Don’t Cut Your Budget… Delight Your Donors!

If you are non-profit leader or manager who is concerned with managing expenses and is considering cutting or downsizing your relational fundraising program… think again.

Recently, I was reading Seth Godin’s blog titled Unforced Errors. It was a good reminder that, in his words, “customer service is a chance to create delight and impact.”

But, often in the non-profit space, we forget this. And “donor service,” when faced with a tightening budget, is one of the first areas to go.

I urge you to reconsider your impulse to cut anything to do with your relational fundraising program until you have really thought through all the ramifications of that.

1. Cutting frontline fundraisers will put more pressure on the fundraisers that are left to carry the relationship load. Here’s what will happen: donors will fall through the cracks. You will raise less revenue (a lot less) than you saved by cutting positions.
2. Downsizing the staff and resources devoted to reporting on impact will cause more donors to leave you and give to other organizations that do a really good job telling a donor how they made a difference.
3. Cutting your backend office staff will cause donor frustration when they don’t receive their receipts and thank you letters in a timely manner. This is a big driver in value attrition.
4. Doing away with administrative staff will not only hurt morale, which can lead to resignations, but it will affect how many donors frontline fundraisers will be able to create relationships with because they are now busy doing paperwork.

Instead of making cuts, double down on providing your donors with unbelievable service and care. Treat them like they are part of your mission… which they should be! And, if you had that mindset, what would THAT actually look like?

At Veritus, over the course of almost two decades, we have worked with hundreds of non-profits. The organizations that stand out amongst the crowd are the ones that see their donors as partners. That means providing amazing service and care for that donor. These organizations flourish, while those who cut corners or have a culture of using donors as a means to an end, wind up languishing.

Jeff