Connection Cafe

DECEMBER 18, 2019

“The next generation of donors” is not just the latest fundraising trend or catchphrase for development teams. Nonprofit organizations have always tried to understand how to shift and modify their fundraising strategies to appeal to and resonate with the future generation of donors.

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Audience Generation Donation Donor 42

Connection Cafe

JULY 16, 2019

This is where the idea of donor statements comes in. Donor statements can help you inform donors about the breadth of impact their donations have made, leading them to feel good about their choice to donate to your organization, and trust that any possible future gift will be handled the same. Be creative in your messaging.

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Story Impact Donor Storytelling 33

Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Now that we are almost a year in, what have we learned and how can we retain the new donors we’ve had give to our organizations? Donor engagement factors. How organizations can cut through the noise and communicate with donors. Which sample sets are being looked at and compared. How to take advantage of new analytics.

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Podcast Data Donor Analytics 37

Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 14, 2017

When asked by organizations whether their online fundraising programs should focus on donor acquisition or donor retention, I say, “Yes.”. As fundraisers, we don’t have the option of choosing; we must solicit from existing donors while simultaneously growing prospect lists and converting new leads into first-time donors.

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Retention Donor Online Research 37

Connection Cafe

NOVEMBER 29, 2018

Donor retention is undeniably critical to meet your nonprofit’s revenue goals , but it can be tough to know which efforts result in higher retention levels or upward movement of donors. The 5 retention metrics fundraisers should know are: Donor Attrition Rate. Donor Level Moves. New vs. Recurring Donors.

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Metrics Donor Fundraising Retention 42

Connection Cafe

NOVEMBER 12, 2018

In fact, I might be currently trapped in your LYBUNT donor query (“last year but unfortunately not this year”). Every donor, volunteer, newsletter subscriber, and web dweller should know about your program. Create a welcome series targeting your new donors and establish the benefits of joining a monthly giving program.

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Donor Method FAQ Newsletter 30

Connection Cafe

OCTOBER 30, 2017

Many nonprofits forget that their volunteers and donors are also customers. Using Data to Better Understand Your Donors and Volunteers. Your nonprofit’s data can provide useful information about donor and volunteer motivations. Your nonprofit can segment volunteers and donors based on their interactions with the brand.

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Analytics Volunteer Donor Google 39

Connection Cafe

APRIL 20, 2020

In short, our participants and donors have been telling us things we didn’t want to hear. Retention is terrible for darn near everything – peer-to-peer participants and donors alike. The problem is that our donors and participants don’t love us enough. What do donors and participants need? What did we do? What did we do?

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Donor Fundraising North America Retention 28

Connection Cafe

SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

It is not a secret that nonprofits need volunteers and donors to achieve their goals and carry out their mission. Many nonprofits do not know that the line between their volunteers and donors is very thin. The value of a volunteer who donates is also on average much higher than a donor only prospect (About 10 X Higher).

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Volunteer Practice Donor Hints 49

Connection Cafe

MAY 17, 2013

And donors are no different. When it comes to donor acquisition, the concept is the same – donors want to know WHY they should donate to your cause and HOW their contribution will be used. If you want more donors , your online donor acquisition strategy should include a little selling. Here’s how.

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Donor Online Influence Donation 54

Connection Cafe

OCTOBER 24, 2017

To that end, there has been a great focus on communication and stewardship of donors to further increase giving. These things have forced our awareness, not only of the external factors at play but the value of retaining an organization’s best donors. or almost 5 times the rate at which individual giving increased.

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Studies Donor United States Blackbaud 36

Connection Cafe

JANUARY 13, 2014

These pressures include economic ups and downs, millennials jumping into the giving mix, and more and more funders, donors, and contributors demanding proof that the good intent of mission translates to a tangible impact in the world. The “Donors are Customers” Premise. Nonprofit fundraising is facing some unique pressures.

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Retention Donor Fundraising Product 38

Connection Cafe

APRIL 8, 2019

As stewardship professionals know well, strengthening and preserving relationships with the donors is essential to an institution’s success. In fact, over 50% of higher education institutions are focused on creating more impactful donor stewardship practices in 2019. No longer do you need to reach back out to edit their notes.

