Try These Nonprofit Donor Retention Tweaks with BIG, Happy Outcomes
Have you ever received confoundingly terrible customer service? Maybe at a restaurant, hotel, fast food restaurant or retail outlet? It happens all the time and, likely, you’ve thought to yourself: “Why on earth are they treating me like this? It’s so stupid! Don’t they realize I’ll never come here again?”
Sadly, this is exactly what many donors feel when:
- You make it difficult for them to give.
- They receive poor follow up from you.
- You don’t seem to know them, or even try to get to know them.
- You treat them as one of the masses, rather than making them feel special.
- You ignore what they’ve told you or shown you.
“Customer service, like everything an effective organization does, changes people.”
Part of the Problem is Culture
Think about it. When you experience poor service in the for-profit world, it’s likely because the person with whom you’re interacting has no stake in the business. They see their job as just a job, and really don’t care about the business as a whole. Whether or not a customer returns again means little to them.
This also happens at nonprofits without a donor-centered culture of philanthropy. While the customer, or donor, may not always be exactly “right,” it is imperative everyone in your organization recognizes and appreciates the value donors bring.
“Each person directly associated with your organization should value donors and implicitly or explicitly express that value with gratitude and appreciation. No exceptions.”
— Brian Lauterbach, fundraiser, consultant, entrepreneur
“Without tackling internal issues head-on, we believe the prospects for major fundraising progress are limited. In most organizations, fundraising is limited more by organizational culture and structure than by lack of strategic or tactical know-how.”
— Alia McKee and Mark Rovner, Founders, Sea Change Strategies
DetailsNOTE: How to instill a culture of philanthropy is a topic for another article (like this one), but at base it has to do with how people treat each other in your organization.
Want your donors to sustain you? Then you can’t consume them in five minutes.
I generally counsel nonprofits to 
Today a friend, who serves on the board of a struggling local arts organization, asked me what they can do to increase their fundraising. I asked her a few questions; then answered simply: “Have more conversations with people; make more friends.”
Here is some wisdom gleaned from many decades of personal nonprofit work.
For good things once a year is not enough. Why do so many of us only eat turkey once a year? 
This Thursday folks in the United States will celebrate what I consider to be the social benefit sector holiday of the year.
What do you spend more time on? Asking or thanking?