How To Create a Supporter Retention Plan for Your Nonprofit

Like many nonprofits, your organization likely experiments with a number of fundraising ideas to attract new supporters. But after a campaign wraps up, how many of these donors stick around to give again?

Current nonprofit trends reveal a concerning decline in individual giving. To combat this phenomenon, many fundraising experts advise nonprofits to invest more in their current donors and communities to build a reliable base of supporters. 

So how can you turn occasional support into lasting donor relationships? In this guide, we’ll explore how to craft a structured donor retention plan. 

Identify at-risk supporters.

Donor retention requires you to understand why your donors continue to give and what causes them to stop. Ultimately, your nonprofit should aim to mitigate donor lapse rather than focus on re-engagement due to the recapture rate sitting at just 4%.

Assess your donor records to uncover patterns in lapsed donors’ behavior. For instance, you might notice that the email engagement rate dropped off for these supporters or that several donors stopped giving due to an expired credit card. 

Additionally, be aware of practices your nonprofit has that might contribute to donor lapse. While every donor has their own reasons for why they start and stop giving, eCardWidget’s guide to donor retention outlines a few common reasons:

• Lack of personalized communication: Messages that are vague or unrelated to donors’ interests may make supporters feel disconnected from your cause. 

• Insufficient impact reporting: If donors are unsure how their contributions are making a difference, they may stop giving.

• Overwhelming donation requests: Too many donation requests may annoy donors, even if they’re for different fundraisers. For instance, consider pausing your regular donation upgrade requests when you know you’ll be fundraising for a capital campaign soon. 

• Lack of acknowledgment: If a donation isn’t acknowledged, supporters may be unsure if it mattered or was even received. 

• Change in financial circumstances: During times of economic hardship, some supporters may cut routine donations from their budget.
• Shifting priorities: If your mission or your donors’ interests change over time, they may stop giving.

You may already be aware of whether your nonprofit is engaging in these practices. However, some can fly under the radar, like a lack of personalization. Assess your outreach strategy and use tools like your donor database and predictive AI to determine potential causes for donor lapse. 

Survey donors.

The most straightforward way to determine why donors stick with your nonprofit is to ask them. Create a survey to ask donors about their engagement with your organization, why they give, and their recommendations for improving your cultivation strategy.

Consider creating different surveys based on where supporters are in the donor lifecycle. Double the Donation’s guide to donor development walks through the four main stages of this cycle:

Alt text: The stages of the donor lifecycle, detailed below. 

• Acquisition. Newly acquired donors can provide insight into what drew them to your nonprofit. Create a new donor survey that asks questions such as how supporters first heard about your nonprofit, why they support your cause, and which initiatives they’re most interested in. 

• Retention. Retained donors regularly give to your nonprofit and make up your core base of support. As these donors have been with your organization for some time, they are familiar with your outreach practices, so they can provide suggestions for your current approach, such as if you should change your messaging frequency. 

• Upgrade. Donors who have upgraded their support over time are some of your most valuable supporters. Ask these donors questions related to upgrading their donations, such as if they would like to be thanked for their contributions. 

• Lapse. While many lapsed donors will no longer engage with your nonprofit, some may be willing to explain why they have decided to stop giving. For instance, when donors opt out of continuing a recurring gift, you might ask them to complete a multiple-choice question asking why they have decided to stop giving. 

 

By understanding what donors are thinking at each stage in their giving journey, your nonprofit can take targeted steps to retain them. For instance, you might learn the best time to ask for an upgrade, if you need to change your messaging cadence, and how donors like to be thanked for their contributions. 

Experiment with various retention strategies.

Nonprofits have developed a number of strategies for retaining donors. Choose the approaches your donors are most likely to respond positively to. To help you brainstorm, a few popular retention strategies include: 

eCards

eCards take donor appreciation up a notch. These electronic greeting cards are faster and less expensive than direct mail while also being more fun and memorable than a simple thank-you email. 

For reference, here’s an example of a thank you eCard from the nonprofit Youth for Understanding:

Alt text: A thank you eCard that says, “Thank you for making your world my home.”

This eCard shows off how nonprofits can thank donors and reinforce their brands at the same time. The thank-you message is simple but meaningful and is paired with child-like illustrations that represent Youth for Understanding’s mission. 

eCards like this encourage retention by thanking donors for their support in a meaningful way that acknowledges their gift, emphasizes its impact, and inspires them to give again. 

Personalization

Donors are more likely to stick with nonprofits they feel personally connected to. As such, nonprofits that personalize their content tend to have higher retention rates. 

When it comes to personalization, most donors appreciate nonprofits that:

• Share relevant content. Segment your donors based on their interests to ensure they receive content they are likely to connect with. For instance, your remote supporters are far more likely to respond positively to content about your virtual engagement opportunities rather than invitations to in-person events. 
• Reference specific details. Rather than addressing your emails “Dear donor,” address each recipient by name and reference their past engagement with your nonprofit. This also applies to donation requests, which should thank donors for their previous contributions and ask for an upgrade that aligns with their past giving. For example, a donor who regularly gives $50 is more likely to respond positively to an upgrade request of $75 than $500. 

Use your donor management tools, such as your CRM, to personalize content. Record supporter information in their donor profiles so it can be easily referenced in your communications. 

Non-donation activities

Some of your donors may be happy to quietly make monetary contributions, but those looking to form a connection with your organization will appreciate other opportunities to get involved. A few non-donation related activities you can promote to these supporters include:

• Volunteer opportunities. For donors looking to take a hands-on approach to giving back, volunteer opportunities might be exactly what they’re looking for. Just like you do with donors, show your volunteers appreciation to retain them.

• Events. Bring your nonprofit’s supporter community together by hosting a variety of events. These can be for fundraisers as well as social gatherings and appreciation events. After an event, follow up with supporters to thank them for their participation and share event recaps to showcase impact. 

• Informational content. Maintain a blog where you can regularly post educational content about your mission. This gives curious donors opportunities to learn more about your cause. Some nonprofits even have archives of recorded webinars and lectures for donors to peruse. 

 

Whenever donors expand their support, prioritize thanking them. By acknowledging and rewarding these behaviors, you’ll encourage donors to increase their involvement in your nonprofit’s community and make them more likely to continue supporting you. 

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A retention plan helps your nonprofit identify causes in donor lapse and strategies for combatting them. This might be as simple as launching a new retention strategy or require re-evaluating how you engage with your audience. Get started by analyzing your donor database and reaching out to supporters to learn why they support you.