The 4 Pillars of Donor Relations

Fundraising has a major problem facing its sustainability, and it has nothing to do with the charitable tax deduction, with the transfer of wealth, or with the new generation of donors—the millennials. It has everything to do with donor retention.

Average donor retention rates for first time donors hover at a dismal less than 30% rate. Yet a focus on acquisition cannot be the whole solution—not when studies reveal that donor acquisition costs seven times as much as retention. It’s more cost effective to keep the donors an organization has than to chase new ones.A well-executed, strategic donor relations program is key to successful fundraising. In this book, Lynne M. Wester of Donor Relations Guru helps you rethink donor relations practices and offers specific tips for more powerful acknowledgements, stewardship and impact reporting, recognition, and donor engagement.

Included are a dozen examples of creative communications with donors from real institutions and 60 pages of appendices offering specific advice on everything from what to include in a gift acceptance policy to donor event management.

Get this comprehensive guide to donor relations for your shop today, and transform the way you steward, recognize, and engage your donors.