Fundraisers often think donor love means casting donors as superheroes – the ones who zoom in, save the day, and button everything up neatly.

But look: the world is messy. Solutions are imperfect. And honestly? Donors understand it’s about humanity, not heroics.

Respect for the generous hearts who support your cause through thick and thin is better shown in the steady, unsung acts of love and care that make a massive difference to how donors feel about, and give to, your work.

Let’s look at nine of those unsung ways you can grow donor love that lasts.

1. Truth = Loving your donors.

Truth builds trust. Hyperbole has no place in fundraising. Period.

Are you writing to donors and asking them to fund an imperfect solution? That’s okay, we’ve all been there. Say so.

Are you writing even though you don’t have all the answers? Say so.

But… how do you get there?

One powerful writing sequence for this is something I call the Imperfect Solution/Rallying Statement.

Three examples:

1. We had no guarantees. Only provisional funding. And a gap in a program that I hope will become so much more. On that night though, I vowed we would try.
2. The solutions aren’t perfect. But they’re a way that together, we can help people avoid from slipping through the cracks any further.
3. There are no easy answers. But you have my word that with your help, we’ll keep doing what’s right, right now.

See what I mean?

Imperfect solution, followed by rallying statement. Just real people, doing what they can, giving when they can, to help. No hero’s cape needed.

Honesty is love’s foundation, so say the bravest, truest thing you can.

2. Readability = Loving your donors.

I’m telling you now: this is not about, “Oh Lisa is always droning on about writing for ‘older eyes,’ and ‘you are not your donor unless you’re a woman over 65.’”

What’s readable and inviting for older eyes is readable and inviting for ALL eyes.

For the most inclusive copy, making your donor communications readable and inviting = loving your donors.

What does this mean?

• White space to give your letters room to breathe.
• Short paragraphs and larger font in emails.
• Clear-to-follow fonts that render well on the page.
• Clear-to-follow writing that isn’t self-impressed.
• Ditch the organizational jargon and fancy words.
• Active verbs, shorter sentences, good conversational pacing.

The list goes on. I’ve written about readability, Jeff Brooks has, Sean Triner, Tom Ahern, you don’t have far to look to learn.

And please, for me. If you run your email or letter through a readability-checker like Hemingway Editor  (and if you love your donors, you should) and it says you’re at a reading level of Grade 10, rewrite it. Seriously. Then keep simplifying until it’s between Grades 4 to 8, not above.

Dense, hard-to-read copy is not loving your donors.

3. Stories That Show Respect = Loving your donors.

From the dawn of humankind, stories have been how we make sense of things. How we find meaning. How we put our heart and soul beside another, for humanity. Tell stories, everywhere you can, whenever you can. Your donors love stories, and loving your donors means sharing and telling your stories – AND inviting donors to share their story too.

Remember though, dignity matters. Respect matters. If you’re writing stories about people, show their challenges. But show their resilience and their strengths.

Here’s an example.

Last year I had a choice when crafting a client’s holiday appeal. I could describe the situation, children and families caught in war – or I could start with a story.

Stories = loving your donors.

So, it was an easy choice for me to lead with:

Madina gazes down at the last of the seeds in her hands, and faces a choice no mother should ever have to make.

If she uses these seeds to feed her children, none will be left to plant. But her babies are starving. […]

She is resolute that although war has taken almost everything from their family, it won’t take her children, too. She grinds the seeds for one more meal.

Donor love means stories that honor, not pity. The strength of a mother’s resolve. A family’s determination to hold on.

Donor love means letting your donors see a little of themselves in those they’re helping. Suddenly it’s not out-group or in-group. It’s all of us, together.

4. Asking = Loving your donors.

Yes, I mean this.

Asking your donors = loving your donors.

Across more than two decades of fundraising writing, the top-performing clients we have are sending appeals 4 times each year and mailing newsletters 4 times a year too.

Others send more appeals. If there’s a crisis, a special letter or email might go out. There are surveys, and packs just for gratitude, and multi-channel communications.

Asking is not begging. Please don’t deny your donors the chance to be generous and be part of something bigger, the chance to make a difference in the world.

And don’t stop with just asking for help.

Ask for opinions. Ask them to share their stories and memories. Ask them to send messages back for those you serve, for staff, for partners. Ask them for advocacy. Ask them to events and gatherings.

Asking = love. Ask.

5. Print = Loving your donors.

This one maybe could say, Multi-channel = loving your donors.

But I’m focusing on print because print is the thing nonprofits continue to give up, thinking it’s outdated, a dead medium. Nope. Still very much alive.

