Donor Fatigue: The Key To Keeping Donors

Writing letters to nonprofit donors Donors are the lifeblood to any nonprofit organization. Just as much as your nonprofit needs passionate people to carry out its mission, it must have donors to financially support it. However, there is a fine line between educating donors about opportunities to give and asking for too much money too often. Donor fatigue occurs when nonprofits ask the same donors so often for money that instead of donating more, these once loyal donors cut back or halt donations all together.

Identifying the causes of donor fatigue will not only ensure that your nonprofit’s well deserved donations will continue, but it can even increase the amount you receive. In this month’s Topic of the Month we will focus on the main pitfalls that can lead to donor fatigue and will outline steps that your organization can take to avoid losing donors to fatigue.

What Not to Do

It is important to realize that donor fatigue is the result of poor fundraising tactics. Identifying the origin of the problem is the first step in fixing the issue and can usually be broken down into one or more of the following causes:

Not being personable and understanding the donor’s expectations and desires for engagement
Not keeping accurate records
Asking too often for money
Asking for money from the same donors
Asking for too little money
Not following up with past donors

Best Practices

Although the exact cause of donor fatigue that applies to your organization can seem hard to detect, the solutions to eliminating donor fatigue are straight forward. The best practices in eliminating donor fatigue can be broken down into three easy steps: being personable to donors, maintaining good fundraising records, and following up with past donors. Below we have broken each step down to give you a thorough understanding of the pro-active steps you can take to revive your donor’s interests and donating habits.

1. Be Personable

Never underestimate the importance of building meaningful relationships with your donors. By doing so you will gain a better understanding of the types of campaigns they would be interested in giving to. Being personable and understanding your donor is crucial towards understanding what sparks excitement in them. Donors want to give towards causes they feel passionate about - the key word here being causes. When donors give to your organization they are not really giving to your organization; they are giving to your organization’s cause. For example, a non-profit whose mission is to donate food to those in need could start a campaign specifically aimed at donating food to impoverished war veterans. While someone who is a war veteran may not feel compelled to donate to the organization as a whole, they may be passionate about helping other war veterans and therefore be very inclined to donate to this specific campaign. Keep in mind that when a donor says to you that they do not have any more money to give, what they are more likely saying is that they have no money they want to give to that particular fund. Having a clear understanding of what your donor wants to give to will help you in receiving more donations and assures the donor that you have taken the time to understand them

At this point, you may be asking yourself “How do I find a large number of people looking to give to my cause?” This can seem tricky, but the great news is that along with causes people give to people. Just because someone is not passionate about your cause does not completely eliminate them from the donor pool. It is important for executive directors to establish meaningful relationships with potential donors and keep in contact with donors personally for this reason. Establish a “new donor acquisition” program in your nonprofit if one is not already implemented to make connecting to potential donors a priority. It is not enough to rely on personal friends and past donors for future donations. Eventually, even the people personally close with you will feel worn down from being asked again and again. This notion of “going to the well too often” will leave your these same donors feeling unappreciated. Continue expanding your donor list through meaningful and personal connections and switch off your financial requests between donors. Repeatedly asking for donations from the same people is the number one cause of donor fatigue which brings home the point that having a large number of donors as being critical in fundraising.

In addition, it is important to understand that donors increasingly want to be engaged with the organization. This can mean anything from receiving email updates to attending special update events to volunteering. When an individual makes a donation to an organization, they become invested in the success of the organization. Because of this, it is important to get to know the donor and understand how (or if) they want to become engaged with the organization. Remember that engaging with a donor needs to include more than asking for money too. Even close personal friends to an executive director at a nonprofit will begin to feel “used” if all they get contacted for is money when times get tough. This is why it is so important to reach out to be people with reasons other than accessing their checkbook.