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Donor Technology Award Education 29

Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 13, 2020

Listen in to hear Martin’s discussion with host Steve MacLaughlin, which focused on building relationships with major donors and maintaining involvement and engagement with those donors over a period of years. Building and nurturing long-term relationships with major donors. The 80/20 rule for donor relationships.

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Podcast Donor Gift Advice 33

Connection Cafe

JUNE 26, 2018

Do you know why your donors give? Unless you ask your donors directly, your gut instincts are merely opinions. A well-crafted donor survey delivered in a savvy way can provide the facts you need to make smarter fundraising and marketing decisions going forward. You know all those small and mid-level donors on your list?

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Survey Donor Effective Audience 29

Connection Cafe

SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

Making a donor profile might be something that sounds reserved for larger nonprofit institutions with thousands of donors and prospects, a team of analysists, and a budget with room to spare. Truth is – you can absolutely make a useful and insightful donor profile with data from a few donors and a couple hours of your time.

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Profile Donor Gift Examples 38

Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 23, 2017

Online fundraising has also proven to be an extremely effective donors acquisition vehicle. Let’s take a look at some fundraising ideas – the fifteen most effective donor acquisition and online fundraising techniques used by top nonprofits. Expert Tip : Brand your donation form like @BFAS so donors know it’s you!

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Technique Donor Online Results 55

Connection Cafe

FEBRUARY 14, 2019

This is the overall state of donor engagement these days among many social good organizations. It looks at the consideration process that the donor goes through and tries to consider how to engage rather than solicit. It’s not about moving donors – it’s about donors moving themselves forward in the consideration process.

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Teach Donor Podcast Blackbaud 28

Connection Cafe

MARCH 15, 2017

Blackbaud’s 2016 Charitable Giving Report shows us that donor retention for first time donors is still remarkably low – 29% for offline donors and 21% for online donors. But if donors are retained passed that first year, the retention rate jumps significantly to 60% for offline donors and 58% for online donors.

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Retention Donor Storytelling Offline 38

Connection Cafe

APRIL 18, 2017

Relationship building with donors is an art. But we also know that there is a science to donor segmentation and the use of analytics. Perhaps it’s what makes some donors more generous than others. What do first-time $1,000 donors have in common in our data? 48% of these donors made their first gift through direct mail.

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Data Donor Analytics Gift 38

Connection Cafe

APRIL 19, 2019

Donor acquisition is all the rage, but did you know nearly 3 out of 4 new donors leave and never come back. Blackbaud’s latest Charitable Giving Report sheds light on the importance of donor retention in the nonprofit industry. The average donor retention rates for first-year online-only donors is 22%.

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Retention Donor Change Blackbaud 37

Connection Cafe

MARCH 20, 2019

Buoyed by these generous donors, organizations that prioritize stewardship and retention of their donors continue to find the greatest success. The networked world around us has placed donors squarely in the role of key navigators of their own philanthropic course. Online giving grew 1.2%

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Philanthropy Donor Disaster Trend 27

Connection Cafe

DECEMBER 20, 2018

So how do we ensure that our online experience is designed for donors (both current and would-be)? How to Make Your Website More Donor-Friendly. Before your donors are willing to dig into their pockets to help you, you have to move them. But for many donors, the donation process is a moment of spontaneous generosity.

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Websites Donor Test Accessibility 37

Connection Cafe

MAY 3, 2018

Is that how we really think of our donors? Let’s think about the donor that wants to give $50. If the donor upgrades to $60… $75…what difference does that make? It is our responsibility to make sure our digital experiences communicate how we truly feel about our donors: deep appreciation. Does it really affect them?

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Donation Donor Online Gift 42

Connection Cafe

NOVEMBER 7, 2017

Respecting your donors and treating them as unique individuals assist in your success. Donors have rights, and these rights play a key role in your daily thoughts, actions and activities. Frequent, ethical and insightful communication supports your organization’s implementation of the Donor Bill of Rights.

