After a fundraising event or campaign, it’s easy to become complacent; you’ve already done all of the hard work of planning and executing your fundraiser, you’ve met your fundraising needs, and the support for your cause is at its zenith. It seems like you should be able to take a load off, right?

However, the post-event period is actually a critical time to implement some donor retention strategies. NXUnite's guide to donor retention defines the term as “the process of encouraging donors to continue giving to your nonprofit over time. This involves deepening your personal connections with donors and demonstrating their gifts’ impacts on your beneficiaries and the greater community.

Donor retention provides sustainable income for your organization, increases your donor lifetime value rate, and helps you establish a solid reputation that attracts future donors. In this guide, we’ll review some proven donor retention strategies sure to keep your supporters engaged year-round.

Send thoughtful thank-yous

This is the very first thing you should do at the end of your fundraiser to turn casual one-time donors into committed supporters. Showing gratitude to every person who makes your mission possible proves that you won’t take your supporters for granted.

To make sure your thank-you messages make an impression on your donors, follow these best practices:

• Personalize each message. Small details, like including a donor’s name in the subject line of your email or mentioning the specific gift amount in the body of your message, can make all the difference. Many nonprofits send generic thank-you messages; make sure your donor recognition stands out for its sincerity.
• Share impact metrics. Sharing metrics like the number of beneficiaries helped, the services rendered, or the amount of funds supporting programs can help donors see the difference that their support makes.
• Tell your story. Stories elicit a visceral response that reinforces a supporter’s decision to contribute to your cause. Try including a testimonial from a particular beneficiary (with their permission) to ensure supporters remember your message and feel more connected to your mission.

Here’s an example of an impactful thank-you message:

Dear Caroline, 

On behalf of everyone at Summit Church, I want to thank you for supporting our flower bulb fundraiser. Together, we raised $1,400 for our food bank, which will provide over 300 nutritious meals for members of our community. 

Your contribution helps community members like Charles M., who relies on Summit Food Bank to feed his family: 

“Ever since I lost my job, it’s been stressful trying to provide for my family. The Summit Food Bank helps me make sure my kids don’t go hungry and that they have access to good, wholesome food.”

Together, we can fight hunger in our community. Thank you again for your support.

Offer creative ways to get involved

Sending another request for a donation too soon after a donor has made their first gift can leave a sour taste in their mouth. However, that doesn’t mean you should stop asking for support. Capitalize on your post-event momentum by sending a welcome message to new donors with ways to get involved beyond donating, like:

• Volunteering: Describe volunteer roles, provide flexibility where possible, and explain the impact that volunteers make in your organization. Volunteering is a great hands-on way to get involved in your missions, and it makes a big impact; just one hour of volunteer work is valued at $34.79.
• Attending non-fundraising events: Host events where fundraising isn’t the central purpose to deepen supporters’ connection to your organization. One great way to do this is to host kid-friendly community events like a park clean-up or educational workshop. In addition to being a great bonding experience, ABC Fundraising explains that these events can “inspire the next generation of givers,” incentivizing parents to show their support and model philanthropic behavior for their children.
• Spreading the word: Provide easily shareable content that supporters can post to their social media or send directly to friends and family they think might be interested in your cause. You can also start a nonprofit ambassador program where interested supporters can regularly promote your events and cause.

These strategies help prevent donor burnout and build up your organization’s community, which will translate into deeper engagement down the line.

Make giving easy

For many supporters, getting involved in a fundraising event can take up a lot of time and effort. After your event ends, donors may not feel compelled to invest in your organization again so quickly. However, if you can let donors know how easy it is to give and follow through on that promise, you can secure smaller gifts in between campaigns. Make sure your donation process demands minimal time or attention by:

• Creating a mobile-friendly donation page. Many donors will want to access your site from their phones, so ensure your donation page easily reformats to different-sized screens. It should also include legible fonts, feature intuitive navigation, and load quickly.
• Simplifying matching gifts. Matching gifts allow donors to multiply their impact. However, if your donation page forces them to leave your page to submit a request to their employer, they may not come back. Instead, integrate your donation page with matching gift software that allows donors to check their eligibility and submit their requests immediately after giving.
• Accepting various payment methods. Donors shouldn’t have to go hunting through their wallets to find the one card you’ll accept. Instead, you should accept various credit cards, ACH payments, and digital wallets like PayPal and Apple Pay.

Simplifying donations shows that your organization is thoughtful, efficient, and donor-centered, which will help you retain donors in the long run, and it will set you up for a successful future event by encouraging donors to give.

Ask for feedback

After a campaign, your organization is fresh in donors’ minds. Seize the moment by soliciting feedback on your event and asking more general questions about your donation process, messaging, and other important details. This shows your supporters that you care about their experience and will try to improve it in the future, making them more likely to trust your organization and stick around.

This is also a great time to find your next fundraising idea. Ask supporters what sorts of events they would like to see from your organization. That way, you can plan initiatives that donors will be interested in supporting.

Keep your survey to just a few questions to prevent donors from getting bored or frustrated and not completing the survey. Switch up the question format by including rating questions (e.g., 1-5 or strongly disagree to strongly agree), true/false questions, and short-answer questions. This variety allows you to collect different types of data for your team to analyze and implement.

Keeping momentum going after a big fundraising event or campaign is a challenge, but with the right practices in place, you’ll form genuine connections with donors that translate into long-term support. Remember to continuously communicate with donors throughout the year to keep your supporter relationships alive.

About the Author

Debbie Salat is the director of fundraising activities and product development at ABC Fundraising®. Debbie joined ABC Fundraising® in 2010 and has helped launch over 6,500 fundraising campaigns for schools, churches, youth sports teams, and nonprofit organizations all across the USA. With over 20 years of fundraising experience, Debbie knows the path to success for fundraisers, which she shares with groups on a daily basis so they can achieve their fundraising goals.