If you run a nonprofit organization or charity, you’re well aware that finding donors, forging strong relationships with them, and retaining them is no walk in the park. What’s more, you need to cultivate donors whose values align with those of your organization.
Donor development, then, emerges as a critical process to the success of your charity. You can’t have a nonprofit without donors, and you can’t have donors without actively committing yourself to donor development and growth.
Here, we’ll talk all about donor development: what it is, why it’s important, and how you can achieve it through the use of our 5 tips and strategies.
Donor development is the process of trying to acquire new donors and retain existing ones. It’s all about finding people and organizations, however large or small, that want to make a commitment to helping your own organization achieve its goals.
In order to develop donor relationships, you need to engage with them and ensure that your relationship with them stays strong and consistent. You’ll need to have the same goal: to reflect your shared values by raising money or items for a worthy cause.
You may be thinking that donor development is the same as fundraising. After all, they both have the objective of raising funds for the cause your charity or NPO stands for. But, although it is true that donor development has this objective, it is different in that it has another one, too:
To build a deep, meaningful relationship.
It’s not just about raising as much money as you can. It’s about cultivating relationships that are based on shared belief systems. If your donor believes in the work you are doing, and you do too, the relationship can grow, be nurtured, and be retained.
But why is it so important to have a values-based relationship with your donors? Surely just raising enough funds is enough? The bottom line is that you need to set the stage, so to speak, for donations that are consistent.
You need to ensure long-term relationships - and what better way to do that than to have the same goals?
Donor development is therefore important if you want to secure donations to your cause for years to come. If you don’t have a strong relationship with your donors, and if you don’t have shared intentions, they may well go elsewhere with their generosity.
So, what are some strategic ways to acquire and retain the right donors? The type of donor who will stick?
Try one or all of the following tips and watch your organization’s fundraising efforts boom!
This is an obvious one, but it’s really important. If you keep going out of your way to acquire new donors, your organization will thrive and grow. Donor development isn’t just about nurturing relationships with existing donors - it’s about constant cultivation.
This strategy helps you to build new relationships and build the success and fundraising efforts of your charity or NPO. You’ll need all hands on deck with this strategy. So, keep in mind that donor development is a team effort and encourage everyone to commit to cultivation.
In saying this, don’t forget to keep engaging with your existing donors! Those relationships are just as important.
Part of donor engagement is to keep reviewing and analyzing your existing donor database - every single time you take on a new fundraising project.
This way, you’ll be constantly reviewing their history of giving, and you’ll be able to make informed decisions about who to ask and for what. This is crucial to the success of your organization because it relies on already-retained, strong donor relations.
It’s also really important because it reminds you to keep nurturing those relationships.
Keep your donors up to date and in the loop. Things like newsletters, meetings, telephone conversations, and general updates will go a long way towards ensuring that your donors feel confident that the money they have donated is going to a good cause.
A tip here is to provide donors (and potential donors) with mission success stories. For example, you may include a testimonial in a monthly newsletter about how the money your donors have donated has helped a struggling family to get back on their feet.
Keeping a line of communication open is crucial: it makes donors want to get involved.
In keeping with the strategy of communication with your donors, you should also make sure that this line of communication goes both ways. Let your donors have a voice and a chance to contribute more than money by encouraging feedback from them.
This, of course, is a perfect way to nurture and develop donor relationships. The more donors feel like they are involved in the process, the more likely they will keep donating for years to come.
Make sure your donors know that their feedback is both important and necessary.
Lastly, remember to always show your appreciation for the items or money that your donors give to your organization. A ‘thank you’ goes a long way towards strengthening relationships and making donors feel that they have made a difference.
Ways to show appreciation include simple thank you letters, videos, or calls. You can also opt for public recognition whenever you gain a new donor or a new donation. Here’s a chance to make use of social media and show your gratitude by giving them a shout-out!
Donor development is an easy thing to achieve if it gets the attention and care that it deserves. Your donors are what help your organization achieve its goal, so it’s vital to keep them engaged by showing your appreciation and keeping in touch with them. The more you focus on donor development, the less time you will have to spend trying to find the funds you need.
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