Creating a Strategic Engagement Plan For Your Donors

Just in case fundraising doesn’t have enough variables to manage, there are myriad of external factors, from changes in the economic or political landscapes to viral trends, which may impact your organization’s actual fundraising results. Even with a robust donor-centric organization, a dynamic, enthusiastic team and a solid, vigorous strategy, sometimes donor retention rates will be beyond disappointing. How can you halt a downward spiral?

First, both your organization’s comprehensive strategic plan and fundraising strategy need to have enough flexibility to be able to make necessary changes to address downward trends before they become catastrophic. A solid strategic engagement plan doesn’t need to be etched in stone. They should be fluid, capable of being adjusted to seize new opportunities, respond to recognized or forecasted threats, or resolve any ineffectiveness. In addition, they should be reviewed and assessed on an annual or semi-annual basis, whether or not there appears to be an issue or threat.

How do you know when you need to adjust your approach? There are a variety of both tangible and intangible, internal and external signals that things aren’t working or that a major change is needed. Being able to identify those signals and then making the difficult decisions to pivot your approach can be hard, but it’s better to try new approaches and strategies rather than to stay the course and then wonder why things aren’t working or getting better.

Adjusting Your Approach: Develop a Nimble Organization

A nimble organization in fundraising refers to one that can quickly and effectively adapt its strategies and operations in response to changing circumstances, opportunities, and challenges. Below is a set of characteristics that can define a nimble fundraising organization:

• Be proactive, not reactive. Instead of just reacting to changes, a nimble organization anticipates trends and proactively adjusts its strategies accordingly. It stays ahead of fundraising trends, donor behavior, and the general philanthropic landscape.
• Have a culture of continuous improvement. A nimble organization fosters a culture where learning from both successes and failures is encouraged. It continuously assesses its fundraising strategies and techniques and makes improvements based on these assessments.
• Be data-driven. A nimble organization utilizes data to make informed decisions. It regularly collects and analyzes donor data to gain insights into donor preferences and behaviors, which helps guide strategy adjustments.
• Build strong and diverse donor relationships. A nimble organization understands the importance of building and maintaining diverse donor relationships. This provides a safety net when certain fundraising channels or donor segments are affected by external changes.
• Use a multi-channel approach to fundraising. By utilizing multiple fundraising channels (direct mail, online fundraising, peer-to-peer fundraising, events, etc.), a nimble organization reduces its dependence on any one channel and can shift resources to more effective channels as conditions change.
• Adjust according to your donor’s giving patterns. Understanding and adapting to donors’ changing giving patterns and preferences is key. A nimble organization personalize its fundraising appeals to resonate with its donors and adjusts these personalizations as donor preferences evolve.

Adjusting Your Approach: Identify the Signals That Change is Needed

To know what adjustments are needed, you first need to determine the signals that should trigger change. This includes:

• Declining donor retention rates. A notable decrease in the number of donors who contribute year over year is a significant warning sign. If your organization is losing more donors than it’s gaining, it’s time to reassess your engagement and retention strategies.
• Decreasing average gift size. If your average donation is decreasing over time, it may indicate that donors are not feeling compelled enough to give more or are facing financial constraints.
• Reduced response rates. If your fundraising communications are generating fewer responses, whether it’s opens on emails, clicks on digital ads, or responses to direct mail, this can indicate that your messages are not resonating with your audience.
• Shift in donor demographics. An aging donor base or a lack of young donors could signal that your organization is not effectively engaging younger generations who will be the future of your donor pool.
• Increased donor complaints or negative feedback. If donors are complaining about your organization’s communication, stewardship, or use of funds, it’s a clear signal that something needs to change.
• Reduced engagement on social media. Lower likes, shares, and comments on your social media posts might indicate that your content is not engaging enough or that your audience is not interested in what you’re sharing.
• Declining fundraising event attendance. If fewer people are attending your fundraising events, it could be a sign that your events are not appealing to your audience or that there are too many competing events in the market.
• Changing economic or political climate. Significant changes in the economy or the political environment can impact donor generosity. During tough economic times, donors may reduce their giving, while certain political events can influence donor behavior in your specific sector.

Adjusting Your Approach: Make the Difficult Decisions

Once you’ve identified those signals, what actions should you take? These can include both simple and complex decisions.

Some of these are easier decisions – but still important – that tend to be ones that any organization could make to improve their fundraising results. They include:

• Segmenting donors by giving history, interests, and demographics allows for more personalized communication.
• Automating follow-ups for missed donations or for thanking donors post-donation.
• Improving the online donation experience by simplifying the donation form and/or ensuring that it’s mobile-friendly.
• Sending personal, handwritten thank-you notes or making personal thank-you phone calls to donors after receiving a gift.

Other decisions are more complex – perhaps requiring significant changes to your staffing, fundraising, and program activities. These could include:

• Reevaluating your program activities to ensure that they are meeting your mission and that they have the community impact that you are hoping for.
• Planning and executing a major capital or endowment campaign.
• Diversifying your funding streams, perhaps to include more earned income opportunities.
• Creating new major donor cultivation and stewardship strategies that include more intentional face-to-face engagement opportunities.
• Making the case to your board that a larger investment in fundraising staffing and/or technology is needed to move the organization forward.

Adjusting Your Approach: Use Your Board of Directors as a Partner

Boards should be engaged in helping to develop both your overall strategic plan and your fundraising strategy, so they need to be aware of when changes are needed and why. They should be your partner in developing solutions to the challenges that you are facing. Specifically:

• Share fundraising results with your board on a regular basis and help them understand what the data is telling you. Don’t shy away from sharing the difficult numbers.
• Ask your board to assess the overall relationship health with your donors and other stakeholders. Are there any high-potential major donors that are giving at low levels? Is there a lapsed major donor who should be re-engaged? Is there a board member who can make an introduction to a corporate partner?
• Conduct a comprehensive board assessment and use those results to improve your board’s overall effectiveness. Is there a skill or expertise gap that needs to be addressed with the addition of new board members?
• Create a culture of philanthropy and fundraising within your board. Are all board members giving at a meaningful level? Do they understand the importance of their role in helping the organization raise money?

Fundraising is hard enough when things are going well. When things aren’t going well, the pressure can be immense. Recognizing the signals that change is needed, developing solutions to the challenges that you are facing, and making the difficult decisions that will put your organization in a stronger position will get you back on the right track. While doing this work won’t guarantee success, not doing it will certainly ensure continued struggle. We’re all in this together!