When a new donor decides to support your organization, they make a very significant decision to give away some of their resources, funds they worked for, to help you accomplish your mission. This is a very important moment, both for the new donor and your ministry. What happens in the days that follow this first gift will shape the donor’s future behavior and opinions of your organization, for better or worse.
Some compelling need, opportunity, or emotional connection compelled that first gift. Perhaps you went to great lengths to cultivate it, maybe it was a payoff from previous relationship building as a referral, or perhaps you have no way to know why the gift was given. The bottom line is the donor trusts you, right now, at this moment. Within five seconds of hitting the donate button, that trust will begin to be strengthened or eroded.
Once the compelling moment has passed, the donor wants their decision to give to be reinforced. They want to feel like they made the right decision. But before that they at least want to feel like it worked, and the money made it to you.
Your first chance to help that is with a thank you page. This may be overly simplistic, but it confirms the gift was received and thanks the donor. The second chance is the thank you email; this does the same thing but provides them with a receipt they can keep. Whether simple or extensive, these two immediate points of feedback are critical for maintaining trust that your organization is both credible and capable. I do not believe you stand much to gain by investing great effort into these communications, but you do stand to lose much if they are broken, inaccurate, look strange, or are not proofread. You want to create confidence and reinforce your brand.
The next point of connection is the timely printed first receipt letter. This letter is a touch point, not just a mirror of the automated email receipt; it contains the gift receipt, but it is more than that. This is a friendly short letter expressing your thanks and welcoming them as a treasured first-time supporter of a very important cause. It may have a brochure included, perhaps a small gift, or other items, but what matters most is it arrives quickly.
This letter should be printed and mailed first class within 48 hours of the gift. If they have forgotten you by the time they get the letter, the opportunity to gain ground is lost. This must be printed, it must create a tangible touchpoint, reinforcing that your cause is real and not just a digital idea.
Next, a series of cultivation emails, letters, and phone touchpoints should follow. There needs to be a balance between cultivating a new relationship and overwhelming someone after the first date. Too much can turn off new donors, and too many asks can ruin the experience. Your goal is to welcome, educate, engage, and create a warm pathway towards an ongoing relationship.
You should give periodic opportunities of different types for the donor to take an action to deepen the relationship, such as offering them a book or other product you have, providing a video, inviting them to attend an event, and, yes, give a gift to support your important work. It is easy to overdo it, yet most organizations error on the other side of the equation and do little to nothing or just repeatedly ask for more gifts.
Remember, this is a relationship, it is a long-term opportunity. But you must take fast action to build that relationship. New donors who do not take another action within the first 90 days tend to never engage again. They will never be more engaged with your cause than the moment they donated, and every day that energy will fade more and more unless you take action. Swift action is needed, but pace yourself.
The best thing you can do is be true to the heart of your organization. Embody your passion and vision in your new donor cultivation process. Donors will forgive a lot if they believe you are authentic and they share your passion. Do this well, and you can gain them as a supporter for life.
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