The Donor Behavior Grid: Turning List Chaos Into Intentional Asks
One of the most important elements of your Funding Plan is parsing out your donors. In this work, there are really two key categories of definitions you need to pay attention to giving frequency and giving level. Think of it as a grid where some people will be frequent donors at a high level, some will have lapsed donors at a medium level and others will be frequent givers at very low levels.
Each of these is an indication of loyalty to you, and your goal is to continue to foster the growth of their loyalty, even when the dollars that they give don’t match every year. Again, it’s about the relationship!
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Let’s look at the first category of donor parsing: giving frequency. Put this on the X-axis, with regular donors all the way to the right, and moving to the left from there.
Regular/Long-Time Donors: These are the donors with whom you can see a pattern of giving. It may not be at perfect intervals, but there is a clear track-record of consistent giving, which translates to consistent loyalty.
New Donors: These are your recent first-time donors or recent one-time givers who have not signed up for recurring donations. Ideally, you’ll set up a series of emails to thank them, welcome them into being part of the work. And, you’ll begin to ask them for a second gift that’s either one-time or monthly within 60 days.
Lapsed Donor: This is any donor who behaves differently than they used to. You’ll have to define that for you, but if they are monthly donors, a lapse of two months makes them “lapsed” and if they are one-time givers, a lapse of 12 months makes them lapsed. This is likely your most successful pursuit when it comes to those times of the years where you see donations slow. This group carries loyalty. They just might need a reminder!
Non-Donor: These are the individuals in your donor base that have never given but get all of your communications. They may have signed up as interested at an event or found you on Facebook. A low entry point is your best strategy here to see how they respond, but this is where you are starting at the lowest point of loyalty-building. There is a lot of opportunities, but it will take more work.
Now let’s look at the Y-axis: giving levels. Remember that the dollar amounts that correspond with each category will be different for your organization from the next, so we offer some guidelines. You’ll need to adjust.
Major Donors: These are your $1,000+ donors (it could be higher depending on your donor base). They should get regular communication that is sent to all donors, but they need more attention. They need specific stories of impact, phone calls and meetings, and conversations about their particular interest in your ministry. Think about making sure they feel that triangle connection over and over because the level at which they give is truly sustaining to your impact.
Middle Donors: These are your one-time givers at the $250-$500 level, typically. They are willing to give a good amount, but maybe only do so at year-end or when they attend an event. The goal is to get them to become regularly loyal donors by connecting them to the impact in a way they never have connected to it before. Take them beyond a once-a-year thought and to a regular relationship.
Small monthly Donors: These donors are often motivated by being part of a community of givers who are all giving just a little bit every month. Their withdrawal is probably automatic each month, and they might even forget that they give. Building their loyalty with regular asks to increase their giving will give the most boost to your giving, but you’ll need to give reasons with stories of impact.
Small, one-time Donors: These are the smaller donors who perhaps respond periodically to an email with a small gift. You are on their radar but not top of mind. It will take some engagement as well as regular communication to move them, and with some donor research to determine what they could be capable of giving, you might identify a few folks to focus on to move them up.
Your goal? Move everyone to the top right quadrant. They don’t all need to be major donors nor monthly, but somewhere in that upper right spot is where you want them to be.