The purpose of these five items is to keep engaged with your organization’s donors. Let your donors know you appreciate their support and what you are doing with their donations. Let them know the impact their donations are making. How many homeless people have you served so far in 2025? How many people have attended the ballet performances in 2025? How many feral cats were neutered so far in 2025? Be specific. Did those measurements meet the organization’s goals. Let your donors know what your current plans are moving forward.
Communicate with your donors
Every nonprofit should immediately send a communication, letter, email, or text, to your donors letting them know your status. How are you continuing to deliver programs and services? How many individuals, families, kittens are you currently serving? What is the current impact of your programs and services? If you have had to cut back on delivering your mission, explain the choices you have made and why.
When nonprofits are stressed, they too often go quiet. Let your donors know you are providing the programs and services they have supported. Donors need to know that their gifts make a difference. Thank them again for their prior support.
Let your donors know what the next six months will look like
Tell them the three things you plan to accomplish in the next six months. Keep it simple. You want them to read it. Be sure your three goals are strategic and measurable. In six months, you are going to send another communication letting them know how you did. If you did not reach a goal, you will let them know what you did do and why you did not reach a particular goal.
You want to keep your donors engaged. When people have information, they are more responsive.
Start a monthly giving program
If you do not have a monthly giving program, start one immediately. First make sure your website will allow monthly giving. Then, ask your donors to become monthly donors. Let them know how a steady flow of monthly giving dollars can help the organization financially as it delivers programs. A monthly giving program will have a long term impact on your bottom line.
One technique is to call a segment of donors. For example, take donors who gave $50 to $100 in 2024 and ask them to consider a monthly gift of $10. It is a small ask, but a reasonable jump for many individuals. You can still ask them to consider a year-end gift on top of their monthly gift.
Thank foundation and corporate donors for their past support
Send a letter to all the foundation and corporate donors that have given to your organization in the past year and thank them for their support. Let them know the impact of their gifts. This is an opportunity to keep them engaged with your mission. Foundations and corporations are managed by individuals who need to be reminded of the good work their foundation and corporate dollars are doing in the community.
Call your donors and say thank you
This is a fulfilling task for board members and other volunteers. The calls are short and simple. “Just calling to say thank you for your 2024 gift to our organization. It was truly appreciated.” The volunteer can leave a message.
The goal of these calls is to express appreciation to the donor. You can even combine this thank you call with, if appropriate, asking the donor to become a monthly donor. I personally received one of these calls. I did not become a monthly donor, but I did make another gift.
If there was ever a time to say thank you and demonstrate sincere appreciation, that time is now.
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