4 Steps to Reconnect With Donors After It's Been Too Long
Have you ever let too long pass without connecting with your donors? You're not alone.
Being a missionary in France has kept Natalie busy. She hasn't connected personally with her donors or newsletter list people in 3 years, and didn't know how to write a letter explaining that she needed $900 in new monthly support. It felt disjointed and weird.
Despite Natalie's feelings of disconnect in the relationships with her donors, she was ready to tackle the process and get herself and her mission to a healthy place.
REMEMBER THE NEED
First, she talked about the purpose of her ministry. The challenges she faces sharing the gospel in France are often disinterest, intellectual doubts, and sexual immortality. Identifying the challenges in her particular ministry allowed Natalie to see the spiritual problem in a fresh perspective and communicate that well to a donor.
COMMUNICATE THE MISSION
Natalie's next step was to write a letter to her donors. Her letter included this powerful statistic, "Do you know that marriage is in rapid decline in this country where over 84% of young couples live together without ever getting married, and over 46% of marriages end in divorce, lasting less than nine years?" Identifying the whole scope of the need allows anyone to see the need for Natalie to be in France, sharing the gospel in her town.
FOCUS ON THE IMPACT
She made sure to include in the letter what kind of impact the ministry is having on lives around her. She identified 4 women who have been coming to a ladies Bible study over the last few years, and how each one has come to Christ. She identified one lady in particular. Natalie wrote a powerful story about the misconceptions, fears, and hesitancy this woman had with religion, and how the woman eventually came to saving faith. This French woman and her partner, after reading the Bible, decided to get married in a Christian church, and shared their conversion stories at the wedding. All her family and friends heard the gospel, which is virtually unheard of in France.
SEGMENT THE COMMUNICATION
Natalie then segmented her list of newsletter names into 3 groups: major donors, names who could join her monthly team, and anyone who gave a one time gift in the past. She then changed the invitation to partner depending on which segment in which she had each recipient placed. This means that each segmented group had a different and specific challenge to give.
After sending her partners her email letter, Natalie wanted to follow up personally. Some she could call using What'sAp, or message them via Facebook/Instagram. Her goal was to touch base in a personal way with each team member, thank them for their partnership, and share more about what God was doing in France. She also wanted to ask how she could be praying for them. Now she had a plan and knew it could be done!
*Natalie is not the client's real name.
Susie Berner, Fundraising Coach