Soapbox Engage Blog

It’s the happiest season of all for fundraisers and a time for celebrating as all the hard work of the past year comes to fruition. Individuals gave more than $324 billion in 2021, and 30% of all donations come in during December, this means over $97 billion is headed your collective way in the next few weeks. That’s something to celebrate!

While you’re celebrating the windfall that is December, it’s important to remember to lay the foundation for repeat gifts well into the next year. Here are some simple tactics to ensure that you’re keeping your donors for as long as possible.

Table of Contents

1. Genuine Gratitude for Your Donors
2. Share Impact with Your Donors
3. Improve Your Fundraising Tools

1. Genuine Gratitude

The days of starting a thank you with “Thank you for your gift of $XX.” are over. Surprise your donors, delight them, but most of all: mean it. Authenticity in your gratitude for the gifts you receive makes the difference from the very start. Feeling a little stale on sharing your appreciation? Check out our blog post on how to write the perfect thank you email. Remember, this is the first step in a long-term relationship, not just scratching “send thank you letters” off your checklist. Be thoughtful and be genuine.

2. Share Impact

One of the top reasons donors only donate once to your nonprofit is that they don’t know the impact of their contribution. Donors need to know that the gift was received, that it’s being put to the designated use, and that it’s having an impact. Sometimes, that’s easy because dollars turn around and have an immediate impact, like many organizations that are providing basic needs. Sometimes it’s slightly more intangible and you have to work a little harder to make the dollar-to-impact connection.

Easy or not to share impact, donors need to know what their giving has done or how they have helped solve the problem.

3. Improve Your Tools

You have to make everything as easy as possible for your donors. Your job is to remove any and all impediments to handing over that donation to your organization. That begins with a clear call to action, a simple donation form or reply envelope, an easy to navigate website, etc. How easy is it for your donors to give online? Are you distracting them with too many options? Check out this blog post on how to optimize your web experience for donors.

Does your website have a donation form? Is it simple to give from any device? It might be time for you to look into a donations tool. With the Soapbox Engage Donations app, you can delight your donors with elegant, mobile-friendly forms, slash overhead with real-time CRM integration, and raise more money to fund your mission. And that's just the beginning. Learn more about the tool and affordable nonprofit pricing.

 

These simple things can make a major difference in making sure your bounty of December persists through the year. Now go forth and fundraise!

Here are a few more resources to help with donor retention and fundraising:

• 5 Simple Tips to Improve Donor Relations: Donor care is both an art and a science. This blog post has five simple tips to make sure you’re caring for donors to the best of your organization’s ability.
• Top Donor Incentives to Maximize Fundraising Results: Donor incentives are popular in the nonprofit world. This blog post features opinions, insights, and tips from industry experts to help you choose the best approach for your organization.
• A Complete Guide to Nonprofit Donation Receipts: Just like expressing gratitude and informing them of their impact, the Donation Receipt is an essential part of properly managing donor relations. This blog post is a guide to everything you need to know.