The Donor Experience: A 360-Degree View

Suzanne Bellanger
Manager, Direct Marketing and Strategic Stewardship at Brown University
Linkedin: Suzanne-Ferro-Bellanger

With all the competition for donor dollars that the current political and social climate is generating, it’s becoming harder and harder for non-profit organizations to attract new supporters. Acquisition alone cannot sustain a healthy growth model. Instead, non-profit organizations must find innovative and compelling ways to retain and encourage expanded support from active donors.

To keep donors giving year after year, you should engage with them in ways that go beyond their gift transaction. Donors want to feel as though they are a valuable part of the organization. Donors that stick around are the ones who believe they’re doing more than just writing a check. That’s why creating a “donor experience” that keeps supporters engaged with the mission and involved with the organization is so important.

A good donor experience is one where the donor feels appreciated and recognized. A great donor experience goes beyond that and makes the donor feel as though they are an integral part of the organization and invaluable to the mission and goals.

The Donor View

A key factor in creating a donor experience that maximizes long-term value is a non-profit’s ability to view the relationship from the perspective of the donor. An organization must understand why and how a donor gives in order to determine which touchpoints will be most effective in keeping their support strong for the long term.

Studying donor behavior will help create a positive experience from the start of the relationship.  Making it easy and accessible for prospects to give where they WANT to give increases the likelihood that they will give. Whether it’s mobile, online, email or traditional direct mail, every donor has a preferred method of giving. Studying your donors’ giving histories gives your organization a roadmap to follow. Segmenting your donor base based on giving behavior and soliciting them through their preferred channel will help your organization enhance donor experience from the very beginning.

Make sure each channel provides an easy, user-friendly donation option. Your online giving form should be simple and easy to use, and donors should feel confident that it’s secure; (you can achieve this by using Hypertext Transfer Protocol). Emails should include a link to the giving page, ideally driving the donor to a pre-filled form that encourages them to give at your target ask amount. Your direct mail appeals should always include a trackable remittance form that’s concise and easy to read.

Make It Easy, Make It Meaningful

Securing a gift from a new or existing donor is a great start, but it’s just the beginning of the lifecycle. Once a donor has made their gift, the relationship building should begin immediately and in earnest. 

If a donor gives a gift online, make sure you send an automatic email thanking them immediately after the transaction happens and make sure this correspondence is as personal as you can make it. At the very least, address the donor by name. If capabilities allow, go even further and send a personalized video. Companies like Thank View are making this much more accessible for non-profits of all sizes. After the initial acknowledgement, follow up with a written note, again making it as personal as possible. Using “Dear Friend” as a salutation won’t do anything to help establish a deep, personal connection.

If a donor doesn’t feel as though the organization knows them personally, or doesn’t feel appreciated, they will turn their attention elsewhere. There are too many great causes vying for donor dollars. In order to keep your donors loyal, you need to assure them that their money is making a real difference, and that their investment is truly and deeply appreciated. When corresponding with your donors, always think about it from their perspective. Address them by name, mention something specific that their money will help provide, remind them that without their support, you would not be able to continue your important work and thank them. And then thank them again. 

Show your donors you know them by doing small, special things that feel personal. Send them an email on their birthday or congratulate them on the anniversary of their first gift date.

Don’t Forget the Face-to-Face

Correspondences are great, but nothing works better to build strong relationships than face-to-face contact. Even though we’re living in a digital world, it would be a mistake to overlook the power of in-person interactions.  Appreciation events, seminars and other happenings that bring your donors into your physical space help build a relationship that doesn’t feel one-sided, and go a long way in keeping donors engaged and motivated to keep giving. In fact, The Abila 018 Donor Experience study in donor behavior reports that 63% of non-profit donors are more likely to give a gift after having a positive experience at an event hosted by the organization.

If budget or staff limitations hinder your organization’s ability to host events, consider conducting periodic interactive webinars about relevant topics that highlight your accomplishments and demonstrate an on-going need for support. Or set up a thank-you calling program using volunteers or staff members. A simple one-minute conversation with a real person who has benefited from donor support can make a big impression and have a lasting impact.

Another way to help create an exceptional donor experience is to encourage active volunteerism. Opportunities exist to engage volunteers as peer fundraisers, ask them to assist with events, encourage them to become social media ambassadors, and get them involved directly with services your organization provides.

Case Study: Social Media Ambassadors

Perhaps the strategy that is the most straightforward to implement and has the biggest reach potential is social media ambassadorship. When a donor commits to being a social media ambassador, they agree to push out content you develop through their social media channels using their personal or professional profile or handle. The benefit of this is twofold: it keeps your donor abreast of all your current accomplishments while constantly reinforcing your message, and it casts a much wider net, spreading awareness about your organization to contacts you might not otherwise reach.

At the university where I work, we grew our social media ambassador program from 42 donors to over 500 in less than two years. In those two years, we’ve seen participation and donor dollars also rise considerably — so much so that we had a record breaking fundraising year last year. Our social media ambassador program certainly didn’t achieve that on its own, but it definitely contributed to it.

There are so many different elements of a donor’s experience that influence their decision to continue their support of your organization. Taking time to map out correspondences, touch points and interactions for your constituents from the very first gift and through all their gift cycles helps ensure that your organization is doing all it can to keep your donors engaged and committed. This in turn helps ensure that you are maximizing the lifetime value of each and every donor.