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Nonprofit fundraising is no easy task. And the job can get especially dicey when you lose a donor. That’s because it costs a lot more money to acquire a new donor than it does to maintain an existing one. Donors lapse for many reasons. Maybe their job situation changed and they no longer can afford the donation. Perhaps they lost interest in your organization and cause, or another organization has taken your place in their heart and wallet. The good news is some lapsed donors will begin to give again. With some nudging and special nonprofit fundraising programs, you can bring a percentage of your lapsed donors into the fold again. Who’s a Lapsed Donor? Defining a lapsed donor depends on the nonprofit. In some organizations that may hold major nonprofit fundraising events every two years, a lapsed donor might be considered someone who hasn’t donated in 24 months. However, a typical nonprofit with regular nonprofit fundraising activity will usually designate a donor as lapsed after 12 months of inactivity. An Example of a Lapsed Donor Program With busy lives, donors rarely keep track of their last donation. Therefore, it’s up to the nonprofit to do the record keeping and reminding for donors. A nonprofit fundraising program for lapsed donors should include frequent and gentle reminders. Here are some examples of dates since the donor’s last donation and recommended actions: • Nine months – Phone call or letter containing an update on your organization and a request for a dollar amount no higher than their last gift, to help fund a special project. If you employ a multiple amount ask string, the lowest ask should be the donors most recent contribution amount. • One year – Direct mail using lapsed language, such as needing their continued support. • 13 months – Letter of concern indicating more than a year of no contact. Include a survey of a few questions including why they stopped giving. • 16 to 18 months – Phone call or mailing with an offer that’s lower than their last gift including lapsed language with a reminder of their inactivity. • 21 to 24 months – A final phone call or mailing indicating a gift that will be matched dollar for dollar. An “anything you can give” appeal. • 25 or more months – On occasion, mail the appeals with lapsed language. The most important part of lapsed nonprofit fundraising is to track your results. You need to know what your return on investment is at all times. What is it costing you to try and convert the lapsed donors back to givers? Obviously, if you’re consistently spending more than you’re taking in, you need to let the donor go. Not all Lapsed Donors are Created Equal In nonprofit fundraising, it’s important to understand the differences among lapsed donors. Here are a few things to keep in mind: • The most critical action to take with lapsed donors in your nonprofit fundraising is to segment them out from the current donor population and speak to them differently. To be most effective, nonprofit fundraising should not use one communication approach for all donors. • Even though they may have not given a donation in a long time, lapsed donors frequently still see themselves as current donors of an organization. There’s definitely an inconsistency between how the nonprofit sees the lapsed donor and how the lapsed donor sees himself or herself. Remind lapsed donors of their status by calling out last gift dates or asking them to “come back” or “join us once again.” • Lapsed “one-time” donors are different from lapsed “multi-gift” donors and each requires special communication approaches. Lapsed multi-gift donors tend to be easier to re-engage. • The best communication channels for re-engaging a lapsed donor is to first use a letter, then follow up with a phone call. The telephone is a much more personal tool that allows for meaningful conversation that engages the lapsed donor. Lapsed donors cannot be ignored. They’re a potential source of much needed funding and should be nurtured with communications targeted to their current status.
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