What are you doing for your loyal donors?

Your loyal donors matter

My friend Barbara O’Reilly is that wonderful combination of truly caring and brilliant. And this post is thanks to an important point she raised in one of her emails. (You can get yours here… well worth it!)

She wrote about how often fundraisers think in terms of moving donors into larger gifts. It’s almost a given that this is how to raise more money. But what if, Barbara asks, those steady donors, who give the same amount year after year, aren’t a fundraiser failure, but the bedrock of your giving program?

SUCH a good point!

Not every donor has the means or the interest in increasing their giving. And while you can offer opportunities to increase their gifts, you don’t want to push them away by implying what they give isn’t enough.

One way to pull those donors closer is to recognize them. Not by their dollar amount, but by their longevity. These are people who have given to you several times. They understand your mission and they support it. So constantly urging them to give more starts to subtly say, “you’re not enough.”

What if, instead, you celebrated them?

Here’s what you can do

Of course, you’ll thank them well and promptly. That’s a given, right?

Then identify these donors. Dive into their records and data. What first inspired their gift? How long have they been giving? What do you know about them?

Then let them know you see them.

Acknowledge their long-term giving. Thank them for it, without a request for more.

Create a special group for these constant stars. Give it a name that works for your organization.

Create a get-together or two (or more!) for the group. These gatherings don’t have to be fancy. But they can serve a few purposes. You have a chance to know these donors better (and they get to know the people behind the mission). And – this might be my favorite part – they get to know each other.

This is where it gets really beautiful. Because every relationship they develop with other people who also care about your cause just multiplies their ties to you.

Think of it like weaving… the denser the threads, the stronger the cloth.

Of course, it helps if you can highlight your mission at this gathering. (But please, not with speeches.) In the past, an organization I worked with invited an author who wrote about a topic that related to the mission. It was both interesting and not obviously self-serving. And when I was at a theater… well, built-in opportunities. (Tony Kushner is as brilliant in person as you might imagine. And talks very fast. Our donors adored him.)

One last note: keep in mind that these loyal donors may be the best prospects for legacy giving. They might not have the means for a large gift now. But their constancy is a great clue about how much they care. Make sure you let them know – in newsletters, for example – that you would welcome a conversation about a gift in their will whenever they’d like.

All donors really do matter. They’ve raised their hand to say they care. And that should be recognized, no matter the number of zeroes in their gifts. Try this and let me know how it goes!