5 Ways to Find 5 New Donors (or more!)
It’s a New Year - and if my Instagram feed is like yours - you are a new you, too! Or, at least you are planning to become one.
Truth be told - I’m feeling very overwhelmed by the idea of mapping out my goals, creating a vision board, and thinking about this next decade (ah - too much!). How about you? Maybe it’s because I’ve been in mom-mode the last two weeks, but I just haven’t gotten the clarity about what this year is going to be for me.
It might also be because I tried that last year: my husband and I went on a rare date night with pens and paper and wrote our personal, professional, health and marriage goals...and then 2019 turned into a true disaster. You can read more about my personal struggles here and my professional ones here. Luckily, my health and marriage have remained even keeled (phew!).
That being said, I do plan to dedicate some time to writing some ideas down, but I’m not making a big deal about it. It will be more of a checklist so I can refer back to things I’d like to do. More importantly, I’m going to try more of forming habits in 2020 vs. setting goals. For example, a morning routine (wake up an hour earlier, get a cup of hot lemon and water, think gratitude thoughts, and either read or work out) was something I was doing a bit last year and then I got off track. Back on the wagon I go! But it won’t be a “new” me - hopefully just a better one.
Speaking of “new” - the #1 question I get asked over and over remains: how do I find new donors?
There are lots and lots of ways to achieve this and if I was consulting/coaching you I’d ask: why do you want new donors?
Why would I ask this? Because…
Renewing a gift is a lot easier than finding a new gift
Increasing a gift is a lot easier than finding a new gift
New donors don’t always amount to more money (especially if you end up with lapsed donors) - so what is the root of your question? More money? What would you do with more money?
Without a plan to integrate your new donors, you will be in the exact same spot next year.
That being said - if it’s new donors that you want - your wish is my command (although I do think spending some time with the questions above are worth your while).
Here are five ways you can find (at least) five new donors in 2020:
#1: Review your donor data
It’s a New Year so if your organization has been around more than 12 months - you have the ability to compare this year over the year before. This quick start guide walks you through how to get all of the numbers you need to review, but to cut to the chase, you’ll want to know:
Number of total gifts for the previous year
Number of total donor for the previous year
The average gift amount
The percent increase in revenue across each type of gift (individuals, events, corporate, foundations, etc)
The retention rate (donors who gave last year AND the year before)
The list of lapsed donors (donors who previously gave, but not last year)
Personally, I love the exercise of combing through the data. Numbers don’t lie and you can clearly see what worked, what didn’t, and where you might want to put forth some different energy this year.
Some other data points I like to include:
Number of current email subscribers
Number of social media followers
What percent of the board participated in a give/get (note: you should be striving for 100%)
Write down these numbers and then decide in which areas you want to increase, decrease or stay the same. What are the strategies you need to implement to achieve those goals?
#2: Reach out to your lapsed donors
You now have a list of people that once gave to your organization but haven’t recently (in the last 2 months) and like I’ve said before, it’s easier to keep a donor than to get a new one. IMO, that means it’s worth putting in some effort to try to get those lapsed donors back. To make things supppppperrrr easy on you - I’ve put together these swipe files that you can literally customize to your organization and mission. My suggestion? Send out an email THIS WEEK to your previous year lapsed donors and get them back into the fold. NOTE: Make sure this email/mail only goes out to your LAPSED donors - not any from just last year.
#3: Plan your Q1 cultivation event
You all know I love a good cultivation event. Not because I love events so much (hardly), but because I think they are an excellent way to have a touch point with someone. For example, 9 times out of 10, a person won’t actually be able to attend the thing you are inviting them to BUT it gives you a great excuse to 1) reach out to people you’ve been cultivating, but haven’t given yet 2) have your board members, volunteers or advisory members reach out to their networks. Furthermore, it allows you to have a touchpoint. Can’t come to the event itself? No problem! Invite them to have a catch up over coffee or lunch or check in with them about something from your last conversation. This is relationship building at the core.
#4: Use your board
The start of the year is a great time to sit down individually with each board member to review their participation from the previous year, but more importantly hear about where they want to put their energy in this new one. I owe you a template, but I like to try to gather the following information for them and then have them actually sign the form to signal their understanding of the commitment THEY put to paper.
To include (the more specific the better):
Their personal give amount for the year (decide if it’s a one time gift or monthly)
Do they want to host any kind of cultivation event? If so, when?
Can they get their company involved? If so, how?
Are there any people in their network that could be potential board members?
Are there any people in their network that could be sponsors/table buyers for your annual event?
Are there any people who they plan to solicit for your end-of-year campaign?
Is there anything they need from the organization to make the above possible?
This form should be filled out together over a conversation. This way, you can hear directly about their prospects and ask questions accordingly. It will also be helpful for you to refer back to if you’ve actually discussed it with your board members.
#5: Slide into those DMs
I’m not sure how active you are across social media (hint: it’s not going anywhere), but assuming you are posting on a somewhat frequent basis - you know that the magic is in the DMs (direct messages). Here is my challenge to you: for the next 90 days - each time you attract a new follower, immediately DM them to say, “Welcome!” and maybe ask if you can answer any questions or what about your mission inspires them. Starting the dialogue is the first step to relationship building across your social media and will make it that much easier if and when you decide to make an ask across your channels too.
This starting list is just that - a start. There are lots of ways to find new donors - so, what are yours? Tell me below!
Wishing you a great start to your New Year.
Xo,
