Thursday May 8- Giving is down

Hi !

🤒  Feel better: What’s cookin this week

In this week’s enews…

• Data you need to know- and act upon

• Myth? Yes. Fact? I may be coming around

• Learn from the good: Mother’s Day isn’t a happy one for everyone 

• A must read post: The two deadliest words in fundraising

• Strategy Insider: How the organization markets itself

• Oh FFS: Proper punctuation matters

The solution to last week’s Triple E (enews easter egg): It was May 1, May Day, which means quoting from this funny movie scene.

Let’s dive into this week’s pain point. Up till now I believed it was a myth and not a pain point. I’m reconsidering that position. Let’s discuss donor fatigue.

🥕 Carrots: The numbers are 📉 

The data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project is in and it’s not great.

Actually, why mess around. Call it what it is. The numbers suck.

• Number of donors is down YoY 4.5% (4th straight year of decline)

• 8.8% FEWER small donors gave in 2024 as compared to 2023

• 6% decline in one-time donors

• Donors giving more than one gift annually gave 3% less

• Overall donor retention declined by 2.6% (FIVE STRAIGHT YEARS OF DECLINE)

• 4.9% decline in number of repeat donors retained

• The overall amount of money donated rose by 3.5%

I purposefully ended with that last bullet point because I know how many Boards and bosses only care about amount given (all the 🙄 ). The reason for growth in dollars donated? The big three, of course. Large gifts are up and that skews the data.

But look at the rest. Number of people giving is DOWN, retention is DOWN, small givers is DOWN. It’s depressing because it shouldn’t be this way!

As far as retention, we need to sound the alarm bell now. Actually, should’ve sounded it a few years ago but better late than never.

I’ve written about this issue before and I’ll continue to write about it. The fact is many of you are feeling the data at work. Donations are down, fewer people giving. And it’s hurting your organization’s ability to go from survival to thrival. My guess is that many of you feel like you’re spinning your tires in mud but not moving forward.

This week I want to address a term that some will relate to the above data. I believe it is a myth but I may be reconsidering that:

Donor fatigue.

(Side note: I do believe there is such a thing as fundraiser fatigue. I wrote about it two weeks ago when I discussed self-plagiarization.)

Let’s talk about what’s happening out there and why I am wondering if myth is becoming fact.

🥔 Potatoes: What are donors tired of

Donor fatigue is defined as donors getting tired of giving. Donor fatigue is not a thing. 

But I do believe there’s a different definition for donor fatigue. I believe they get tired of the way we treat them and how we communicate with them. You need to understand when this is happening, what it feels like to a donor, how often to ask and how to keep donors happy.

The data shows that fewer donors are giving. They are tired of being seen as cash cows. They are tired of horrible comms from organizations. They want the good vibes associated with donating to charity- and charities aren’t providing that.

All of which leads to people being tired of giving. Donor fatigue.

I may be coming around on this.

I’ve been in this sector for 25 years. I work with nonprofits and speak to a whole bunch more. I keep my finger on the pulse of what’s going on out there.

It always baffles me why organizations don’t pour more resources into retention and keep more of the donors they have.

Acquisition costs 5-10 times MORE than retention!

If you concentrated on retention, you’d save time, effort and money while also raising more money. The ultimate win-win! And yet the sector’s overall retention rate is 40%. First-time donor retention rate is 20%.

👎️ 👎️ 👎️ 

And yes, the mad scramble to find a Scott, Gates, Oprah or Bezos to donate is maddening. 🪡 , meet haystack. You have donors who literally felt moved to give to you last year!!! Keep them onboard!

And there’s a good chance you have some mega-donors among them!!! Know how to find them and you’ll be better off.

As a former small shop CEO and fundraiser, I know you’re being pulled in a million directions. You wear a hundred 🎩 and you’re extremely overworked and 😩 . I get it.

But folks, as this article argues, donors are getting tired of the experience of giving. It’s no longer a pleasant one.

And when that becomes the case, they stop giving.

That doesn’t just hurt your organization. It negatively impacts the people you’re trying to help and the causes you champion.

Going from survival to thrival means genuinely providing a positive giving experience for every donor. Heap gratitude upon them, share the impact of their gifts, send stories. Give them all the good vibes!

One final note: This was included in an email I received from Easterseals.

The good vibes should start with the ask. Notice how they share the impact of a gift: With a picture, names and simple to understand description.

