3 Types of Donors You Have to Pay Attention To
Getting to know your donors on a personal level can significantly increase your funding.
But what about getting to know your donor types?
There are the three types of donors you need to pay attention to on a consistent basis: new donors, lapsed donors, and major donors. If you are going to keep the donors you already have (and gain new ones in the future), then you need to get familiar with the types of donors you have and how to best respond to their donations.
1. New Donors: First, when someone gives their first gift (no matter how small or large the gift is) you need to call and thank the donor within 48 hours. Research has shown that a second gift is likely to be as much as 50% more than the first gift if the new donor is thanked within 48 hours. Get calling!
2. Lapsed Donors: Second, pay attention to lapsed donors. A lapsed donor is someone who was supposed to give but didn’t. The easiest example is monthly donors, but this could also be applied to quarterly and annual donors. Many times, people stop giving simply because they aren’t aware that their debit or credit card on file has expired or they simply forgot to write a check this month. It is your job to let them know!
3. Major Donors: Lastly, major donors. We recommend that you always call and thank anyone who writes a large check. For your ministry, that may be anything over $500 or $1000. But we recommend that you call and thank a donor every single time a sizeable gift is made, even if you knew it was coming. For your current major donors, this gesture makes them feel appreciated. For those who could be regular major donors but aren’t yet, this gives them a taste of how you treat your ministry partners (and makes them want to give again).
If you will get to know your donors (and your donor types) we guarantee you’ll see an increase in your ministry’s funding. To learn more about how to increase your funding by getting to know your donors, check out our e-book, “Get More Funding Without Adding More Donors.”