How to Re-Engage Lapsed Donors Through One-on-One Meetings

Supporter retention is no easy feat. It requires a concerted effort, and even then, some donors will inevitably fall through the cracks.

When a donor officially lapses, your strategy must shift from “How do we keep this donor around?” to “How do we get them back?”

Hearing donors out is a great way to start reestablishing relationships with them. This guide will help you plan one-on-one meetings with lapsed donors that encourage them to return to your nonprofit’s community.

1. Start by segmenting your lapsed donors.

While one-on-one meetings are an effective way to connect with lapsed donors, your time is limited. You can’t realistically meet with every former supporter. Instead, you need to prioritize meeting donors based on who is most likely to re-engage and provide the most value to your organization.

Create re-engagement tiers in your nonprofit CRM. Like other segments in your database, these categories will help you decide how best to connect with lapsed supporters. Use automation to help you sort lapsed donors into groups for:

• Small donors who have recently lapsed. The majority of lapsed donors will likely fall into this category. Send mass appeals from time to time to try to recapture these supporters.

• Mid-level donors who have stopped contributing. Donors who have contributed a bit more but have stopped giving altogether are likely easier to re-engage than small donors. Call them or send a personal note to reignite the relationship.
• Donors who gave a significant amount over the last few years but nothing this year. These donors will be your top candidates for one-on-one meetings. They’re the most likely to re-engage with your nonprofit, and typically, they’re also the most dedicated to your cause.

In addition to donors’ past giving, investigate their giving capacity and propensity. For example, a small donor who gave $50 last year but has a high giving capacity and has contributed significantly to similar causes in the past might also be a candidate for one-on-one meetings.

2. Frame your ask appropriately.

It goes without saying that your relationship with lapsed donors is delicate. You don’t want them to feel like you’re only reaching out for their immediate monetary support.

The way you frame the meeting matters. Instead of introducing it as a donation appeal, call it something more low-stakes, such as:

• Realignment meeting
• In-person catch-up
• Re-engagement opportunity

Emphasize that all you’re looking for from this meeting is to update the donor on your nonprofit’s current priorities and receive feedback about their experience with your organization. Lapsed donors will be much more likely to accept your invitation if they know it won’t be solely focused on solicitation.

3. Report on their past impact.

What makes many donors give in the first place is the opportunity to make a difference. Remind lapsed donors of what they’ve already achieved with your organization to inspire them to return to that crucial work.

Use your donor management software to help you develop a summary of the donor’s lifetime giving. Pull important pieces of information, such as:

• Amount donated overall
• Largest donation
• Projects they funded
• Events they attended
• Campaigns they supported

For example, you might discuss how the donor’s contributions to your most recent capital campaign allowed you to build a new facility, expanding your capacity to help community members experiencing homelessness. Focusing on donors’ past involvement helps them see and own their individual impact and reiterates that their participation in your organization truly improves the lives of those in need.

4. Ask for their feedback.

After you’ve reviewed the donor’s past impact, investigate what went wrong from the donor’s perspective to make them stop giving. Chances are, they’ll have a specific reason in mind.

When receiving constructive feedback, avoid being defensive. Instead, apologize for any shortcomings, and try to offer a suitable solution. To help you with this exercise, let’s review some donor retention statistics from Bloomerang’s Mission Retainable Report and potential solutions for the underlying issues these statistics reveal:

• 24% of donors surveyed cited a lack of transparency as a reason they withdrew support. Donors want to know how their contributions affect your mission and appreciate honesty from the organizations they support. By committing to providing more regular updates on your nonprofit, you can keep more donors engaged.

• 30% of fundraisers surveyed report donor fatigue as a challenge. Even the most passionate mission advocates don’t want to receive incessant communications from your organization. If lapsed donors have this feedback, reassess your donation appeal cadence to avoid alienating supporters.
• 87% of donors who stop or reduce support do so due to financial strain. Although some donors may not be in a financial position to contribute monetarily, that doesn’t mean they can’t support your organization at all. Provide nonmonetary engagement opportunities that allow them to still support your cause and stay connected to your nonprofit.

Consider having your fundraising staff roleplay these types of conversations to practice identifying quick wins. During real donor meetings, note the problems donors mentioned so you can update them on any solutions you’ve developed.

5. Wait to make the final ask.

Throughout the meeting, follow the donor’s lead. Sometimes, they might be compelled enough to give right then and there, but if not, don’t push it.

Whether the donor gives on the spot or not, send a follow-up email the next day to thank them. This email might look something like this:

Dear Elena,

Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me yesterday. I really enjoyed our conversation.

I appreciate your honest input about our campaign outreach strategy. I’ve passed this feedback along to our fundraising and marketing teams.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Best,

Jessica

After you’ve thanked the donor, wait at least a few weeks before sending a targeted ask. Base your next move on the donor’s responses thus far. For instance, maybe a donor expressed interest in a new project you mentioned during the meeting and responded cheerfully to your thank-you email. This supporter might be more open to an appeal than a donor who only provided negative feedback when you met and never opened your follow-up email.

Throughout this process of re-engaging lapsed donors, monitor engagement metrics. Even if you don’t receive a monetary contribution right away, you might notice lapsed donors engaging with your social media posts or opening your emails again, which are also steps in the right direction. Every lapsed donor will have their own motivations and pace for re-engaging with your organization, and by following their lead, you’re more likely to recapture their support and welcome them back to your community.