Big response rates are still being generated by direct mail. It’s still capturing the lion’s share of donations. I say this firsthand. Loads of others do too.

Print leaves a deeper footprint in the brain, for one thing.

There’s tactility and memorability, for two more.

The point though is, print AND digital. Multi-channel givers give more, and print often is a driving channel to help donors give online.

Don’t believe me? One study showed nonprofits that increased the number of channels from one to 2+ retained nearly 12% more donors year over year.

Revert to single channel? Year-over-year retention dropped by 31+%.

Print still = loving your donors.

6. Clean data = Loving your donors.

Let’s start with getting the names of your supporters right, with addressing them correctly.

But there’s so much more to the story that clean data can tell you. You can segment better… you can add personalized touches to your donor communications… you can ask folks for appropriate amounts… you can acknowledge loyalty and aspirational supporter identities… raise more… steward better… and on and on.

All of this is donor love because, for your donors, clean data helps them feel seen and appreciated for who they are.

But incorrect data? That damages trust, goodwill, and makes donors feel like a transaction – and that is not donor love.

7. Reporting back = Loving your donors.

If you ask once a year then never communicate with your donors again until the next year, this is not loving your donors: this is treating them like a money machine. Please, for me, don’t do this.

Can you do two appeals and two newsletters, with lovely thank-yous in between? Can you send a simple story, a photo, a message of what their support has achieved? Yes, you can.

Start with this formula: Ask, Thank, Report Back, Repeat (forever hat tip Steven Screen/Better Fundraising Company).

I’ll give you a simple reason.

Dr. Adrian Sargeant’s watershed research on donor retention, Managing Donor Defection, found that 21% (more than one in five!) donors stopped giving because they were either a) never thanked or b) not informed how their gifts were used.

Want to keep more donors? Report back. (And remember, thank you is also a kind of reporting back.)

8. An easy yes = Loving your donors.

Ease and clarity spark lasting donor love as much as words do.

Does the letter look inviting, with a clear path from salutation to signature? Does considerate formatting like bolded phrases, tabbed paragraphs, and occasional underlining help pull the donor along? Is your donation form clear?

When your donor’s eye flows easily, their brain doesn’t have to fight to make sense of the page. Cognitive load drops. Comprehension rises. And what’s left is space for empathy, generosity, and trust.

Neuroscience has a name for this: processing fluency. When something feels easy to take in, people are more likely to judge it as true and positive (Reber, Winkielman & Schwarz, 2002). That sense of ease makes donors more open, more engaged, and more willing to feel your cause belongs with them.

The same principle applies online. A cluttered landing or donation page creates friction – and friction isn’t love. A clean page, one clear call to action, an obvious homepage button, and minimal fields respect both heart and brain.

Donor love means designing an experience where they can say yes without stumbling, so be sure to test all your emails and pages online – including your donation forms – and print all your direct mail mock-ups actual to be sure you can read and follow them.

9. Thanking the giver, not just the gift = Loving your donors.

Many Moceanic readers know I have a short course on thanking in The  Fundraisingology Membership, and a book out called Thankology. I also ran a 21-day series of posts on LinkedIn for folks who maybe can’t or don’t want to purchase the book, or maybe they need quick guidance – and there’s a free thank-you clinic on SOFII, too.

One of the most important Thankology principles is: Thank the giver, not just their gift.

It’s one of the most important principles of donor love, too. I’ll tell you why.

Neuroscience shows gratitude lights up parts of the brain that humans and humanity really need – not just now, but always. Gratitude has been shown to activate emotion, trust, and memory centers. It can increase goodwill. Increase our understanding of others, increase altruism, and help us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. Neurotransmitters and neuropeptides called ‘the happiness chemicals’ – dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin – all move when gratitude is stirred. In case that’s not enough, gratitude can also help you grow loyalty.

When you thank your givers for their time and generosity and caring and kindness and fighting spirit, not just for their gift, that’s more than gratitude – that’s donor love.

And loving your donors – beyond the hero’s cape – inspires them to help you more, connect more deeply, and stay beside you for a long, long time to come.

Want to keep building this kind of donor love into your fundraising – all year long?

Join the waitlist for The Fundraisingology Lab and be the first to know when membership opens. You’ll get access to courses by experts like Lisa Sargent, plus a supportive community, practical tools, and expert guidance that helps you fundraise with confidence and heart. Join the waitlist now.

Related Blog Posts:

• Fundraising vs. Stewardship: Which is More Important?
• How to Put Donor Love to Work in Your Fundraising
• Thankuary: Donor Love for the Win!