3 Communication Tips to Bolster Your Donor Stewardship Plan

According to 360MatchPro, nonprofits raise an average of $287 per monthly donor each year. When comparing that figure to the average annual revenue per one-time donor of $192, it’s clear that recurring donors can significantly boost your donation revenue. 

However, major and recurring donors don't just show up out of the blue (most of the time). The most successful nonprofits don’t just solicit donations and then forget about their donors. Instead, they build long-lasting relationships with donors through dedicated donor stewardship plans. 

In this guide, we’ll review three communication tips you can implement to improve your existing endowment and major donor stewardship strategy. As a result, you’ll fine-tune your approach and form even stronger bonds with your supporters.

1. Segment Your Donors

Personalizing your communications with donors ensures they feel heard and allows you to form unique relationships with each individual. While you may not have the time or resources to craft personalized messages for every donor, you can segment donors into relevant groups based on the goals you’ve outlined in your nonprofit strategic plan. 

Common characteristics to group your donors by include: 

• Donation amount. Even amongst endowment contributors and major donors, there’s likely fluctuation in average gift size. Knowing each donor’s typical donation amount allows you to form appropriate ask amounts aligned with past giving. 
• Donation frequency. Recurring donors may contribute weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually. Your communication frequency should make sense based on each donor’s individual donation frequency. 
• Donation recency. While it’s important to keep donors engaged, you don’t want to overwhelm them with constant donation requests and appear ungrateful for their previous contributions. Pay attention to donation recency to avoid reaching out to recent donors too soon and re-engage donors at risk of lapsing. 
• Engagement level. Some donors may also be volunteers, event attendees or social media advocates for your cause. Mention these other activities in your stewardship communications to show donors you appreciate their non-monetary contributions to your mission. 
• Communication preferences. Ask your donors whether they’d like to hear from you via email, direct mail, text messages or social media, and group them accordingly. 
• Demographics. You may also segment your donors based on demographic factors like age and location to further personalize your stewardship activities. For instance, you may introduce donors in the Cleveland area to local volunteer opportunities your nonprofit provides. 

Remember to keep your donor database up-to-date to ensure you’re basing your segments on accurate information. Consider auditing your database each quarter and sending surveys to your donors to confirm the information you’ve collected about them is correct. 

2. Structure Your Donation Requests Strategically

No matter how many years of fundraising experience you have, soliciting donations can be a stress-inducing process. Having a go-to donation request strategy can not only ease your fundraising team into the solicitation stage of stewardship but also help you personalize your asks as much as possible. 

When requesting donations from your supporters, make sure to: 

• Be specific. Instead of claiming something generic, like "Your contribution will help your community," explain exactly what different donation amounts will allow your organization to accomplish. For example, a soup kitchen may note that $100 will feed a family of four for a week while $500 will help restock single-serve plates, bowls and utensils for the month. 
• Use past giving data. Giving donors specific suggested giving amount options that align with their past donations can entice them to give and encourage them to up their support. Basing your asks on data also ensures that you don’t request too much or too little from donors, maximizing the chances they’ll contribute. 
• Elicit emotion. Pair your concrete, data-backed ask with an emotional appeal that demonstrates the potential impact donors can have on your cause. Adding beneficiary success stories and testimonials to your request helps convey why donors should contribute to your nonprofit specifically over other similar organizations. Social proof from past donors and from the population served is powerful!

Additionally, make it easy for prospects to ask questions by including contact information for the appropriate fundraising team member in your request. You may also add a link to your optimized website and any other valuable resources that will help potential donors learn more about your cause before contributing. 

3. Create a Donor Stewardship Matrix

Once you’ve developed your segments and acquired your donors, organize your plan using a stewardship matrix. A stewardship matrix is a donor stewardship calendar that includes the outreach strategies for different donor segments and a timeline for executing these activities.  

If you’re segmenting your donors by donation amount, for example, your stewardship strategies should become more intensive as donation amounts increase. Take a look at this example of a matrix based on donation amount from Aly Sterling Philanthropy’s donor stewardship guide: 

As you can see, this donor stewardship schedule delineates different stewardship activities based on a certain giving threshold. Since every organization has a different definition of what constitutes a mid-level or major donor, consult your nonprofit’s database to determine your own giving thresholds. 

Each column features specific stewardship strategies in order of when your team should complete them and information about who should take the lead on each task. This way, the matrix equips team members to know exactly which activities they’re responsible for and when they should act on them, allowing for seamless communication amongst your staff and between your nonprofit and its donors. 

Focus on Communication to Bolster Relationships

When it comes to stewarding endowment donors, strategic communication is key. By segmenting your donors, personalizing your asks and mapping out your stewardship activities, you’ll efficiently and effectively encourage donors to move up the giving ladder. As a result, you’ll form a community of dedicated donors who are eager to provide steady support for your cause. 

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Disclosure:

This blog is for informational purposes only and is not meant as financial, legal, or tax advice. Please seek professional advice from qualified tax, legal, and/or financial professionals before making any financial decisions.  

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