Development Fundamentals: Cultivating Donors for Life Kelly Pullin, Analytics Supervisor Heather Rocheleau, Account Supervisor

Our time together… New donor conversion Integrated cultivation Upgrade giving Retention 2

Direct response fundraising cycle 3

New donor conversion 4

Heart of the Donor™ survey says… When asked what some organizations have done after the donor gave the first time that encourages them to support the organization again, three factors rose to the top: Explained the specific mission of the organization to me (76%) Made me feel that my gift really made a difference (72%) Gave me information about exactly what my gift helped accomplish (71%) 5

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First impression counts 7 Receipting hours from initial gift Automated digital receipt Thank you calls Thank you letters Welcome package / brochure

Send a thank you note worth saving Acknowledge the amount, the date of gift and tie back to acquisition piece Make donor feel valued no matter the size of gift Tell donor what the gift accomplished Handwritten note and phone call for major gifts Include a donation envelope Ask donors how they want to be involved 8

Mel Trotter Ministries, Grand Rapids MI The importance of a timely thank you December 25 th : 1 st gift - $1,000 online donation December 25 th : from Mission thanking for donation December 25 th : from donor: “Because of your personal, heartfelt and immediate gratitude I am giving more. Blessings to you and your important ministry to those less fortunate.” December 26 th : 2 nd gift - $2,500 donation 9

Integrated cultivation 10

Cultivating, upgrading and retaining Monthly or semi-monthly appeals to communicate, affirm and ask Personalized asks based on donor behavior Integrated themes, messaging and creative to maximize impact Copy that reflects your brand and messaging Test, test, test! 11

Cultivating, upgrading and retaining The right investment for the right audience Use audience segmentation to group donors by their commitment level (R-F-M, plus) Tailor communication streams – low/lapsed, regular cultivation, middle/major, monthly donor conversion, multi/single channel. Set performance goals for audiences Monitor donor performance metrics and allow fluid movement between streams. 12

Contact frequency and layering 13

Personalize based on past behavior A national organization with a successful January campaign decided to test the same offer in July. Donors who gave to the January campaign were specifically thanked and asked to give again; other donors with recent giving received standard messaging. The donors whose recent gift was specifically acknowledged responded at more than twice the rate of their peers. 14 Response rate more than doubled!

Newsletter Donor stewardship opportunity Fulfill on organization mission statement Update your donors on client success Let them know where their donation went E-newsletter integration strategy 15

Events Executive Director dinners or luncheons Radio events Open House, tours, graduations Volunteer/Community involvement Food/GIK drives (Hope Tote) Banquets/Galas 16

Telemarketing Thank you call – brief, no ask Made by staff, volunteer, program member, or phone outreach company Phone outreach to those donors who are beginning to lapse Year end calls to middle and major donors– affirm support and request holiday gift (gift conversion works in conjunction with direct mail) 17

Telemarketing increases revenue and retention 4 Rescue Missions implemented phone calling for the first time in addition to the mail during the fall fundraising season. Learnings show: 1 year lapsed donors - retention rates up 18% 2 year lapsed donors - retention rates up 32% 3-4 year inactive donors - retention rates up 31% 18

Digital Website People come to research your organization It should represent your organizations’ promise and identity Seamless donation funnel Critical to refresh website content frequently, to ensure repeat visitors – perform site optimization Tracking 19

Website optimization lifts conversions The test variation achieved a 35% lift in conversion rate. The test reached a statistical confidence level of 98.5%. 20 Control VariationTest Variation

Digital integration SEM and Display Banner Advertising E-communications E-Newsletters Strong drive to website from direct mail appeals Social media – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram etc. 21

Upgrade giving 22

Effective strategies to upgrade giving “Upgrade” means more than a larger gift amount; increased annual giving is an upgrade RFM Segmentation – Recency, Frequency, Monetary value Tactical dollar handle strategy to upgrade existing donors Stretch asks paired with the right offer Frequency of appeals influences annual giving Cultivate donors into monthly givers, major donors, planned gift donors, GIK donors, etc. 23

Monthly giving: good for you – and your donor Monthly donors consistently deliver more annual revenue per donor than comparable single gift donors Increase predictable annual revenue Improve donor retention Increase long-term donor value (LTDV) Expand future planned gift prospects 24

Primary audience Rapid responders Donors who contribute 3+ gifts in the first three months of their affiliation with the organization First gift in acquisition, second to thank you receipt, third to first cultivation appeal GOAL: Ideally 5% to 30% of your donor base should be monthly givers. 25

Donation page pop-up increases conversions to monthly giving Strategy: Reach the donor at the optimal time Reinforce the additional impact Make it easy to convert from a one-time giver to a monthly giver Utilize an appropriate donation ask Results: 92% increase in monthly donations YOY (194 vs. 101) Nearly 6:1 ROI 26

Major donors 80% of income will be given by the top 20% of your donors through personal major gift efforts and planned gifts Build the relationship and take the time to get to know your donor 1:1 personal interaction Donor profiles Wealth screening Lead generation mailings Custom communication stream 27

Middle/major donor campaign strategy We have found success with multi-touch campaigns, tailored specifically to middle/major donors. In the first 45 days of this campaign, we raised over $250,000 for our partner. 28

29 Planned giving Over $41 trillion is changing hands from this generation to the next Average estate gifts are running between $50,000-$100,000 each 40 to 1 return on investment Once a donor includes you in their Will, their annual fund giving on average will more than double. Educate donors about this additional giving opportunity. Visible Major Donors Hidden Major Donors

Retention 30

Retention can be improved by… Remembering that you are in a relationship with your donors Understanding what your donors want from you Use that information to begin an active dialogue Applying principles of good customer service 31

Direct response fundraising cycle 32

Let’s recap Second gift conversion begins with building a relationship Cultivate relationships based on mutual benefit – your organization’s promise Keep your donors engaged through cultivation and retention efforts Upgrade your donors through intentional dollar handle, segmentation and personal communication strategies When donors lapse, use a multi-channel approach including direct mail and phone outreach to reactivate their giving Show gratitude… often! Provide opportunities to volunteer and engage beyond monetary contributions 33

Questions? 34

Thank You Kelly Pullin Heather Rocheleau Tweet your takeaway from this session #RussReidLive