Donor Relations

Effective donor maintenance comes down to "relationships."  Systems are important, but if you are not building that relationship stronger and stronger, you'll experience high attrition rates.  Success in the donor relations aspect of your development can be narrowed down to five attitudes, four actions and five affirmations. Here are the five affirmations:

1.  Thank your donors.   One of the complaints prospects have about non-profits is that we are "always asking for money."  At least, that's the perception.  The truth may be far from that, but it doesn't matter what YOU think, it matters what your prospects and constituency thinks.  What you will discover, though, is that if you do a good job thanking your donors then you will create a different perception of your appeals for funds.

2.  Report back to your constituency.  This is different than saying “thank you.”  Reporting back is telling your donor where their money has gone and giving a progress report on the project or on the ministry in general.  This is especially important when someone makes a designated gift.  You need to report back to that person a few weeks down the road, and perhaps as an ongoing commitment.  If the project has been fully funded and completed, then let your donors know that.

3.  Allow your donors to be a part of your success.  This ties in with reporting back, but it goes beyond that.  When a great victory is achieved, shout it from the mountaintops!  There's nothing more unifying than a successful team effort, so unify your team by letting them feel part of the success.  Whatever excites you probably excites them, too.

4.  Communicate ownership -- THEIR ownership -- of the ministry.  This is a tough one.  We never want to turn the ministry over to our support team, but we must be willing to let them have some part of it.  As much as you have probably sacrificed your time and effort for the ministry, your donors have the privilege of having a part, too.

5.  Treat every partner as important.  One of the greatest affirmations you can give a donor is that he is important.  It doesn't take a lot to do this.  The simplest way is to tell him.  Incorporate that into your receipt letters and other communications pieces.  Let your donors know where you would be if it weren't for people like them.  Let them know that they are part of a select group of people.  Let them know that they are the backbone of your ministry's support.

From The Complete System for Ministry Fundraising & Development, by Jon Fugler and Ron Johnston.
The System gives in-depth treatment of best practices for good donor relations.