Unless you’re a vegetarian, there’s no reason to live off of baked beans when you can afford a good steak.

Likewise, nonprofits should focus their fundraising efforts on the donors who can provide the most meat.

WHAT IS A HIGH-QUALITY DONOR?

All donors are great donors. They’ve supported your cause. In this context, a high-quality donor refers to the donors who you should prioritize your fundraising efforts towards, such as:

• Great future donors — People who might give large amounts.
• Repeat donors — People you can count on to give multiple times.

For example, Jane has given to your nonprofit once, and she gave $500.

Meanwhile, Eve has given donations to your nonprofit once a year for ten years, and, while her latest donation was also $500, she has steadily increased her gift amounts over her time as a donor.

In the fundraising world, Eve would be a higher-quality donor than Jane. 

Eve has a proven track record of giving and of increasing her gifts, so you know that by reaching out to her that not only will she give, but you may receive more than ever before. Also, she is a repeat donor, and has the potential to be a major gift donor in the future.

Jane is more of a risk. She has given once, and you can’t yet tell if she’ll want to give again. Jane is well worth retaining, but she can’t yet be counted on for consistent donations.

Being a high-quality donor isn’t restricted to donations. A high level of engagement with your organization, in one of several capacities, can highlight donors who might be relied upon for consistent and/or major gift donations.

High-quality donor indicators include:

• Consistent volunteers
• Nonprofit board members
• Repeat donors
• Major gift donors

There might be other factors, specific to your nonprofit, that could help to identify high-quality donors. Figure out what type of person makes the best donor for you, and then focus your fundraising efforts on those people.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO IDENTIFY HIGH-QUALITY DONORS?

Nonprofits struggle to retain donors. That’s a reality that you can either embrace or combat. I encourage the latter.

A good donor stewardship program can do a lot to improve donor retention rates, but you still won’t keep everyone. That’s okay, but you should strive to retain as many high-quality donors as possible.

You can’t keep someone around if you don’t know who you’re looking for. You’ll also struggle to keep high-quality donors around if you don’t have a good stewardship program in place.

When you keep high-quality donors around, your nonprofit stands to receive more, bigger, and more frequent donations. Dedicated donors might also spread the word of your organization to friends and family, which could lead to you acquiring new donors at essentially no cost.

Dedicated donors might also spread the word of your organization to friends and family, which could lead to you acquiring new donors at essentially no cost.

FIVE WAYS TO IDENTIFY HIGH-QUALITY DONORS

There is a multitude of ways to identify high-quality donors, but these are some of the best, most respected indicators in the industry, and they’re a good place to start.

1 — PHILANTHROPIC AND WEALTH INDICATORS

Money matters, but so does a person’s willingness to part with that money. When wealth and a desire to give to charity coincide, you may have found yourself a high-quality donor.

Philanthropic indicators include:

• Previous giving to your nonprofit
• Previous giving to similar nonprofits
• Service as a foundation trustee or director

Wealth markers include:

• Real estate ownership
• Stock ownership
• Employment status

While it’s tempting to pursue wealthy donors, wealthy donors with proven histories of giving tend to be higher quality donors, because not only can they give both large and frequent gifts, but they actually want to. You can find more high-quality donors with help from prospect research.

2 — VOLUNTEERISM

Volunteers may or may not be donors. Either way, consistent volunteers exhibit dedicated engagement with your nonprofit. That matters.

When people care enough to give their time to your organization, they’re likely willing to give money, too. They might not be able to give a lot, but a donor who you can count on to give consistently is a donor you can trust, and should be regarded as a high-quality donor.

Keep track of who volunteers for your nonprofit and how often. You just might unearth some high-quality donors.

3 — CONSISTENT DONATIONS

The idea of receiving many small gifts over a long period might not sound as appealing as receiving less frequent, large gifts, but consistent donors can pay off in a big way.

Planned gifts usually come from donors who give 15 or more times to your nonprofit while living. Planned donations tend to be the largest gifts that donors give, and those 15 previous gifts don’t necessarily have to have been major gifts.

People who care about your organization might only be able to give in a big way once, and they might wait to do so in their will.

4 — SUPPORTER INQUISITION

People who genuinely want to learn more about your nonprofit will ask questions. Perhaps your mission statement or an event you hosted or a conversation with a friend peaked their interest, and they want to learn more. Teach them your charitable ways, young nonprofit.

Questions are a sign of caring, and they open the door for conversation. While not every person who comes knocking about your nonprofit will donate, pay attention to your donors who ask questions.

Donors want to know that their money is being put to good use. If they ask how you’re using funds or when they might be able to donate again, tell them. Be as transparent as possible. You want to build trust with donors, and you want to convince them that their dollars are and will continue to be put to good use.

Be as transparent as possible.

You want to build trust with donors, and you want to convince them that their dollars are and will continue to be put to good use.

5 — NONPROFIT ADVOCACY

Like a pep rally jolts a football team, your nonprofit can get a big boost from people who act as advocates for your nonprofit.

Some donors want to show their devotion. They care about your cause and giving is not enough. They tell their friends about you, their family, and they might wear your t-shirts on a regular basis.

They are people providing free promotion for your nonprofit by advocating for your cause on a daily basis.

It’s easy to see how these people can be trusted as high quality donors.  Capitalize on this passion. You’ll raise more money, and your advocates will keep sending new volunteers and donors your way.

Identifying high quality donors is only half the battle. Keeping your donors organized and their information actionable is key to running a successful fundraising campaign. A nonprofit CRM can help with that.

If you’re new to CRMs or want to learn more about how they can help a wide range of fundraising efforts, then request a demo with a member of our dedicated staff today.