What holds non-profits back from treating their donors well?

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Question of the Month

What's holding non-profits back from treating their donors well?

It’s a sad fact that non-profit organizations are not treating their donors well. In the donor data we’ve analyzed from hundreds of organizations, average donor attrition rates are around 40-60%.

So why are donors giving less, or going away altogether? One of the main factors is that organizations are not set up for collaboration around the donor journey. This leads to the following structural problems that damage the donor experience:

Departments are only concerned with their own goals, instead of working as a team.
There’s poor communication between different groups like direct response, mid-level, and major gifts.
KPIs fail to incentivize collaboration, when promoting a donor up the pipeline means that a department loses revenue (rather than getting credit for moving donors up).

Take a look at the structure of your organization. Is the structure aligned with your donor pipeline? Does it aim to move qualified donors from acquisition all the way to planned giving? Do all departments understand how their roles fit together? Does leadership value each group equally? There must be investment in every area of the pipeline if you are going to treat donors well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few FAQs we get on this topic

How can non-profits incentivize collaboration between departments?

We work on what we’re measured on. To promote collaboration around the donor journey, each group’s KPIs must include a metric that rewards them for identifying and moving a donor to the next level of giving. Otherwise, there’s every reason for groups to become territorial about “their” donors, which doesn’t serve the donor’s interests.

Does internal communication really impact the donor experience?

Yes it does! When internal groups aren’t open and transparent with each other, they’re certainly not being transparent with donors. For example, many loyal direct response donors may be open to a deeper relationship with the organization, but if no one ever taps the mid-level officer to share that information, the donor won’t have that opportunity.

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For more insights on how you can structure your org around serving the donor, check out our White Paper, “Building a Culture of Philanthropy.”

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For more resources and support to help you transform your fundraising approach, check out the Veritus 365 membership program. Are you ready to take your career to the next level?