Five Donor Retention Strategies for your Online Fundraiser

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Five Donor Retention Strategies for your Online Fundraiser

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it a series of new normal and virtual fundraising for nonprofits has been one among the lot. Although online fundraisers have been practised by many organizations before the virus hit, the pandemic has resulted in an increased adoption of the fundraising method now more than ever. When the goal is to raise more funds, the focus is on gaining new donors and giving the old donors a reason to donate to your cause over and over again.  In order to achieve the latter, you can have a look at GiveCentral’s top donor retention strategies and decide what works best for your organization.

Peer-to-peer fundraising

This is a strategy that is not only focused on engagement, but it also helps in widening the reach of your nonprofit. Your volunteers and supporters can launch individual fundraising pages on behalf of your nonprofit and get their circle of family and friends to contribute their bit. Peer-to-peer fundraising for nonprofits is a method that comes in handy when a single individual may not be able to make one major donation. In the same way that single droplets of water form an ocean, small yet collective donations can result in a massive one. This method empowers your supporters, it gives them the power to run their own campaign and this in turn contributes to building a stronger relationship between your volunteer/supporters and your organization. 

Offer convenient ways to give

Your audience today are always on the go. A huge portion of the world’s population may be working from home, but the preference for convenience remains. Therefore, your nonprofit can always notify and educate your donors on how they can donate to your fundraising campaign via tools such as text-to-give. Also, make sure that your donation forms are accessible on mobile phones as mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. When you make your giving processes easy and quick, you are more likely to retain most of your donors donating to your cause. 

Availability of a recurring giving program

In order to get this right, your organization will have to provide your donors with the option to sign up for a giving program; a donation subscription can be made available on your online donation form.  This is a set-it-and-forget-it approach that can help you ensure retention of donors to a maximum level. An ideal management software can help you manage all program subscriptions and keep a track of every single record. You can even provide tutorial videos on how donors can easily sign up for your programs. 

Prioritize feedback

Everytime a donor donates to your nonprofit, make sure that you ask for their feedback. This could deliver a message of appreciation or a suggestion to improve your campaign strategies and methods. Fundraising for nonprofits largely includes the importance of knowing what your audience wants. Take the feedback(s) and work on them, deliver an improved result in your next campaign and let them know of the upgrade, however small or big it may be. 

Tell your story well

As a nonprofit working towards helping the society and bringing more positivity, it is important to communicate well. Show your efforts, talk about the great results that you have been able to achieve with the help of your donors and let them know briefly of your upcoming projects. Build a sense of satisfaction and excitement around the work that you are doing, attract more donors and retain them by constantly communicating through social media, newsletters and emails. 

Conclusion

Learning from your existing database is also equally important, look into the details that your management software has collected for your organization. Get to know your donors inside out and thank them personally for each donation. Softwares such as GiveCentral also have the option of sending customized emails for any occasion. Recently, GiveCentral’s free Lenten Reflection Series has helped its partner churches communicate on a deeper level with their audience. Communication is extremely important for donor retention, keep your donors updated and prioritize their convenience, always. 

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