1. The biggest issue in fundraising today
Background – a bit about me. I was Praxis Fundraising. Now RLF. 20+ years working in fundraising specialising in copywriting and strategy.
The biggest issue in fundraising today
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2. Work from home – this is my office
Work from home – this is my office. 24 chooks, 10 quail and 2 sheep called Pizza and Roast.
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3. RETAINING YOUR DONORS
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4. DONORS CARE
CCNSW story
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5. RED LETTER FUNDRAISING

6. 9% 22% $100 plus donor response rates over 15 months
9% %
$100 plus donor response rates over 15 months
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7. Commercial retention Non-profit retention 41% retention 90% retention
Non-profits
41% retention
90% retention
Source: Craver, R Retention Fundraising 2014
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8. Why is it so important
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9. Lifetime value Because it underpins ifetime value
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10. What is donor retention?
The number of donors you keep from one year to the next
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11. Why is it donor retention important?
A measure of your effectiveness as fundraisers
A measure of donor satisfaction
Underpins the lifetime value of the donor to your organisation
Improving donor retention is the single most important thing you can do to improve your bottom line
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13. Calculating donor retention
Step 1 – calculate the total number of donors who gave in your most recent fiscal or calendar year
Step 2 – Divide the number of donors who made a donation in year 2 by the total in year 1
Step 3 – multiply the result from Step 2 by 100 to get your retention rate as a percentage
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14. Example: Step 1. 5000 donors who gave in 2013
Step gave in 2014:
Step 3. Divide the number who give in 2014 by the number who gave in 2013 and multiply by 100
2000/5000 = 0.4
Retention rate is 0.4 x 100 = 40%
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15. Calculating lifetime value
Average amount of donor’s gift to organisation
X number of repeat gifts per year by that donor
X average number of years your donors remain on your file.
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16. Why is lifetime value important?
It tells you how much your donors are worth to you over time
It tells you how much it is worth spending on getting more donors
It tells you how much it is worth spending on retaining donors and improving your retention rates (and thus increasing lifetime value).
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17. Lifetime value of $660-$45 = $615
Example:
You acquired Donor A in 2008 at a cost of $45
She gives an average of $110 pa
Already at the end of 2014 she has given you:
Income: 6 years at $110 = $660
Less acquisition cost of $45
Lifetime value of $660-$45 = $615
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18. Potentially means that every single name on your database is worth $615
It kind of makes getting their name right seem pretty important doesn’t it?
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19. How much is it worth spending on retaining that donor? A lot
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20. How much is it worth spending on making sure she is a happy donor
How much is it worth spending on making sure she is a happy donor?   A lot   If she stays for another 5 years - $660 (+ possible upgrades and bequests)
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21. How do you improve donor retention?
Care about the things they care about
Really understand your donors
Find out what experiences really matter to your donors
Shared values
Genuinely like and care about your donors
Have conversations. Listen!
Not just tactics – about really understanding your donors
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24. Show you care Dear Mrs Nguyen
Thank you again for the wonderful gift you and your son sent last Christmas to help buy more pressure pumps and IV units for our hospital in the home service.
I saw the lovely note from your son Thao that asked for extra address labels. I sent him two sets - I hope he was happy with them…
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25. The objective is to build a sense of engagement and connection … to create HIGH COMMITMENT DONORS … worth 131% more
Source: Craver, R, Retention Fundraising, 2014 p
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26. How do you measure commitment?
Survey your donors
“I am a committed (charity name) donor”
“I feel a sense of loyalty to (charity name)”
“(Charity name) is my favourite charitable organisation”
Respond to each question on a scale of 1-10
Average the response across all three questions
That’s your commitment score
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27. Rating commitment High commitment donors – 8-10
Mid-commitment donors – 5-7
Low commitment donors <5
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28. So what’s all this got to do with data?
It’s the foundation
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29. Consider the cost of … Getting someone’s name wrong
Forgetting to do something you’ve promised
Not thanking them
Not taking the trouble to find out and record their preferences …
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30. What you can do Talk to your donors Listen to what they have to say
Find out what they’re interested in, and what they may be concerned about
Find ways to record and acknowledge their personal interests
Phone them
Record their information accurately
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31. If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got
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32. Jill Ruchel Red Letter Fundraisin Jill.ruchel@gmail.com 0438 916 094
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