Huzzah! You just completed a successful fundraising campaign. You surpassed your goal, raised interest among new donors, and you feel like you deserve not one, but two ice cream sandwiches.
RED ALERT: Victors don’t settle in for a long slumber with complacency.
Of course, take the time to pat yourself on the back, and enjoy that extra ice cream sandwich, but then get back to work. Raising more money for your cause won’t happen on its own.
One of the greatest difficulties of any fundraising campaign is retaining donors. In the online space, donor retention is a unique beast, and you won’t win the day unless you’re paying close attention to the task at hand.
WHAT’S A NONPROFIT TO DO?
Online donor retention matters, but it’s a struggle. According to a 2015 survey conducted by NonProfitEasy, 40.5% of nonprofits reported that less than 10% of their fundraising came from online donations.
It’s well reported that online fundraising is on the rise. From email campaigns to crowdfunding tools, there are more ways than ever for donors to give both quickly and securely.
Why, then, are nonprofits struggling to leverage online fundraising?
Well, it’s one thing to get a person to give, and another thing to get someone to give two, three, and more times. Donor retention is the key to growing a nonprofit’s online fundraising to the great heights that it can attain.
First donations are typically the smallest gifts. Donors tend to increase their contributions over time, but your nonprofit won’t receive those bigger gifts if you’re not building relationships that matter through effective donor stewardship.
WHAT ARE THE BEST RETENTION STRATEGIES FOR ONLINE DONORS?
Online donors differ from people who mail checks or pledge money over the phone. An online donor might find your nonprofit on the internet, read all about you, and choose to donate without speaking to any real people in your organization.
Everything happens at the speed of light online. This change of pace, combined with the difference in how information is acquired and used, results in your nonprofit needing to employ retention strategies unique to online donors.
#1: FORMULATE A PLAN
Online fundraising has a lot of moving parts. If you’re not ready to handle all of them, then you might stumble.
Your nonprofit needs to:
- Process donations
- Track donor information
- Reach out to donors
To stay on top of everything, it’s good to have an idea of how you’d like to handle things.
Make sure you have people responsible for sending acknowledgment letters and staff tracking donation amounts.
Online fundraising makes data acquisition easy, but it’s the hard work of using data that will make the difference between a successful campaign and a failure.
When your staff has a general script or a step-by-step guide to follow, online fundraising will be handled much more efficiently.
#2: USE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION METHODS
While smart nonprofits employ a variety of communication methods to keep donors engaged, online communications work particularly well for online donors.
Online donors are already plugged in, so you’re being smart by contacting them where they spend a bulk of their time.
Email and social media are the primary online communication methods. Email is great because you can reach out to a bulk of donors with one message. It’s also superb for sending out donation receipts and those all-important acknowledgment letters.
Social media could be regarded as the more fun way to interact with donors. You can post photos, link to great blog posts, and share other content that donors can peruse at their leisure.
A unique aspect of social media is its ability to have fans follow, like, and subscribe to your nonprofit’s online identity.
This brings donors closer to your nonprofit and reminds them that you’re still out there doing great things, without you having to send a reminder email.
#3: THANK DONORS
Online fundraising presents the opportunity to thank donors instantaneously. They click, giving you money, and they’re sent to a thank you screen, acknowledging their awesomeness. But is that enough?
It might be, but online donors should be treated just like any other donor. If you send special thank you emails to donors, then send special thank you emails to your online donors.
If you call every donor, then call your online donors. They’re real people, giving you real money, and they deserve every bit of your real thank you strategy.
#4: OFFER MORE THAN DONATION OPPORTUNITIES
You wouldn’t have money without some awesome people deciding to donate. People are the most valuable asset to your nonprofit, so treat your donors like people, not piggy banks or bitcoins (since these are virtual donors).
Call your donors about volunteer opportunities. Email them about upcoming events. When you tell donors about more than just ways they can give money, they’ll feel like you see them as more valuable members of your community.
When you build donor loyalty, you stand to benefit in a number of ways:
- Bigger donations
- More frequent gifts
- Referrals to family and friends
- And more
People can do so much for your nonprofit, and money is just part of what they offer. Show them how they can do more, and chances are that your fundraisers will raise more.
#5: ORGANIZE YOUR INFORMATION
Everything gets easier when you’re organized. Staff can find files fast, contact donors with ease, and update your online campaigns in a snap.
Nonprofit CRMs aim to take the hassle out of organization. Say goodbye to complicated spreadsheets, countless word documents, and out of date donor information.
When you need to thank online donors, you’ll be able to. When you want to assess a recent online campaign, you can pull data in almost no time at all.
A CRM makes fundraising more efficient, which is essential in the wild, speed-of-light world of online fundraising.
Want to raise more money online? Download of free checklist of nonprofit CRM best practices that can improve the efficiency of your fundraisers.