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Lapsed Donor Problems? 5 Ways to Get Them Back
There’s competition for nonprofit dollars everywhere you turn.
From national organizations with large marketing initiatives down to smaller, local organizations, nonprofits compete for the same pool of donations.
If you are not engaging existing donors regularly, they can lapse.
Other organizations could have reached them first, or donating to your organization could have slipped their minds. Current donors could have also moved or entered into a busy season of life.
Whatever the unique case may be, not all is lost if you find that donors have lapsed. You can still get them back.
How to Re-Engage Lapsed Donors
While reactivating lapsed donors can sound challenging, it’s genuinely about building the relationship up again and making sure you are top-of-mind.
They say in any relationship in life, you’re either moving closer together or further apart. You want to keep your donors engaged at all times, but you also don’t want to overdo it to push them away.
To stay top-of-mind is to be the first nonprofit organization that pops into their head when they consider year-end giving or want to make extra gifts. If you are top-of-mind for your donors, it means your mission is truly near and dear to their hearts.
Being in the top place isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s an ongoing commitment. It’s getting them involved in your organization. It’s proving yourself as a great steward of the funds they have already given you and recognizing their generosity.
It takes time and effort to re-engage lapsed donors, but you can do it. You can. We believe you can, and we’re here to help with this trusty guide.
5 Ways to Get Your Lapsed Donors Back
While we could list an infinite number of actions you could take to get these lapsed donors back, we will focus on five larger overarching strategies. With each plan, we share how you can take action today to get the results you need for your nonprofit organization to thrive.
#1. Find Out Where They Went in the First Place
Where are your donors? What happened to them? There are many potential causes. The cause could be any of the following:
They Moved to Another Area.
If you are a local organization, such as a pregnancy center or food bank, it’s possible donors have simply moved to another area. They could be engaging with new organizations in their region. This demographic isn’t necessarily anything you can take action on.
For national organizations, keep up-to-date records of your donors' personal information, including addresses. You could send mailers to a new resident in the wrong demographic and waste valuable resources.
Make it easy for donors to update their information, or allow them to create an account on your website where they can make donations and update their information. Having an excellent record system can help you track engagement too.
Their Situation Changed.
While we don’t like to hear it, sometimes donors’ personal situations change, and they’re no longer able to give financially. This one can be hard to gauge because it’s a delicate and private situation for your donors.
Certain donors that used to give smaller or sporadic donations could be susceptible to this. Make sure to give your donors other ways to engage and be a part of your mission, even if they can’t give financially at the moment.
The Competition Reached Them First.
Competition is the thing that keeps fundraisers up at night.
To have a successful income stream of donations, it’s critical to know your competition and keep your eyes on them. What are their marketing tactics? What kinds of events are they throwing?
You want to remind your donors of the “why” often. Why should they give to your organization? Why should they continue to give to your organization AND the other organization in cases where they love both missions?
There are endless great causes in the world to give to, but it’s crucial you are fundraising enough for your nonprofit to thrive, succeed, and fulfill its purpose.
They Forgot About You.
Ouch. This one can hurt. How could your donors forget about you? Weren’t they at your incredible bike-a-thon two years ago? That’s an issue.
Donors can remain engaged if you keep communicating with them continuously. But life happens. Lapsed donors are sometimes just very busy and occupied people. They could have kids, family situations, and not enough time to remember your bike-a-thon that wasn’t yesterday.
This one is about having a stellar marketing and engagement plan to remind them of your organization and make it really easy for them to give. The easier, the better.
If they can sign up for a monthly set-it-and-forget-it direct deposit, that can work wonders too. But keep in mind, you want to continue engaging with them, so they won’t ask, “Why did I sign up for this again?”
You Overdid It.
Do you have donors lapsing but can’t figure out why? You sent them a million messages, so what gives?
Donors don’t like to be bombarded, period. No one wants to be asked for donations every day. Think about if your kids or friends asked you for the same thing every day. You love them, but the asking would get old quickly.
Too many requests are how you get unsubscribes to your email list or how paper mailers go straight into the trash. You’ve sent too many, and now they aren’t receptive. These types of donors can be challenging, but it’s not impossible to win back.
You’ll need to try to attract them through other means, such as experiences or even a phone call. (Don’t overdo it on the phone calls, either.)
Remember, if someone unsubscribes to your emails, you must respect that. It will keep your messages from being reported as spam and hurting the delivery of your other emails. It’s the respectful thing to do.
So, Where Did They Go?
There are a few options to figure out where they went.
Send a Lapsed Donor Survey.
You could send a lapsed donor survey to donors who are still subscribed to your mailing list.
You could also go old school and send a paper survey through the USPS with a pre-stamped envelope if they aren’t email checkers.
Some questions could include asking for feedback about your nonprofit and recent events and what events they might want to attend. You could also engage them by asking if they’re interested in volunteering.
Volunteers feel even more invested in nonprofit organizations because they know the staff and have spent personal time serving.
Getting people involved without a financial expectation is also a way to gain more current engagement and organic outreach. They could choose to tell their friends about the organization they’re volunteering at or even host a birthday fundraiser when their birthday rolls around. They could feel led to donate again in the future.
