Donors give to a mission. Money is in support of service to mission. Money is not why donors give. It is what they give. When donors belong and feel their support makes a difference, their decision to renew has meaning.
An annual giving goal of 95% renewal for the of all current individual donors would open an opportunity to create real interactions with donors. What does a real interaction actually mean? Listening to donors and encouraging them to ask questions, builds trust and connection. The fundraiser sharing why the mission is important to her, makes a contact. When a donor complains to the fundraiser about not getting a thank-you letter or some other issue, it is an opportunity to create a meaningful connection.
People tend to make one to two gifts and stop giving. The AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Project reports in 2014-2015 organizations lost between 93-108 donors for every 100 new donors. (www.afpfep.org/tools) Donors need to feel and experience the benefits of giving they are inspired to renew.
We are “wired” to give and help. It is part of our DNA. Reciprocity is the key to donors renewing. Donors must feel valued and know the benefit of giving if organizations want them to renew. Currently it is not unusual for donors to forget they made a gift or not even experience the feeling of being wanted.
If fundraisers could focus on creating meaningful connections with all donors, renewals would go up. Right now raising the money from new people is more important than engaging current donors to renew. Fundraisers who build real donor relationships know it is more meaningful for the donor as well as the fundraiser. Financial goals will still be met.
Mission Centered Fundraising creates a system for donor engagement and renewal. It is a 3-part system, I developed for the fundraiser to manage relationship building and renewal of donors.
MCF delivers a repeatable process to be managed by the fundraiser supporting all current donors to have awesome giving experiences. To explore the MCF system and how it would work in your organization, get in touch with me to begin a conversation. penny@renewablephilanthropy.com