(For those of you wondering about smiling people in all the pics, the answer is: I agree with you. Not every pic in a fundraising ask letter or email has to have people smiling. But in this case, the smiling kids add to the good vibes a prospective donor will feel once they give.)

Yes, we’re dealing with tough issues, life and death. It’s not always pleasant. But that doesn’t mean we should make the act of giving something people have to do, rather than wanting to do.

People want to give and have positive impact on their community. Make the actual act of giving a positive one, a helpful one, a feel good one. Follow it up with gratitude and impact that keeps the good feelings rolling.

That’s how you prevent donors from being tired of giving. And that’s how you grow your organization!

🧅 Onion: Learn from the good- Show empathy and love

In this section I will share with you something good being done by a nonprofit that you can learn from.

Yesh Tikva is a growing organization which offers free professional psychosocial services, resources and tools to those struggling with infertility in the Jewish community, while simultaneously raising awareness and sensitivity on the subject.

(Full disclosure: Yesh Tikva is a former client. I crafted their fundraising and marketing strategy.)

Two days ago I received this email from them:

I am a big fan of these types of emails. Mother’s Day is this Sunday in the U.S. (and Father’s Day is in a month) and not everyone celebrates it. In fact, for some it’s a painful day.

If an organization is running a campaign around these days, I advise them to send an email in advance offering people the chance to opt out. Subscribers will still get your emails except for the Mother’s/Father’s Day ones. That’s one way your nonprofit can show empathy, understanding and love to your subscribers.

I want to highlight the above email from their ED. They know their audience and understand how tough these days can be. They emailed to make everyone feel seen, share their pain and provide platforms to discuss and educational materials to help.

In the email they shared a grandparent in waiting toolkit and other toolkits.

This is a good example of creating a two-way street for your audience. It’s not always about the ask. Sometimes you just have to be understanding.

🫗 Water: A little of this and that

In this section I’m going to share with you great content I’ve picked out that you can learn from.

1. A great direct mail example to learn from. A MUST LOOK AND READ!!! (Queer Ideas)

2. The two deadliest words in fundraising (MarketSmart)

3. 7 content copywriting tips (Content Marketing Institute)

4. How to prepare your grantmaking for economic uncertainty (Blackbaud)

5. 10 tactics to grow repeat donors (Nonprofit Tech For Good)

🐔  Chicken pieces: Strategy Insider- Deep Dive

In this section I’m going to share with you how I build strategies for nonprofits. Each week I’ll share another piece and over the coming months you’ll see how everything fits together.

Continuing with my Deep Dive, let’s look at marketing.

I perform a complete review of an organization’s marketing efforts. Here’s what I’m checking out and reviewing:

• Branding: This isn’t limited to a logo. I look at how the nonprofit presents itself both visually and what words they use. I will go thru a style guide if they have one (a style guide can include what words/phrases/terms to use and which to avoid). I want to understand how people perceive the organization when viewing their collateral and what type of experience they have.

• Messaging: How does the organization describe itself? Are they clear about who they are, their mission, who they help or are they using a lot of jargon and wording that goes over people’s heads?

• Building awareness: How does the nonprofit get the word out that they exist? About their work and impact? I will examine if they’re well known (decent saturation of target audience) or if there’s room to grow to new audiences.

• Data analysis: What are their KPIs for success? (KPI= Key Performance Indicator) It’s important to do a deep dive into the marketing data, understand what metrics they track and use to define success and whether they’re hitting their targets. I may suggest down the road that they consider using other metrics and goals.

• Visuals: Once again, this isn’t limited to logo. This includes pictures they share, images and data visualizations. I want to see visuals that capture attention and will cause people to read the content. Because when the visuals are stale…

I will have a long chat with the person/people in charge of marketing to understand how they go about their work and the challenges they face. Their insights are critical when evaluating an organization’s overall marketing apparatus.

The above is not the full picture but gives you a very good idea of how deep I dive into the marketing program. Combine that with last week’s description of my fundraising deep dive and you get an idea of how much I’m looking at, reviewing, analyzing and evaluating.

But I’m just getting started. Next week I’ll share with you which platforms I dive into and what I’m looking for.

🧄  Garlic and spices: The correct way

Please pardon the NSFW word in the image below but as a Gen Xer who may say this a lot, it’s important to know the correct punctuation.

I’ll be back next Thursday. Have a great weekend!

P.S. I listened to The Eagles “Take It To The Limit” on an endless loop while working on the enews. Not sure how but only much later in life did I start listening to and enjoying their music. Better late than never!