8%  -­‐  no  info  on  how  monies  were  used   • 9%  -­‐  no  memory  of  supporting   • 13%  -­‐  never  got  thanked  for  donating   • 16%  -­‐  death   • 18%  -­‐  poor  service  or  communication   • 36%  -­‐  others  more  deserving   • 54%  -­‐  could  no  longer  afford Why  nonprofit  donors  leave  » https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287-- infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
  • 22.
    • 5%  -­‐ thought  charity  did  not  need  them   • 8%  -­‐  no  info  on  how  monies  were  used   • 9%  -­‐  no  memory  of  supporting   • 13%  -­‐  never  got  thanked  for  donating   • 16%  -­‐  death   • 18%  -­‐  poor  service  or  communication   • 36%  -­‐  others  more  deserving   • 54%  -­‐  could  no  longer  afford Why  nonprofit  donors  leave  » https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287-- infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
  • 23.
    • 5%  -­‐ thought  charity  did  not  need  them   • 8%  -­‐  no  info  on  how  monies  were  used   • 9%  -­‐  no  memory  of  supporting   • 13%  -­‐  never  got  thanked  for  donating   • 18%  -­‐  poor  service  or  communication   • 36%  -­‐  others  more  deserving   Poor  communication  =  89%! Why  nonprofit  donors  leave  » https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287-- infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support
  • 24.
    Donor  communications  »  “Successful  donor   communications  are   quite  simple.     At  heart,  they  are  love   letters  to  donors  &   prospects,  woven   through  with  clear  cries   for  help.”   - Tom  Ahern,
 Bloomerang  Donor   Communications  Head  Coach http://aherncomm.com
  • 25.
  • 28.
    https://bloomerang.co/blog/infographic-­‐the-­‐great-­‐5-­‐donor-­‐communications-­‐experiment $5  experiment  » •48/50  email  receipts   • 17/50  snail  mail  letters   • 3/50  hand  written  notes   • 0/50  phone  calls  (19  asked  for  phone  #s)
  • 29.
    • Acknowledge  offline gift  within  48  hours   • First-­‐time  donors  who  get  a  personal  thank   you  within  48  hours  are  4x  more  likely  to   give  a  second  gift.   • Acknowledge  online  gifts  within  1  hour   • Send  payment  processor  email   • Send  branded  email  from  organization How  to  improve  retention  »  
  • 30.
    Email  acknowledgements  »  https://bloomerang.co/blog/5-­‐ways-­‐to-­‐excite-­‐and-­‐keep-­‐new-­‐online-­‐donors/
  • 31.
    • Survey  within 90  days   • Snail  mail  should  include  handwritten  note   • Call  ALL  new  donors  (if  you  ask  /  receive  phone   #  on  donation  form)   • A  three-­‐minute  thank-­‐you  call  will  boost   first-­‐year  retention  by  30%.   • Schedule  in-­‐person  meetings   • Make  second  ask  quickly  and  appropriately How  to  improve  retention  »  
  • 32.
    Acknowledgement  segmenting  » Above average  gift  amount At  or  below  average  gift  amount
  • 33.
    Seattle’s  Lakeside  Upper School  counts  …  Bill   Gates  among  its  alumni.  Rumor  has  it  a   fundraiser  for  the  high  school  called  Gates,   who  asked:  “How  much  is  everyone  else   giving?”  About  $75  he  was  told.  “So  put  me   down  for  $75,”  said  Gates.         -­‐-­‐  Forbes,  Jan  22,  1996,  p.  16 Pay  attention  to  dollar  retention  »
  • 34.
    Who  can  do the  thanking?  » • Board  members   • Volunteers   • DoD   • ED
  • 35.
  • 36.
  • 37.
  • 38.
    Volunteers  are  10x more  likely   to  donate  to  your  organization   than  non-­‐volunteers.  (source)   Thank.     Them.   Duh. Acknowledgement  via  social  media  »
  • 39.
  • 40.
    • Utilize  communication preference   • Make  the  donor  the  star  of  the  show   • more  “you”  than  “we”   • State  exactly  how  donation  will  be  used   • Communicate  impact Acknowledgement  content  tips  »
  • 41.
    Monthly  giving  » Source:Target Analytics, 2009 DonorCentrics US Recurring Giving Benchmarking Analysis
  • 42.
    • Make  it an  option  on  donation  forms   • Suggest  donation  amounts   • Ask  quickly  after  the  first  gift  (upgrade) Monthly  giving  »
  • 43.
    P2P  donors  give to  the  fundraiser,  not  the  org!   1.  Have  the  fundraiser  contact  last  year’s  donors.   2.  Have  the  fundraiser  re-­‐introduce  the  charity  in  the  gift  acknowledgement.   3.  Start  a  dialogue  in  the  first  follow-­‐up. P2P  acknowledgement  » https://bloomerang.co/blog/3-­‐tips-­‐for-­‐improving-­‐p2p-­‐donor-­‐retention/
  • 44.
    • It’s  not about  you.  It’s  about  the  donor.   • Get  that  second  gift.   • If  you  ask  for  a  phone  #,  call.   • Make  social  media  a  communications   preference.   • Segment  and  personalize. Final  thoughts  »
  • 45.
    Free  educational  resources » https://bloomerang.co/retention
  • 46.
    Free  educational  resources » https://bloomerang.co/resources •Daily  blog  post   •Weekly  webinar   •Downloadables   •Nonprofit  Wrap-­‐Up   •Bloomerang  TV
  • 47.