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Retention Donor Guidelines Gift 29

Connection Cafe

MARCH 23, 2014

How do your donors feel about you? Better yet, it seems like a good question to ask your donors once in a while! Average first year donor retention rates of 27% would suggest that donors don’t have the best feelings about the nonprofits they’re supporting. Rachael Muir on how donors want to be treated.

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Retention Sound Donor Fundraising 42

Connection Cafe

DECEMBER 11, 2017

And while people may be more encouraged to give during an event like Giving Tuesday, nonprofits should ultimately focus on ways to provide long term value to donors beyond that one give, especially as behaviors continue to reflect a desire to be a part of large-scale social impact. Don’t Just Ask – Empower & Inspire.

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Donor Change Create Attitude 43

Connection Cafe

AUGUST 29, 2016

What do donors really want? Many of us “know” what donors don’t want – too much mail and email, phone calls, overloading their Facebook feed, boring events, too many asks for money. Sometimes that leads us to doing too little, figuring our donors love us and will find us when they’re ready to give. So, what do donors want?

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Donor Alternative Award Relationship 34

Connection Cafe

MARCH 20, 2019

Here are the four most effective ways prospect researchers can contribute more donors and dollars: 1. Make more accurate gift capacity estimates. Gift capacity is a sensitive subject—you can’t work with major donors without having a few missed estimates. The same should be true of your institution and potential major donors.

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Donor San Francisco Gift Research 24

Connection Cafe

MARCH 25, 2020

Let’s not make giving decisions for the donor. Here are six tips for dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with your donors: Build an authentic story. Boomer donors want to be affiliated with those they admire. Boomer donors want to be affiliated with those they admire. Uncover what your donor cares about.

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Donor Giving Hunger Gift 28

Connection Cafe

JULY 11, 2019

Listen in to hear her talk with host Steve MacLaughlin about why it’s time to pay more attention to Gen X (and what will happen if you don’t), what the emerging trends are in peer-to-peer fundraising, and how new ways of fundraising are encouraging more donors to get involved. Emerging trends and technology in peer-to-peer fundraising.

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Podcast Donor Action Analytics 20

Connection Cafe

APRIL 11, 2018

The donor marketplace is changing in dramatic ways. The report indicated that the number of donor households making gifts between 2010 and 2015 dropped, the incidence of donor households adding new organizations to their portfolios declined, and overall donor retention did not improve.

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Donor Studies Retention Blackbaud 26

Connection Cafe

APRIL 10, 2018

Attaining donors is complex and requires a diverse set of strategies, so you shouldn’t expect to attract philanthropists with the same tactics you employ for lower-level donors. As donor cultivation is time consuming and costly, it’s imperative your time is spent wisely and no opportunities are wasted.

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Donor Strategy Hosting Interaction 24

Connection Cafe

JUNE 15, 2017

In the second installment of the Blackbaud Institute’s Sustainers in Focus series —research-backed best practices for marketing, promoting, soliciting, and fulfilling a sustained giving program— Best Practice # 1 was to ask new donors to give on a monthly basis. 4 Ways to Improve Donor Retention Rates with Monthly Giving.

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Retention Donor Giving Rate 35

Connection Cafe

JANUARY 16, 2014

The 2014 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report was released last week and one of the more interesting findings was that donor retention remainsa lower priority. As my colleague Frank Barry mentioned, most nonprofits stink at donor retention. Nearly 3 out of 4 new donors never make a second gift.

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Retention email Donor eBook 45

Connection Cafe

DECEMBER 10, 2014

Each donor has a shared interest in your mission – or you would assume they share an interest if they send you hard-earned money – however otherwise, your donor base can be a varied selection of the general population. Mostly older donors? Two Donor Insights You Shouldn’t Ignore. High occurrence of younger families?

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Donor Fundraising Conservancy Profile 40

Connection Cafe

OCTOBER 22, 2018

Not every donor is necessarily going to come to you – for larger donations and sponsorships, you’ll have to pitch your charity. Every successful charity has a few major donors or sponsors that give them the lion’s share of their funds. That’s a given – and I guarantee your donor or sponsor knows that already.

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Charity Donor Sponsor Industry 28