It is so important for your cause to keep your fundraising methods at their very best, ensuring donors come back to give regular donations. So what things could you be doing to make sure they stay engaged and actively interested in your cause?

1) Identify significant donors

Your entire team should be able to know who the most significant donors are when it comes to your cause, and ultimately, their donation can have the biggest impact. So it’s important to know who they are and how to keep them engaged and giving.

2) Share genuine gratitude

Saying thank you goes a long way, and saying it well matters. People know when a thank you is given out of courtesy and when that person is genuinely thankful for you giving your money and support. It is something that will make donors feel they are valued and keep up their ongoing giving.

Think about how you could make your thank you’s more intentional. Maybe this means sending a personal email or sharing how their donation has impacted you or your cause directly, in addition to the automatic screen popping up after they donate.

3) Limit unnecessary pressure & amount of donation emails

In this world, everyone has busy schedules and not a lot of spare time. It's also becoming increasingly harder to grab audience’s attention for long periods. No one wants to be bombarded with numerous emails every day. Therefore, it is important to make sure your emails are informative and to the point. It’s unlikely people will read a very long email from the same company every day of the week. Think about what is the main thing you’d like your reader to get from your email, then make that message as clear as possible and high up on your email.

4) Offer more incentives or host events that do not have a strong giving-initiative

Donors don’t want to feel they are just appreciated because of their money, maybe consider hosting ‘just for fun’ events that aren’t heavily focused around donations. This way you are also offering an extra incentive for donors giving towards your cause, that they get to go to fun events and meet other people all because they give. This may result in them giving more in future and it provides a higher value for money or ROI.

5) Keep communications flowing

Communication is key! You want your donors to feel informed about new things you are up to, or new ways that they can give. Developing this communicative relationship will make donors feel they can trust your organisation, perhaps enough to give more generously because they believe your intentions as a fundraiser are inspiring and good. Providing them with new ways to give will also encourage them and new donors to show their support. A well-informed donor is a happy donor. 

6) Keep up with your analytics

Keeping up with your analytics will be the lifeline to your fundraising, it will tell you when something is going well or perhaps when it's time to try something new. Make sure to regularly see how your donors are interacting with you and to be aware of future fatigue behaviour. The numbers don’t lie, pay close attention to them.