Think about your closest friends—the ones you turn to when you need a listener, an advocate, someone to celebrate with. Chances are that your closest friends are also your longest-term friends. The same concept can be applied to donors. Often, your most important and reliable donors are the ones with whom you’ve developed a trusted, long-term relationship.
Long-term donor relationships are key to the sustainability and success of any charity. The good news is that the proportion of long-term, frequent donors has been holding steady in recent years, according to a Charities Aid Foundation UK Giving report. Cultivating long-term relationships with your donors can help you maximise your fundraising efforts. You can also engage these donors to be high-impact messengers for your cause. Yet, how exactly do you build these relationships?
In this post, we’ll help you understand donor motivations and incorporate key strategies to build long-term donor relationships, from effective storytelling to leaning into trust and loyalty.
Understanding Donor Motivations
There is no singular reason people give to charity. A recent survey suggests that the biggest motivation to give is to help others in need, followed by helping a friend or family member, social responsibility, and helping the local community. We also know that some donors are motivated to give, in part, due to tax benefits. The motivation to support your charity is as individualistic as the donor themself.
Take a step back and investigate why supporters are giving to your charity. Ideally, your team is capturing data on your fundraising activities. Explore connections to specific themes or campaigns—did a certain activity (e.g., an in-person physical challenge versus a social media campaign) generate more donations than others? Why do you think that is so?
You can supplement your own findings with other known facts about charitable giving to refine and optimise your future fundraising campaigns. For example, women are more likely than men to give to charity frequently and older individuals (those over 65) are also more likely to make recurring donations. We’re also learning more about the geographical nature of giving. The latest UK Giving report (March 2024) suggests that charities must seek to understand the geography of their donor base and explore areas of the country where campaigns could be better targeted (including “pockets of untapped generosity”).
Effective and Targeted Communication
After you’ve analysed the giving trends at your charity, it’s time to think about how you’ll communicate with your supporters. Storytelling, annual reports, sustainability certifications, and case studies are all effective tools to share your charity’s values and foster trust and clarity. If you have the capacity, consider tailoring your communications to suit the interests and preferences of individual donor “personas”, such as female-identifying supporters, older people, first-time givers, and large donors. People also like to receive information in various ways. If possible, leverage multiple modalities to share your story, including printed letters, digital communications and social media, and multimedia storytelling. And, in all your communications, be clear, honest, and open about your charity’s operations and impact.
Showing Appreciation
Here’s another trend: most donors don’t share their charitable efforts with others. However, people respond positively to donors talking about their giving. When donors do tell others about their giving, it’s most often because they want to raise awareness of the cause and encourage others to do the same. To encourage your donors to raise their voice, you might consider providing a “sharekit” of sorts with ready-to-use language that could be posted on a donor’s personal or professional social media platforms. You might also tag or mention your recent donors in a special monthly “thank you” post.
It’s also important to return the generosity! Donors have a lot of options, and they took the time to support your unique cause. Consider adding branded merchandise to your toolkit to show your appreciation. For example, you might gift a branded pin badge, magnet, or water bottle for first-time givers, recurring donors, or for people who give above a specific amount. It’s a proven, cost-effective way to acknowledge the contributions of your donors. As an added benefit, the branded merchandise will help your charity stay top of mind and might even encourage others to get involved.
Engaging Donors in Your Mission
The best donor is an engaged donor! There are countless ways people can support your charity beyond financial contributions. This might be volunteering at an upcoming event or making in-kind donations of needed goods or services. Consider showcasing inspiring stories of people who have creatively supported your charity, perhaps via a monthly “volunteer spotlight” or case studies that demonstrate the tangible impact of monetary or in-kind donations. This is also an opportunity to think about local businesses that might appreciate the positive exposure of partnering with your cause.
Another way to engage your donors is to speak directly with them. Encourage your supporters to provide feedback and make suggestions. Ask them why they were motivated to donate. Invite groups of donors to attend special VIP coffee gatherings or tours of your headquarters. The more connected and engaged your donors are, the more likely they are to continue to support your case—and to encourage others to do the same. Engaging your supporters not only shows them that their opinions are valued, it also provides invaluable insights on how to optimise your future activities and reach more people!
Building Trust and Loyalty
Supporters will want to know where and how their donations will be used. They care about the social and environmental impact of their donations, whether it’s a financial donation or a gift of time or goods. The concept of sustainable giving means providing clear information to your supporters to help them make conscious, values-driven choices when it comes to giving.
The Office for National Statistics reports that nearly 75% of adults are worried about climate change. In your communications, highlight how your charity is supporting the social and environmental issues that people care about. In other words, if you already walk the walk, then why not talk the talk? If you opt for branded charitable merchandise from Rocket Charities, you’re one step ahead: you can share how your charity opted to partner with a local company that follows stringent ethical manufacturing guidelines and is a Climate Positive Business. You can learn more here.
We hope this post helps you understand the importance of long-term donor relationships and how you can cultivate lasting and impactful connections to your supporters, old and new. In what other ways are you using storytelling, strategy, merchandise, or insights to foster engagement with your supporters? We’d love to hear more! Please reach out anytime.