{"id":25644,"date":"2022-02-10T09:46:01","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T13:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.donorperfect.com\/nonprofit-technology-blog\/?p=25644"},"modified":"2024-07-03T19:03:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T23:03:27","slug":"the-7-pillars-of-donor-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donorperfect.com\/nonprofit-technology-blog\/featured\/the-7-pillars-of-donor-love\/","title":{"rendered":"The 7 Pillars of Donor Love"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\"The\n

Submitted by Sabrina Walker Hernandez<\/i><\/p>\n

Donor love is the key to repeat gifts. 65% of first-time donors don\u2019t make a second gift. That\u2019s what Penelope Burk\u2019s donor-centered research<\/a> tells us. Most studies agree that it costs nonprofits about 10 times more to bring in a new donor than to keep an existing donor.\nFor each 100 new donors nonprofits brought in, they lost 99.<\/p>\n

So, while nonprofits were spending time and money chasing new donors, the old ones (who were already sold on your cause and showed up to support you) walked away.<\/p>\n\"I\u2019ve\n

Here is the one thing I know. Donor retention<\/a> must be a priority if you want to survive and thrive in today\u2019s competitive nonprofit marketplace. Period.<\/b><\/p>\n

No arguments or excuses.<\/p>\n

Securing donors only to lose them is just not a good business model.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

\n

The 7 Pillars of Donor Love<\/h2>\n

1. Make your donor the hero.<\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t focus your message on the nonprofit. Your message should be donor-centered and satisfy the donors\u2019 needs upfront and center. Our job as a nonprofit is to help our donors see themselves as heroes. They want to help solve a problem, allow them the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n

2. Tell your nonprofit client story.<\/h3>\n

With every communication – written or verbal – make sure you are sharing the impact of your nonprofit on those you serve. These stories should inspire, re-engage<\/a>, re-energize and make your donors fall in love with your nonprofit over and over again. Your client stories should provoke an emotional response in your donor.<\/p>\n

3. Discover as much as you can about each donor.<\/h3>\n

Be patient! It is very unwise to rush this discovery process. In the donor discovery process, donors tend to talk more than the organization, development staff asks more than tell. Be careful not to talk about gift-giving opportunities until after you have uncovered what the donor wants to accomplish. The goal is to find out what\u2019s important to donors. Focus on gathering information on your donor – or potential donor – and not on providing information without aim.<\/p>\n