4 Ways to Keep a Donor Engaged

Why does a donor give to your organization? Why do they give for the very first time? And, what keeps them giving year after year?

If I may, I would like to give you a personal example. I have two sons: one who just turned 21 (yikes) and one who is 18. Both are now in college at Purdue University here in Indiana (Boiler up)!

As my oldest son started looking at colleges, Purdue was on our radar because he was pursuing engineering… so, it made sense for us to take a look at a great engineering school ‘right in our back yard.’ Needless to say, as a parent, I was completely impressed from the time we got information, toured the school, enrolled at Purdue, and moved him into the dorm! The timely effective communication, friendliness of the staff, and quality of the service being offered made the choice easy.

Your first born going off to college is a traumatic experience in itself, but I was completely confident that he made the right choice in going to Purdue!

As a parent, I was completely engaged with Purdue as an organization. I was impressed with their communication and how they effectively made me feel comfortable and confident in the organization. That is exactly the place where you want your prospective donors to be and feel! The key is identifying those that are engaged and then asking them to give.

Donor engagement means:

• I was excited about what the organization was doing


• I was seeking out information to learn as much as I could about the organization


• I was becoming more committed to the organization


• I eventually gave to the organization


• I continue to give to the organization

To keep a donor engaged, your nonprofit needs to:

1. offer fantastic services


2. provide timely and effective communication that tells the donor about your success


3. track engagement activities by the donor (touches, meetings, events attended, etc.)


4. realize that the first gift from a donor is only the beginning

Donor loyalty means donors are engaged and committed to the success of your nonprofit and want to give financially to help create that success. How engaged are your donors?

via Business 2 Community http://ift.tt/1fBQVsm