4 Fundraising Ideas to Improve Nonprofit Donor Retention
Your nonprofit puts a lot of time and effort into acquiring new donors, from marketing your donation page on social media to empowering supporters to spread the word throughout their personal networks. But what happens after first-time supporters submit a donation? Are you doing everything you can to retain these donors over the long term?
Donor retention is often easier and more cost-effective than focusing all of your fundraising efforts on donor acquisition. By increasing your donors’ lifetime value, you can establish a reliable donation pipeline to support your overarching goals.
One of the best ways to retain donors and reinforce their commitment to your organization is by planning engaging fundraising events. With strong event ideas, you can bring your nonprofit’s community together all while encouraging giving, allowing you to effectively advance your mission.
Consider hosting these exciting fundraising events to boost your donor lifetime value:
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Gala
Auction
5K Run/Walk
Whether you want to host an in-person event for its social element or a virtual event to expand your reach, these ideas can help you grab supporters’ interest and help them feel more passionate about your cause. Let’s begin.
1. Peer-to-Peer Fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a great way to improve donor retention. By giving donors a more active role in acquiring donations, they’ll feel more invested in your mission. When managing your nonprofit’s peer-to-peer fundraising program, be sure to:
Encourage participants to share their stories. Many individuals donate because they have a personal connection to the cause. Encouraging donors to share their stories, maybe by recording a video, helps foster a closer connection to the mission and engages their social networks, which also means new donors.
Emphasize that every donation counts. Although peer-to-peer fundraising is an effective strategy to increase revenue, individual donations can often be smaller. Remind your supporters that every donation counts, and encourage donations at all levels.
Maintain consistent branding. To capitalize on the increased online visibility that peer-to-peer fundraising can generate, maintain consistent branding across all platforms. This way, your nonprofit’s image will become more recognizable to a growing audience, which will only contribute to stronger trust in and support for your organization.
Get creative. There are all kinds of peer-to-peer fundraising ideas out there, so it’s just a matter of finding which one is right for your nonprofit. To get supporters excited, you need to make sure your event is not only on-brand but also eye-catching and fun. Consider a relevant theme for your campaign and incorporate a gamification strategy to keep donors motivated, such as offering a prize for the supporter who raises the most.
The flexibility of peer-to-peer fundraising means that you can use it for year-round fundraising or as a way to generate excitement for your events. From birthday fundraisers to peer-to-peer campaigns leading up to big events like walk-a-thons, your organization can empower your loyal donors to take the fundraising reins and make a bigger impact on your organization’s mission. Plus, you can even tap your lapsed donors and encourage them to get involved with your nonprofit again by highlighting fun peer-to-peer opportunities.
2. Gala
An annual gala gives donors something to look forward to and a way to connect with other supporters, leading to a stronger community. Ultimately, a gala is a great event option to remind donors why they became involved in the first place. Here are tips for hosting a gala that will keep your donors engaged:
Put celebration first. Especially if you plan to host a gala at the end of the year, you should prioritize celebrating your nonprofit’s accomplishments. Focus on highlighting your nonprofit and supportive community’s impact, which will likely inspire supporters to contribute.
Try to meet all of your guests. One reason many donors become disengaged is that they don’t feel emotionally connected to your organization. Mobilize board members, staff, and volunteers to greet your attendees and thank them for their involvement.
Consider making it hybrid. Providing in-person and virtual options for your gala offers attendees flexibility and convenience, allowing them to engage to the extent that works best for them. However, even though part of your audience will be home, you can still keep them engaged and eager to give back to your organization. According to the OneCause guide to hybrid events, a virtual event platform with gamification, live streaming, and live chat features can help you energize your remote attendees.
Galas are a fantastic opportunity to showcase your nonprofit’s accomplishments and highlight the true impact of donations. Inviting donors to celebrate with you is a surefire way to give them an enjoyable evening, while simultaneously forming and strengthening long-term connections.
3. Auction
Auctions are another entertaining fundraising opportunity to get donors back in the giving mindset. By inspiring healthy competition with an engaging live or silent auction, especially when it’s going toward a great cause, you can spur momentum for your organization.
One advantage of auctions is that they can be adapted for all types of audiences. With appealing items and a well-orchestrated event, many people are likely to register, attend, and compete. Use these best practices to plan a winning auction:
Target your catalog to your specific audience. If you’re looking to engage a specific group of supporters, pick items that appeal to their interests. Consider featuring items that fit your demographic or have performed well in the past if you’ve previously held an auction. However, don’t feel like you need to break the bank to auction off exciting items. According to Double the Donation’s guide to corporate sponsorships, a local business could sponsor your items in exchange for free marketing at your event.
Start bidding early. As you market your auction, share a few of the items ahead of time to generate interest and encourage bidding online. This can help drive revenue and engagement before your event doors even open.
Use mobile bidding software. Whether your auction will occur in-person or online, mobile bidding software can help the whole event run smoothly. Attendees will value the convenience and ease of being able to bid directly from their phones.
Be sure to offer incentives for signing up early, such as sneak peeks at your catalog or VIP early bidding. This will inspire urgency and ramp up excitement for your upcoming event.
4. 5K Run/Walk
Charity run/walk events are an easy and fun way to get donors involved with your nonprofit. Not only do they get supporters up and moving for a great cause, but these types of events can help bolster a stronger sense of community and build your brand visibility with the right amount of marketing.
Incorporating a peer-to-peer fundraising experience in your run/walk event is an effective strategy to maximize your donations and increase your overall reach. Just like with any peer-to-peer event, your fundraisers will feel more invested in your nonprofit as they try to energize their networks around the upcoming race.
When setting up a peer-to-peer fundraising element for your run or walk, make sure it’s clear that the main goal of your event is fundraising. You may assume it’s clear to participants that they should be raising money, but they may only see the event as a fun outing. Maximize your event’s fundraising potential by ensuring the messaging on your event home page clearly communicates that fundraising for your mission (while having fun) is the goal!
Additionally, consider using gamification tools like a fundraising thermometer or team fundraising pages to keep everyone engaged. This way, donors can keep track of how close they are to reaching their goal or can work with their friends to stay motivated.
After the walk or run, be sure to send follow-up information about how much you raised and thank your donors and volunteers for their specific contributions. This will help your supporters feel valued and motivated to continue supporting your organization. You can even tease your next event if you have one planned for the following months.
Backed by a loyal supporter base, your organization can more effectively achieve its goals. Make sure to invest ample time and energy into exciting fundraising events so you can remind supporters why it’s fun and impactful to support your organization. Plus, consistently demonstrate your donor appreciation after your fundraising events so supporters feel seen and recognized. Good luck!
Kelly Velasquez-Hague
Kelly Velasquez-Hague brings over 20 years of fundraising, nonprofit management, and sales/marketing experience to her role as the Director of Content Marketing for OneCause. As a member of the OneCause sales and marketing team, Kelly manages all of the company’s content strategy and execution. She is passionate about empowering great missions and loves that her current role allows her to continue to help nonprofits reach new donors and raise more funds for their cause.
