Fundraising is a relationship between an organization and the donor.

All relationships – from work friendships to marriages – have a beginning.

And a good beginning helps launch a good (and long) relationship. That includes the donor relationship.

In donor relationships, we can see this clearly: Most first-time donors to an organization never give again. They don’t want a relationship. Maybe they never intended to have one. Or maybe what happened (and didn’t happen) left them cold and uninterested.

Which I think is why many of us in fundraising intuit that just dumping a new donor into our ongoing communications stream may not be the best start to the relationship.

I’ve been involved in a lot of “new donor welcome” projects, and I’d like to show you what I’ve learned about starting the relationship well:

Donor Welcome MUSTS

1. A quick donation acknowledgement. A heartfelt message thanking the donor. Sent as soon as possible. Email and postal mail if at all possible.
2. A thank you phone call. From a live human, no ask, just a big thank you. (It’s okay to leave a voicemail.) This has a lot of impact on subsequent donor retention.
3. A thank you letter. A full letter, by postal mail if you have the mailing address. This can be a week or two later.

If you aren’t doing these things, you are losing donors!

There’s more you can do. Here are some of the things I’ve seen…

The Kitchen Sink Pack: Costly and iffy

This is where you welcome new donors with open arms – and a lot of information. I’m talking a very involved mailing that really works to tell the donor everything they need to know about the organization … their programs, philosophy, maps of where they work, statistics about their cause, several stories about things they’ve done and are doing, a survey … maybe a bumper sticker, cool tchotchkes, membership card … all kept together in a really nice folder.

You get the picture.

Tempting to do. I don’t recommend it, though.

In my experience, this high-cost type of welcome kit has little impact on subsequent donor retention. Not much bang for a lot of buck!

The flaw, I believe, is that it assumes donors will be more connected if they are more educated. So the organization heaps on information they want the donor to know. Their history. Their philosophy. Where they work. How they work. Why they work…

Few donors need to know those things. Fewer want them. Sometimes these welcome packs can make it feel as if being a donor to this organization is hard work. And it’s presumptuous. Like following up a first-time meet up for coffee with your list of everything that’s important to you and what life as your partner will be like. (Creepy, right?)

Alternative: Instead of a kit that’s all about you, think about a kit that’s all about them. Give donors the information (and maybe tchotchkes) they want. That would take some research and insight, and real writing skill. Even then, I’d be wary of the high cost.

Welcome Newsletter: Connect by reporting back

Some organizations that have a strong donor newsletter that really does a great job of reporting back to donors with stories and wonderful photos create a “welcome” version of their newsletter for first-time donors.

It’s a sort of best-of edition that’s evergreen for a year or so. They take care to make sure the content completes the story that started with the acquisition message. There’s usually some specific “welcome to the family” content. Be sure to include an ask!

Supporter Connection Survey: Start the relationship with conversation

This isn’t just any old survey, but a specific donor survey type. (If you are not familiar with it, check out: 4 Types of Surveys for Fundraisers – 3 Are Good, One is GREAT.) This is designed to start a conversation with donors, while looking at the possibility of their taking one of the key upward paths (upgrading to higher amounts, giving monthly, or considering legacy gifts).

It’s a great way to start the relationship! Include an ask in your survey too.

First-time Appeal: A winner

With any first-time donor, you have two critically important pieces of information:

1. You know they responded to a particular offer, in a particular medium.
2. You know how much they gave.

You might know more, such as basic demographic information, but these two things are far more important than anything else. Because those things strongly predict what this person will do next, and in the future. That’s why this is a winner for getting that all-important next donation.

Here’s what it is: It’s a piece of mail (assuming the donor came to you via direct mail) that’s almost exactly the same as the message that won them over in the first place. There may be minor changes that acknowledge that they’ve given before. But the most important difference is that you now know how much they gave, and can ask amounts around that amount.

Other than the thank-you elements above, this is the most effective way to improve long-term retention.

None of these donor welcome pieces are mutually exclusive. You can do one or some combination of them. Do what your budget and time allow, and watch the results.

That’s how to welcome donors so they’re eager to keep giving.

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