Our #1 Tip To Raise More Money
How & why you should invest in your top 50 donors.
When it comes to successful fundraising, one of the strategies that can yield the most financial support is understanding and connecting with your top 50 donors.
Simply put, 75% of all donations come from a dedicated group of core alumni.
Whether it be a favorite memory, the impact of the organization, or why they choose to volunteer, your donors have a story to tell. When you can communicate and share the stories of your donors with the rest of the group you are able to foster connection and community that ultimately encourages your members to donate.
The reason this kind of strategic and personalized storytelling works is that it builds relationships and inspires financial support by helping other members remember their own powerful connections back to your group.
The Benefits of Powerful Storytelling
How Personal Connections Make All the Difference
Recently one of our senior writers, Cara Aungst, personally reached out to the top 50 donors of each of our clients to find out what the group has meant to them, how it equipped them for success, and why it’s important to give back.
After talking to hundreds of individuals about why they care about the organizations they choose to support, we saw 3 main benefits:
Lifelong benefits that came from being part of the organization. Over and over, interviewees said that they learned leadership, how to interact with others who had different viewpoints, and how to motivate people they couldn’t promote or fire.
Meaning relationships that came from being part of the organization. Many of the people interviewed said their membership was a catalyst to life’s most meaningful friendships. Interviewees told stories of friends who have celebrated life’s biggest triumphs and mourned with them during tragedies.
The importance of paying it forward. Invested donors all said they give back for one reason: because of what your group meant to them as undergrads. They appreciated the gifts of ‘time, talent and treasure’ that alumni gave when they were undergrads and said that now it was their turn to make a difference.
HOW TO GET STARTED
Understanding the “why” of your donors is instrumental in connecting to the emotional response attached to donating. Sharing the stories of your donors engages your members to recall the meaning and purpose behind the organization and how it has made such an impact in their lives.
So what are you waiting for? No time like the present to start sharing the story of your top 50 donors!
STEP 1: Identify your donors
To identify your top 50 donors, you have to have an organized database of your members that tracks the giving history of each donor, which you can then sort by your most active donors, or your Top 50.
Once you know who you want to connect with, we recommend sending your selected group of donors electronic questions or surveys to collect their answers. You can also personally touch on your communication by reaching out via phone for a personal interview.
Some of the questions you may be asking your donors are:
Why do you give back?
What impacted your decision to support this organization?
What impact has this organization had on your life? How did it prepare you for life?
Can you finish this sentence: Without this organization , I wouldn’t….
Ask your donors questions that invite them to recall their fondest memories and highlight the importance of their time with the organization and why donating can be so impactful.
STEP 2: Understand your donors
Once you have collected your data, use it to help understand your donors by analyzing the components that are most likely to get them to donate, such as why they support the organization, why they volunteer, why they attend events, etc.
One great way to do this is by creating donor profiles. Donor profiles are a great way to identify new donors or classify current donors. When you begin creating a donor profile, you will need to gather both biographical and financial information from your donors.
This information can be pulled from your already existing database, or by reaching out to donors directly. This data will allow you to clearly see patterns that emerge across your donor pool. Is there anything that jumps out at you right away? What do all of these people have in common? What don’t they have in common? Use this information to connect with your donors on a deeper level.
STEP 3: Tell the story of your donors
Once you know the stories of your top donors, the real work begins. Take this information and spend some time crafting the story of your donors so you can share it with the rest of the organization.
This could be a mailing, e-letter, monthly newsletter, or any other piece of content you share regularly with the group. The key is consistent, quality communication that your members feel deeply connected to.
The takeaway?
Inviting your top donors into the conversation allows them to feel a strong sense of connection and responsibility to the organization. Your donors know the organization best, so why not use their passion and experiences to help connect with others? Your top donors all have a story to tell, and communicating it to the rest of your group encourages them to give, build relationships with other alumni, and remember their own powerful connections back to your group.
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