1. Your donor pyramid
Every fundraising professional knows that it takes more than just generalized appreciation messages to retain donors. After all, your nonprofit’s donors are diverse, and different groups within your support base want to hear from and engage with your organization in different ways. To navigate these differing needs and get a better understanding of your donor base as a whole, create a donor pyramid tailored to your unique supporters. A donor pyramid is a fundraising tool that helps you visualize distinctions within your supporter base by dividing your donors into categories. Most nonprofits categorize donors by giving level, but you can go further to ensure your strategies address multiple aspects of a donor’s relationship with your organization. For example, you might design your donor pyramid with the following levels from top to bottom:- Planned givers
- Annual major donors
- First-time major donors
- Engaged mid-level donors
- First-time and unengaged mid-level donors
- Monthly donors
- Engaged minor donors
- One-time minor donors
2. A stewardship matrix
Once you have a donor pyramid and can place supporters at each level, create a stewardship matrix that outlines a variety of engagement activities aimed at helping you retain donors within each group. Meyer Partners defines a stewardship matrix as “a chart that records when and how a nonprofit plans to engage each of its donor segments.” Your stewardship matrix should include each of the segments from your donor pyramid, a list of engagement and outreach activities, and a timeline for when or how often each activity should occur. Then, indicate which donor segments you plan to engage with each activity. Activities designed to boost retention for different groups might look like:- Sending personalized thank-you emails to all donors within 48 hours.
- Sharing your annual report with all donors annually via email.
- Highlighting recurring mid-level and major donors in your newsletter on a quarterly basis.
- Inviting planned givers, major donors, and engaged mid-level donors to your annual donor gala.
- Mailing welcome packets to first-time mid-level donors and sending welcome emails to first-time minor donors.
3. Multi-channel outreach
As you decide which activities to include in your stewardship matrix and overall retention plan, consider outreach across multiple communication channels. This way, you’ll engage donors with different communication preferences and ensure that the format of your messages aligns with their content. For instance, a major donor impact update would be much better suited to direct mail than a text message (whereas a text might be more effective for thanking a one-time donor for registering for an event). Consider the strengths of each core communication channel to decide which messages you should send using each one. These include:- Direct mail’s personal touch and tangibility. Direct mail fundraising appeals, thank-you letters, and impact reports have the unique ability to touch donors’ hearts in a highly personalized way and keep your nonprofit top-of-mind. Since donors receive less physical mail than emails and can hold your letters in their hands, important messages are bound to make a significant impact when sent via direct mail.
- Email’s speed and bulk sending capabilities. For messages you need to send quickly to large swaths of your donor base, email is a low-cost, often effective option. To make your retention emails stand out in crowded inboxes, use personalized, compelling subject lines and make your email content easily skimmable. Bold the most important parts of the message, and include large, clickable calls to action to inspire engagement.
- Social media’s reach and versatility. When you want to recognize donors publicly, share appreciation videos, or engage donors with unique interactive content, social media can give you a wide reach. Social media platforms’ versatility allows you to get creative with your donor retention tactics and interact with supporters in new ways.