5 free ways for your nonprofit to improve donor relations.

A little personalization goes a long way when it comes to donor relationship management. You might not realize it, but your donor database is bursting with potential. 

There is potential to increase engagement, support donor retention, build awareness with new donors, and raise more funds for your nonprofit organization. But (there’s always a but), it’s important to remember that the key to unlocking solid donor relationships isn’t in as many generic, mass emails to as many donors as possible. It’s in giving each donor the time and attention they deserve. 

After all, they’re giving your nonprofit time, attention, and money. We’re here to help you return the favor in this article, full of savvy communications and donor cultivation strategies. 

It doesn’t contain all the answers, but it is a great place to start and will hopefully inspire other ideas. Alternatively, you can check out this article on the best donor management software.

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Donor relationships are the heart of fundraising

Donor relationship management encompasses donor acquisition as well as donor retention. It’s just as important to keep loyal existing donors with you while also attracting a new wave of donors.

It’s all about creating a personalized donor communication plan and keeping supporters engaged with your cause. This doesn’t mean writing personal emails to every donor for every campaign. 

It’s more about tweaking which emails you send to which donors, how many campaign variations you run, and, yes, a personal email, phone call, or text every so often. Below, we’ll look at a few free donor communication tips to help your nonprofit retain donors by keeping them engaged.

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What does “donor relations” mean?

Donor relations refer to organizations' strategies to maintain and enhance relationships with those who support their cause through donations. The goal is to make each donor feel equally appreciated, updated, and connected to the community they’re supporting.

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Solid donor relationships lead to:

• Ongoing donor stewardship

• Increased donor interaction

• A memorable donor experience

• Improved donor retention rates

• Timely donor outreach

• More potential major donors

• More repeat donors (like recurring monthly donors)

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What is a donor management process?

A donor management process is all about the systems and organized approach that can integrate relationship building into a fundraising strategy. It requires looking at the entire donor lifecycle, from a nonprofit's first impression on potential donors to how they stay with the organization over time.

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Stages of the donor lifecycle to prioritize

• Donor awareness: Nonprofit organizations are capturing the interest of potential donors by educating them about their missions, stories, and work. This stage can often include marketing, outreach, and public relations.

• Donor interest: Potential donors begin to show interest in nonprofits or causes they want to learn more about. This stage is important for offering more information and telling your story with annual reports and more frequent updates.

• Donor engagement: Nonprofits actively engage potential donors to build a deep connection that helps them become ongoing givers. This stage is great for events, volunteer opportunities, and personal email updates.

• First donation: A supporter chooses to donate for the first time. This stage is essential for a smooth and memorable experience with recognition and follow-up.

• Donor retention: Nonprofits focus on keeping donors loyal to their cause and engaged in the mission through personalized communication and reminders of continued need.

• Donor cultivation: Nonprofits seek to strengthen their relationships with donors and involve them in more ways through participation in annual events, various campaign types, peer-to-peer fundraising, and becoming recurring donors. This is also a time for donor appreciation.

• Donor advocacy: Nonprofits seek loyal donors to become advocates and help spread the word to potential donors. This stage centers on providing the right amount of genuine outreach and support to make sharing easier.

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5 donor stewardship best practices

While every organization's donor stewardship efforts will look a bit different, below are some great tips to help you make a strong impression at every stage of the donor lifecycle.

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1. Donor segmentation (messaging for one-time, recurring, and major donors)

Not every donor who supports your nonprofit does so for the same reason. You can segment your donors into a few sub-databases based on their motivation(s) for being drawn to the work your nonprofit is doing and what part of the donor journey they're on. 

On top of that, not every donor likes to communicate in the same way, and they may not even live in the same part of the world as you. Look at the available data you may already have to determine when a donor began giving. 

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Consider donor segmentation aspects like the campaigns they have donated to, their average donation amount, whether or not their donation was in memoriam, if they give regularly, or any patterns when giving tends to be more likely. If you do not have access to this data, you could begin gathering it by sending out surveys to donors to get more insight into what each donor intended to accomplish with their generosity. 

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Questions for building donor relationships:

• What attracted a donor to your cause?

• Why might they dedicate their time/energy/money to helping your nonprofit?

• Are donors more likely to give one-time or regularly?

• What motivates a major donor?

• How did you find out about your nonprofit organization in the first place?

• Why did they decide to donate to your nonprofit organization?

• Do they talk about [your nonprofit organization with friends and family?

• Do certain donors prefer talking on the phone to chatting via email or text?

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Knowing this type of information can help you reach out to them and discuss what aspects of your mission resonate with them and what convinced them to donate to your organization. To make things easier for yourself in the future, consider adding some optional questions to your donation forms. 

Asking the right questions helps you better understand the donor journey you’re creating and how to make the biggest difference at any stage you’re reaching them.

