‘Sure, everyone has to tighten their belts, but consider this: would you stop paying your children’s school fees and make them stay at home in order to save money? Just for a year or two? What would happen when you decided that you could afford to send
them back?

After two years of little or no investment in their education, they would be at a significant disadvantage, and have a few years of playing ‘catch up’ before they could even hope to reach the required standard from which to progress. This is what happens when charities stop investing in acquisition – short term gain but a long term sacrifice, from which it is not easy to recover.

The default position for an NPO should be to continue to invest in acquisition – but to maximise future returns by looking after those donors a lot better than we might have in the past, in order to conquer the other demon of recession: donor retention, i.e. keeping your existing donors and bringing new donors into the fold for a lifetime.

Your appeals need to be as real and as urgent as ever, but once you have a donation
– saying thank you, and saying it correctly will be the most important determinant of keeping new – and existing – donors.

Although recession is the reason given for a decline in donor retention, is there anything else that affects retention rates? A survey, carried out in America in 2008, asked donors why they had stopped giving. The number one reason? They ‘no longer feel connected to an organisation’.

This is not a new feeling. In 1997 the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating found that 50% of donors stop giving, or give less, because they felt that their gifts were not appreciated.

The thank you letter is the perfect place to show your appreciation, to tell your donors that they matter to you, that their donation made a difference.

In a 2008 study carried out in the UK 25 charities were sent an initial ‘test’ donation of R120. A staggering 14 of them failed to send any form of thank you whatsoever. These were not small, cash-strapped organisations either, but well established charities. Of the thank you letters that were received, the one that made the most impact was a hand written card from Hope & Homes for Children. It was personal, heartfelt and much better than a compliments slip with the words ‘thanks for your donation’ scrawled on it – one of the other thank you’s received.

So it’s vital for your organisation to thank donors properly.

Consider the following:
How soon after the gift is received do you send a thank you letter?
• Promptness is a priority. Aim to send a thank you letter within 48 hours.
• Do you refer to the amount donated? If I have made a donation, I want to know that you have paid attention, that you acknowledge the amount of my gift.

Do you address the donor by name?
• Know who the donor is – personalise your thank you letter.

Do you supply a receipt as standard?
• You should, as standard procedure.
• Do you differentiate what kind of letter or communication goes to people who donated very small amounts and those who sent substantial gifts?

If someone has donated a large amount of money, send the letter, but make sure your
director or CEO makes a phone call as well. If someone has donated R10, this is as
important a gift as any other.

What about content?
• You could start with something other than ‘Thank you for your gift’ to make it more exciting!
• If this is a repeat gift, acknowlege their past generosity.
• Include a contact number they can call if they have questions, or an e-mail address – but a named address, not an Info@abc’. Direct them to a real person.
• Use the words ‘you’ and ‘yours’ more than ‘we’ and ‘ours’.
• Say ‘thank you’ more than once.

What kind of information do you have on your donors?
• Your database should be able to tell you how old I am, how often I donate, what my average gift is, whether I have a special interest in any of your projects and so on.

This is the type of data that can help you keep track of the effectiveness of your appeals, the lifetime value of donors, who to send bequest information to – your database is the life-blood of your fundraising. If you want to improve your retention rates, improve the way your donors feel about you. Make them part of your family. Every NPO can do a better job of saying thank you, and it doesn’t have to cost you a great deal.

Recession has ‘bitten’ and the response of a number of charities has been to cut back
on their donor acquisition programmes. This despite the research that has shown this to be false economy, and results in a drop in income four or five years down the line. DMI’s Sandy Havercroft- Drummond reports.