Where you’re Going Wrong with Donor Retention – Purely Practical SMIT for February
Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you): the odds are good that you’re searching for love in all the wrong places.
Do a little spring cleaning and get rid of your apathetic donors. I don’t mean you should toss them out the window. I mean you should do something to overcome their apathy. It’s not their fault. Chances are it’s yours. I know that may sound harsh. But, gosh darn it, we betray our donors all the time. Instead, we should go to them and give them some love. It’s really not that hard to retain your donors; you simply must have a strategy.
Most of us don’t even see the mess we’re making. Just like that pile of papers that’s sitting over in the corner waiting to be tended to, our eyes glaze over. We’re apt to virtually ignore the broad base of donors in the middle, as well as our donors who lapse. We send them one or two perfunctory renewal appeals; then we’re done. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because announcing a big upgrade and securing a new donor just seems a lot sexier than renewing folks. But sustainable fundraising is not about sexy.
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