Evaluate the Clues.
Maybe you received a “return to sender” piece of mail. In this case, document whose physical mail was returned to you. That will help you figure out if they recently moved. If your nonprofit is highly focused on a town or county, this could play into their lack of engagement.
Of course, if they moved down the street, there shouldn’t be a reason they wouldn’t continue to be engaged except they haven’t been receiving your mailers. Ensure your CRM system is continually updated and scrubbed to ensure accurate information.
You could also ask around your organization to see what other staff members have seen or heard. If a new nonprofit in the same field opened up down the street recently, that could be a vital clue.
Look at the Data.
What does your donation data say? Are you storing your data in a way that’s easy to analyze and assess?
Spreadsheets can be helpful, but having a CRM system to do the heavy lifting for you can help. Also, keeping track of the last marketing message or email you sent them and the actions they took after can give you insight into their engagement.
Other sources of information could be social media. Did they recently unfollow you? Do you know if they used to follow you on social media and now they don’t?
Tie it Together.
Use all the tools you have in your tool belt. All the data, clues, and surveys should help you get a clearer picture of where they went, so you can establish your strategy for winning them back.
#2. Create a Heartfelt Campaign
Sometimes donors check out when they disconnect from your mission. They may no longer feel connected to your purpose or have lost sight of what that purpose is.
Creating a heartfelt messaging campaign that shares touching videos, client stories, and the reason why you exist can help bring donors back in.
If you looked at the data and know you may have pushed too hard and overdid it with your donors, this can bring them back in. This will also help with those who began to give to other organizations. It will remind them of why they gave to you in the first place and invite them back.
#3. Invest in Donor Appreciation
Everyone wants to feel appreciated, including your donors. While the genuine reward donors receive from giving is the positive impact of your nonprofit, sending them an extra “thank you” can help make a significant difference.
You can send thank-you notes, even to those who have lapsed. You can throw an appreciation event where you offer some light refreshments and update them on the current happenings, or you can send them a gift for a specific donation level.
Sending gifts can have a double effect when done honestly. By offering a small promotional item or t-shirt for the first set of donors or for donors over a certain giving level (whichever is more affordable), they will feel appreciated AND be reminded of your organization each time they wear the shirt or see the item.
Donor appreciation is an investment, but it can boost engagement. It helps donors feel like they are a part of something and genuinely making a difference.
Get creative and think through ways you can say, “We appreciate you!”
#4. Restart Your Communication Plan
If your lapsed donors simply forgot about you, it’s time to reinitiate your marketing and communication strategy and make giving as simple and easy as possible.
What do you need to do to keep up with ongoing communication? Did you get lost in the day-to-day? If this sounds like you, it’s time to create a calendar to help you stay organized.
Add key fundraising events to the calendar, so you know when to start promoting. Make sure you add your quarterly newsletters or monthly emails to stay on track.
Remember, relationships take time and investment. If you sow the seeds into your donor communication and message at the correct frequency to stay top-of-mind, you’re in a great place.
Make sure to put this calendar somewhere you can see it or in a program like Outlook. If you’re commonly missing deadlines, make sure to delegate to others in your organization to help you keep moving forward.
#5. Plan a Fundraising Event to Remember
One of the best ways to re-engage donors is to invite them to a fun event they will remember. Think bike-a-thon, 5K, walk-a-thon, competition, gala, banquet, festival, silent auction, flea market…the list goes on!
Review your donor demographics and decide which event would most excite them. Maybe they’d enjoy a benefit concert with live music. Perhaps they’d prefer something fun for their young kids, like a petting zoo or a bouncy castle.
Whatever you choose, make sure it’s FUN and that the message of your mission is reiterated throughout the whole event. You want it to engage donors and educate them on why they should give to your organization and become involved as a volunteer.
Events that create memories have the power to raise funds and re-engage at the same time.
How FundEasy Can Play a Role in Getting Lapsed Donors Back
When it comes to fundraising events, you need event fundraising software that will work for you rather than the other way around. FundEasy is EASY to use and will keep you organized as you re-engage with lapsed donors.
FundEasy’s Attendance offers complete nonprofit event management software for in-person and virtual events. It includes no-hassle registration and communication tools, a time-saving table assignment wizard, and quick check-in for in-person and virtual events.
With Attendance, you can spend less time trying to check in registrants and more time engaging with donors on a personal level.
FundEasy also engages donors with Crowdfunding! Crowdfunding features an animated fund-meter, making it extremely easy for donors to share your crowdfunding page digitally.
Also, who doesn’t love a little friendly competition? FundEasy’s Peer-to-Peer displays a fun leaderboard for teams and individuals to compete with real-time fundraising results.
All of the capabilities mentioned only scratch the surface of what FundEasy can do for you. Schedule a time to talk with FundEasy about how our solutions can help you regain your lapsed donors.
If you'd like to learn more about our Peer-to-peer, Attendance, or Crowdfunding products, please reach out! We'd love to chat.
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Madison Hull
This article was inspired by our customers and written to encourage your fundraising efforts. Although we work with nonprofits and events daily, our team members are not Event Consultants. We encourage you to consult with your event consultant, executive team, and/or affiliate organization before making any major changes to your events.