Nonprofits rely on donors’ support for their work and missions. Yet, donor retention can be a significant issue, with many organisations having large percentages of lapsed donors. This reconnection with these late donors is essential to nonprofit sustainability. This article describes email marketing as one way to reconnect with and reactivate deferred donors.
Understanding Lapsed Donors:
We should first start by identifying lapsed donors and why they stopped donating before moving into email marketing tactics. Lapsed donors are people who have donated to your organization before but never gave back within a certain period, usually 12-24 months. Loss of engagement can be caused by financial factors, priorities or the organization’s neglect.
Building an Effective Email Campaign:
A. Segmentation
Segmenting unrecipient donors based on their giving history lets nonprofits develop specific messages that speak to different audiences. Some of the considerations when classifying late donors are:
The size of their last donation: Segmenting donors according to the size of their last donation can enable organizations to develop messages for different levels of giving.
The amount they give regularly: Having an understanding of how frequently donations happen can help nonprofits determine who will give again, and in what quantities.
The amount of time they have sat it out: Those donors who have been silent for less time might be more responsive to re-engagement than those who have been silent for more time.
B. Personalization
Individualized emails have higher open and click rates than standard emails. If you want to design customized emails for relapsed donors, think:
Addressing donors by their first name.
Citing their previous donations and engagement history.
Highlighting how their previous work has impacted the mission of the organization.
Personalization reassures forgotten donors that the organisation values what they’ve done and their contribution is valued as a separate individual.
C. Compelling Content
Good content helps retain lapsed donors and entice them back to the organization. In order to produce engaging content, nonprofits should:
Storytelling: Provide real-life examples or case studies of the organization’s effectiveness.
Get them Moving: Tell emotional stories to engage delinquent donors and make them re-envision why they were giving to the cause in the first place.
Demonstrate what donors can do: Highlight the tangible outcomes of donations and how the organization is dedicated to its cause.
: Subject lines, good quality photos, and short, strong copy can also add to the effectiveness of the email campaign.
D. Clear Call-to-Action
If you’re sending an email and lapsed donors aren’t getting the message, you’ll want to include a large and obvious CTA in the email. Nonprofits should consider:
Using action-oriented language
Providing various donation options including one-time gifts or monthly recurring donations.
Keep the CTA visible and readily accessible within the email.
A good CTA will remove friction from the donation process and help encourage deferred donors to renew their support.
Timing and Frequency:
A. Reconnecting Emails: Timing and Intensity
Three months after the last gift.
Schedule your first reconnecting email three months after a donor’s last donation. The donor may still be close to your organization by this point, and highlighting your work can re-encourage the donor to give again. Send stories about recent work, cases, or other notable projects. Remind them to thank them for previous support and encourage them to reconnect with your organization.
Six months after the last gift.
For donors who have not been re-engaged within three months, send a second re-connect email six months after the last gift. In this email, highlight the impact of their prior contributions and the significance of their ongoing support for your organization’s cause. Be willing to tell people the stories of people who have had their lives changed and benefited from your work. Keep it brief, make it memorable, and do not neglect the emotional impact.
It’s been nine months since the last gift.
A third reconnect email can be sent nine months after the last donation if the donor has not yet re-engaged. If you want to personalize this email, send it from a staff member or volunteer. Be an insider who can offer you a look into what’s happening at the organization, and remind them that they need help on a continual basis, especially if certain projects and programs are struggling or on the cusp of success.
B. Special Occasions and Campaigns
Giving Tuesday and year-end campaigns
Events and campaigns are perfect for reconnecting with exiled donors. Giving Tuesday and end-of-year campaigns in particular can generate a feeling of urgency and exclusivity, inviting donors back. Prove how they can impact the cause, and highlight campaign successes in the past. Do your best to tell a story that will engage them emotionally and connect them to your cause.
Milestones and achievements
Mark high points and accomplishments in your organization’s past as a reason to reach out to lost donors. Be excited and communicate how your organization made these achievements, reminding them that they are an integral part of making it happen. This can reinstate their bond and remind them how their efforts will make a difference.
Measuring Success and Maximizing Your Plan:
Measure and track email marketing performance.
When it comes to evaluating the success of your re-engagement strategies, make sure you continuously track and monitor key email marketing statistics. These metrics include open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. These analytics will give you a snapshot of whether or not your emails are reaching out to lost donors and what needs to be improved.
Develop your strategy based on data.
Apply the information you’ve gathered from your email marketing data to adjust your re-engagement tactics. You should experiment with different approaches (subject lines, email copy, call-to-actions) and see what gets you the best results. Always tweak your campaign in line with the data and improve your open, click-through, and conversions.
Conclusion:
Remarketing old donors through email is an easy, effective way to reenergize your donor pool and keep your nonprofit financially healthy. Implementing the techniques discussed in this paper can help you build effective, targeted, data-driven email campaigns to reengage former donors and motivate them to re-invest in your cause.