2. Keep Well Maintained Records

Imagine that someone donated $100,000 to a nonprofit to help fund a new project. However, the nonprofit does not have a good system of tracking donations and double-counted a gift that resulted in miscalculating the total amount needed for the project by $75,000. A week later, the organization asks the $100,000 donor for the additional $75,000, stating they will have to call the whole project off if they do not receive this money. Chances are good that either the person will not donate the additional funding, will walk away from the situation feeling used and be reluctant to give in the future, or both. This is where the importance of keeping good records comes into play. If the nonprofit in the example above would have tracked the donations, they would have known to ask someone else and would not have lost their loyal donor. Keep in mind that asking too often from the same donor is the number one cause in donor fatigue. For this reason, creating an Excel file specifically for tracking donations received is an essential component in good fundraising. The data you should record includes:

Total amount needed and received for cause: Determining the total amount needed should be the start to any fundraising campaign and keeping track of donations received is a necessary step going along with this. Recording and reflecting on how much money is needed will allow you to ask for more accurate donation requests so that you do not have to ask again for more money.
Individual donation amounts: Tracking individual donations is extremely helpful when asking for donations in future projects. Knowing how much the individual typically gives allows you to make donation requests in the future that are in line with amounts they are willing and able to give.
Dates donations were received: Recording the dates individuals donated is important both because it helps reduce the possibility that you will ask too often for money and also serves as a reminder of when thank you letters should be sent out. It can also allow you to track the seasonality of a donor’s giving. For example, an organization can track if donors typically make a major gift at a time other than year-end.
Causes/campaigns to which the donor has previously given: Remember that people donate to causes and not organizations. Donors might be thrilled to help fund one project but not another which makes tracking the types of things they do support so necessary. Make every donation request matter to avoid bombarding donors with request after request to fund projects they do not typically give to. Otherwise, a donor could become annoyed and stop listening all together. Making donation requests on matters they find important and impacting will increase the likelihood they will donate and will not overwhelm them.
Dates of contact with donor (i.e. dates of letters sent, phone calls made, etc.): This is important in keeping track of when you have sent a thank you message and other marketing material out. If donors are flooded with information from your organization, eventually anything they receive from you will seem like a request for something or spam. To avoid having your non-profit’s materials being tossed aside as “junk-mail” make sure you know when you last contacted them and connect on a regular yet controlled basis.

By keeping well-maintained records you can help eliminate the two huge causes for donor fatigue of asking too often and asking for too little money. Make your contact and requests with your donor meaningful so they are inclined to always listen. It is also a good idea to ask your donor at some point how often they want to hear from you and receive information so that you are both on the same page.

3. Follow Up

The most common reason that people stop donating to non-profits is because they were treated poorly after past donations. After all, nobody wants to feel like a walking ATM as is the case when donors never hear “thank you” and instead receive more requests for donations. The golden rule of “doing unto others what you would want done unto you” is a phrase that you should constantly reflect on when following up with donors. Show them the same compassion and genuine appreciation you would want to be shown if you were in their shoes. By utilizing two basic steps, giving thanks to your donor and showing them how their money made an impact, you can do just this. Below, the steps are broken down for a clearer understanding.

Give Thanks: While thanking your donor does not have to be an extravagant matter, it is essential to the fundraising process. Your nonprofit should set aside time in its fundraising schedule specifically to reach out to past donors and simply thank them. The best ways to do this are a phone call or a handwritten letter, and it is never a bad idea to do both. A common mistake that many nonprofits make is having their thank you notes sound too much like donation receipts. Relate your method of thanks back to the first step in improving your fundraising and be personable! And remember, it is never a bad idea to thank them more than once.
Demonstrate Donor Impact: People get tired of donation requests if all they hear is what their money can do, not what their money did. Even with a donation of $25, the donor’s money positively affected the nonprofit in some way. Speak to this impact when thanking your donors so they know their money is not being wasted. Creating clear and distinct individual campaigns helps create a better understanding of where the donor’s money went and inspire them to continue to help.

Summary

Donor fatigue is a common problem among nonprofits but can be easily avoided by taking preventative measures and addressing the causes as they arise. Refer to the following list as a summarized version of what you can do to keep your donors from feeling fatigued:

Manage your donor database well- know everything about your donor!
Give high priority to donor recognition- utilize a whole program for donor recognition beyond thank you letters.
Be prepared when you go to your donors- use your well-maintained records to feel confident you are asking for the right donation amount at the right time.
Constantly seek new donors and diversify your funding- start a “new donor acquisition” program specifically to recruit new donors and add diversity to your donor pool.
Maintain personal relationships with donors- reach out to them without always asking for money.

Additional Resources

To obtain additional information on how you can reduce donor fatigue, please refer to the following articles:

For more information, please visit the Giersch Group at www.gierschgroup.com or contact us at prosper@gierschgroup.com.

Return to News