7 STEPS TO MOVING DONORS UP
Getting new donors. Keeping those donors. These are the two things that most fundraisers focus on. But what about the third leg of the successful fundraising stool: Moving donors up the giving ladder. Not necessarily getting an annual donor to become a major one, but moving a $100 donor to make a $250 gift—or even just a $25 donor moving up to $35. In this age of inflation, staying still means you are losing ground. And that is something you never, ever want to do.
Let’s look at the critical steps that will help you to move your donors up, and increase your fundraising results.
Take Einstein’s definition of insanity—“doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” — to heart. If you keep asking donors for a git in the same way, you will probably get the same gift. Or no gift at all. Instead, shake things up. Approach your donor in different way
Remember the “rights” of fundraising. Make sure that the right person is asking the right prospect to give the right amount at the right time for the right project in the right way. Especially, make sure that the right person is doing the asking
Consider how you would ask for an increased amount. What are the things you must be saying? Above all, remind them of the importance of their generosity and what a larger gift would mean to your clients or your cause
Learn what motivates your donors. Reach out—via surveys, social media, phone calls, focus groups, salons—and listen to what move them to greater generosity
Begin your fundraising journey with gratitude. Before you can move a donor up, you have to keep that donor. This means more than just saying thank you. Show them the value of their support.
Recognize your donors—but do so in ways that speak to them. That means—again!—reaching out and talking with them. Ask them if they want to be on an honor roll, would they be willing to be the subject of a newsletter article, meet the people who benefit from their support? What would make them feel that their gift is doing what they want it to do?
Ask. That seems obvious but a good ask needs to be clear. Start with acknowledging their support and what it means to the organization and the people or cause you serve. Then ask for a specific increase. Will this be a dollar amount or a percentage increase. Will you ask them to level up and go from being a member of your silver giving club to the gold? Then, in broad strokes, tell them what this increase will do for your clients, and finally ask if you can count on their generosity.
Of course, not everyone will say yes. Indeed, since most fundraising happens at arms’ length, many people will not say anything at all. But don’t take their silence as the last word. Resend whatever you already sent out; reach out in a different way; wait a few weeks and then ask again; find a peer who would be willing to approach them and ask that they “join with me” in supporting your awesome organization and increasing the amount of their last gift.