https://bloomerang.co/resources/webinars/ Did you know the best way to build a robust individual giving program is to keep your current donors giving year after year, upgrading to larger and larger gifts, while you work on finding new prospects to add to the mix? Join Pamela Grow for a discussion on how to build better and stronger relationships with your donors. She will give you a step-by-step program for keeping your donors giving year-after-year.

1. Loving
Your
Donors
5 THINGS YOU
CAN START
DOING RIGHT
NOW TO
CREATE
LIFETIME
DONOR
RELATIONSHIPS

2. ABOUT ME
Publisher: The Grow Report weekly enews
Author
•Five Days to Foundation Grants
•Simple Development Systems
Founder
Simple Development Systems | The Membership
Program
Co-creator
100 Donors in 90 Days
The Donor Retention Project
DONOR-FOCUSED DEVELOPMENT: FROM THE GROUND UP

3. DO YOU KNOW YOUR RETENTION RATE?
“Over 70% of people that
we recruit into
organizations never come
back and make another
gift, so we’re caught on
this treadmill where we
have to spend lots of
money on acquisition
which most nonprofits lose
money on anyway, just to
stand still.”
- Dr. Adrian Sargeant

4. A SIMPLE WAY TO CALCULATE
https://bloomerang.co/retention

5. Remember...
the cost to acquire a
new donor is 6-7 times
that to retain existing
donors.

6. Increase your donor
retention by just 10%
today and you can
enhance the lifetime
value of your donor
base by 200%

8. “taking positive steps to
reduce gift and donor losses is
the least expensive strategy
for increasing fundraising
income.”
Roger Craver

9. ARE YOU READY TO STOP YOUR ORGANIZATION’S
LEAKY BUCKET??

10. 5 THINGS YOU CAN START DOING RIGHT NOW TO
CREATE LIFETIME DONOR RELATIONSHIPS
QUODSI FUISSET NE MEI. EAM AN JUSTO DETRACTO. DUO AT IDQUE DETRACTO.

11. How did you get here?

12. “Quodsi ne mei. Eam an justo
detracto. Duo at idque integre
detracto, in alia agam. At eam
odio probatus. Porro
mediocritatem”

13. THIS IS HOW MY THANK YOU
LETTERS USED TO READ...

14. 5 THINGS YOU CAN START
DOING RIGHT NOW
Start with your thank
you letter

15. SAY THANK YOU LIKE YOU
MEAN IT!

16. 7 COMPONENTS OF AN IDEAL
THANK YOU LETTER
1.Personalization.
2.A captivating opening.
3.Impact.
4.Let them know how they
can be in touch.
5.Have you referenced their
gift amount and/or past
giving?
6.Is it donor-focused?
7.Hand-sign your thank you
letters.

17. BEFORE...

18. AFTER

19. PUT ‘EM IN A BINDER!
•Thank you for annual fund donation
•Thank you for in-kind donation
•Thank you for board gift
•Thank you for bequest gift
•Thank you for in-memoriam gift
•Thank you for foundation grant
•Initial thank you for monthly gift
•Thank you for bequest gift
•Direct mail thank you for online gift/
email thank you for online gift

20. DON’T FORGET YOUR EMAIL
THANK YOU

21. WHAT’S YOUR PLAN FOR NEW
DONORS?

22. FOR NEW DONORS...WITHIN 60
DAYS OF THE THANK YOU LETTER
•Follow up with a welcome
kit
•Thank you calls
•Call them with an invitation
to join your organization’s
monthly giving program
•Your thoughts?

23. WHAT GOES IN A FIRST-TIME
DONOR WELCOME KIT?
•New donor newsletter
•FAQ statement
•“Pass it on” packet
•Invitation to join
monthly giving
•Annual report
•Donation envelope

24. WELCOME NEWSLETTER

25. “PASS IT ON” PACKET
QUODSI FUISSET NE MEI. EAM AN JUSTO DETRACTO. DUO AT IDQUE DETRACTO.

26. AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR
LAPSED DONORS?
Let them know
you love them
and miss them and want them

27. 5 THINGS YOU CAN START
DOING RIGHT NOW
1. Start with your
thank you letter
2. Thank you calls

28. “A thank you call to a
newly acquired donor
yields 40% more
revenue in year two.”
Penelope Burk, Fundraising
Statistician

29. DAILY GRATITUDE CALLS

30. CREATE A RITUAL
“The one thing that we have done is to
phone every donor when the donation
is received and thank them BEFORE
doing anything else.”
Sharon Evans President
BC Schizophrenia Society Penticton BC
V2A 5K2

31. 5 THINGS YOU CAN START
DOING RIGHT NOW
Start with your thank
you letter
Show impact before
you ask for another
gift
Thank you calls

33. SHOW IMPACT
•Newsletters
•Impact reports
•Email updates
•Welcome kit
•Facebook; social
media posts
•Get your program
staff involved
•Your thoughts?

34. Social Media

35. VIDEO

36. 5 THINGS YOU CAN START
DOING RIGHT NOW
Start with your thank
you letter
Show impact before
you ask for another
gift
How well do you
know your donors?
Surveying
Thank you calls

37. WHAT DO YOUR DONORS REALLY THINK?

38. SAMPLE SURVEY QUESTIONS
What donors say they want and what they actually respond to
are two different things.
1.What first motivated you to support us?
2.What area/s of our work are you most passionate about?
3.For animal rights organizations, ask about their pets
Personal questions:
Level of education, employment status, date of birth give you a
good idea of who your best donors are.

39. 5 THINGS YOU CAN START
DOING RIGHT NOW
Start with your thank
you letter
Show impact before
you ask for another
gift
How well do you
know your donors?
Surveying
Thank you calls
Get your board on
board!

40. “Stop asking your
board members
to find new

41. CULTIVATE AN ATTITUDE
OF GRATITUDE WITHIN YOUR BOARD
•Board thank you calls
•Handwritten thank you notes
from board members
•Encourage board members to
share impact stories
•Have board members invite
donors to insider events
•Ask donors for advice
•Your thoughts?

42. WE’VE COVERED...
Why you should care about retention
How to write the perfect thank you letter
Donor calls
Showing impact
Getting board involved in the process

43. “The top of the pyramid isn’t people with money. It’s
people with deep connection to the mission. We’ve all
seen instances where people without a lot of dispensable
income really stretched to make a significant gift to
something that matters to them — to an organization where
they feel engaged in the work, connected to the leaders, on
fire about the impact. My husband and I have done that,
when we were leaders on boards, and we’re not rich. If we
think about the top of the pyramid (or triangle) being the
people with fire in their belly about our work, it takes the
focus off rich people. I’d rather have a donor base full of
people without a lot of resources who care deeply, than
with rich people who don’t.”
Susan Howlett

44. You must see your current
donors as the valuable assets
that they are!

45. RESOURCES

46. QUESTION TIME

47. A YEAR’S WORTH OF TRAINING &
SUPPORT