Jarrett Ransom, the self-described “Nonprofit Nerd” talks with Cindy about strategies to build your relationships with your donors. Concentrating on “Return on Relationship” instead of “Return on Investment” will get you much farther in your retention efforts.

But what are the building blocks you can use to create these better relationships with the people who are key to supporting your organization?

Jarrett says these five steps have served her well...

Donor retention continues to remain important, but as with everything else in 2021, your approach to it will be a little different as we begin our recovery from the pandemic. 

The basics remain the same: if your nonprofit has a high retention rate, you have a base of supporters you’ll be able to rely on year after year to sustain your programs and forward your mission. If it’s low, you're constantly scrambling to find new donors (far more expensive than keeping your current...

I want to help you solve the case of the disappearing donor. Someone who you can see is responding to your message and even getting to your donation platform, only to leave without a trace. And the clues lead you right up to the culprit.

Your donation page. 

There’s a temptation to think that the conversion of a donor happens when your prospect clicks on the DONATE HERE button, when in fact that’s just the start of the process. Your donation page is the “closer”...

Making a donation may be one of the most personal things we do, yet most nonprofits need help with connecting with their donors on a personal level, says Gabe Cooper, founder and CEO of Virtuous Software, a responsive CRM and marketing platform.

In this Marketer on a Mission interview, we discuss how nonprofits can use CRM programs to:

• Listen to their donors by pulling in data points about their donations, engagement, demographics and even where they go on your website;
• Connect with them by...

Convincing you that monthly giving programs are worth doing isn’t that hard. Report after report shows that recurring donation programs have great ROI, provide a steady, predictable flow of funds for your organization and are a powerful tool in donor retention. 

But it has to be done right.

Launching a recurring donation program is more than adding a monthly giving button, announcing the option exists and hoping for the best.  

Launching a recurring donation...

Major donors to nonprofits are a different breed - and it’s not only because of the size of their gifts. 

Studies show that they tend to be the most consistent supporters of nonprofit organizations, giving year after year, even during economic downturns. They might have a greater feeling of ownership in your organization and are more concerned with the bigger picture. Typically, major donors aren’t just there to support this program or that initiative; they are...

Beyond good manners, why is it important to thank people for their donations? 

In addition to the practical reason of acknowledging the gift and sending a receipt, saying thank you can be the start - or continuation - of a beautiful partnership with your benefactor.

It’s your chance to educate them about the impact their gift will have; to make them more aware of how they, by donating to you, are helping to change the world. And every time you do - because you should thank...

The evidence shows that email communication is still a vital tool in your nonprofit’s strategy to raise awareness, retain donors and find new supporters.

To tap into the true potential for email marketing, you need to keep building your email list. It’s a question you should ask yourself - what could your nonprofit do if you had more people to contact?

There’s some right ways (and a couple of very wrong ones) to go about growing your contact list and in this...

Here’s an eye-popping number - 40%.

That’s how much nonprofit monthly giving programs increased last year, and there’s no signs of this trend slowing down in 2019.

It’s easy to understand why everyone loves recurring gift programs: small donations that automatically renew make giving more manageable and convenient for your nonprofit’s supporters. Meanwhile, they provide more predictable funding and higher retention rates for heart-centered...

Retention rules.

It’s not just that it’s cheaper to retain a donor than to acquire a new one. That’s true, but there are some other reasons as well. Jay Love, legendary co-founder of Bloomerang noted in a blog that most major gifts come after a donor has been giving to an organization for five years. And even if your repeat donor’s gift is modest, you need to think about the lifetime impact this person could have; those small annual gifts surely do add...