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2. Empathetic and effective donor communications

When personalizing your donor communications plan, asking what you can do for donors is a good mindset. One of the best things you can do for building strong donor relationships is to include them in the conversation.

Reach out to donors regularly to get to know them. Ask them why they chose your nonprofit. Share stories from other donors and the work you’re doing. Ask them what their needs are and, if your organization can provide it, offer your services to them. 

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Communication tips for building donor relationships:

• If your organization provides mental health resources, ensure your donors know how to get help.

• If your nonprofit shelters animals, make sure your donors know how they can help and what to do if they see an animal in need

• If your nonprofit feeds students breakfast every morning, let your donors know how to volunteer and sign up if they need the service.

Being empathetic and curious enough to ask donors how you can help them is a great way to show donors that you care about them and are invested in supporting the entire network of people involved with your nonprofit organization.

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3. Be transparent about your nonprofit's successes and failures

Being honest and transparent with donors is one of the most simple yet effective donor relationship management strategies that not many nonprofit organizations take advantage of. People increasingly want (and expect) to know how their money impacts the world around them, and your nonprofit donors are no different.

This effective donor stewardship approach will take some getting used to. It will probably require your nonprofit to make changes and accept that there is always room for improvement. 

You may get a lot of feedback, so keep an open mind. Transparency is a journey that will help you engage donors and see them become more dedicated to your nonprofit.

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What should you be transparent about?

• Try to itemize some of your organization's expenses. For example, if your organization provides meals to those experiencing food insecurity, try to figure out how much one of those meals costs on average.

• If you host a fundraising event, be open about the breakeven amount and why you’re hosting it (e.g., to thank donors, attract new donors, promote a specific cause, etc.).

• Talk about your learnings along the way. You can always improve things, so it’s important to be honest and open about what they are.

• Ask for help. If one of your learnings clearly showed you could have used a certain expertise, ask for help next time.

Informing donors with tangible indicators of their impact will make them feel like they are making a measurable difference in the lives of others and help them understand how your nonprofit works and why it’s so important to continue giving.

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4. Share stories to build strong donor relationships

Stories are a powerful way to inspire and engage donors and volunteers. They can demonstrate to donors the impact of their generosity, inspire them to volunteer, encourage them to share your nonprofit with people they know, and help donors feel connected to your nonprofit.

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There are a few types of stories you can share:

• Stories from individuals who have been helped by your organization.

• Case studies or testimonials from team members, volunteers, businesses, etc.

• Personal stories of why people decided to get involved with your nonprofit.

• Stories from team members about the inner workings of your nonprofit. (Be honest and transparent!)

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5. Boost donor retention with recognition for loyalty

Having an attitude of gratitude can go a long way for donor retention Taking the time to send thank-you letters for donations sends the message that you value your donors.

Thanking your donors personally will make them feel appreciated for the time, energy, and money they have generously dedicated to helping your cause. These thank you messages can take the form of a personal gift acknowledgment letter from someone in your organization or, better yet, a thank you message from one of the recipients of your organization’s help.

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‍A few ideas for donor retention:

• Publicly thank them by giving them shout-outs on social media or your newsletter. (Just ask for their permission first.)

• Tag donors in a thank-you message on social media is a great way to increase your organization's visibility beyond your network while opening up a larger conversation about charitable giving.

• A newsletter shout-out can also make donors feel appreciated for their contributions while recognizing them as part of the team that helps your nonprofit do more good!

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Cultivate strong relationships with donor management software

Donor management software is designed to support nonprofits with small teams focused on donor relationships and large organizations scaling their efforts. Tasks like segmenting donors, organizing donor appreciation events, establishing automated email nurture streams, and collecting donor data that informs the donor stewardship process becomes more manageable. 

A single donor management platform can be a go-to for meaningful relationship building with current donors and potential supporters who show interest in various ways. Making donors feel connected can take much time and effort, especially when you customize outreach. That’s why donor management tools simplify the process of mass communication, allowing nonprofits to maintain strong donor relationships without needing additional hours and resources to keep up.

Here’s a little checklist to help you identify the best donor management software for your organization.

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Donor management software feature checklist

• Is it possible to segment donors by one time donors, recurring donors, major donors, smaller donors, and those who participate in various fundraising campaigns?

• Can you send surveys to evaluate donor’s expectations and communication preferences?

• Are there online communication tools that automate messages and each gift acknowledgement letter?

• Will the tools available support increasing donor retention?

• Can you search for a particular donor for information like that donor’s gifts, giving history, and tenure?

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Become a donor relations guru with Zeffy

Zeffy’s free donor management software helps nonprofits securely store and organize data for relationship building at every stage of the donor journey. Engaging with the right supporter at the right time is everything for an impactful donor relations strategy, and Zeffy is here to make it a breeze without additional costs.

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Frequently asked questions about donor relationship management

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