Friends Forever? What Results May Be Saying about Fundraising from Individuals

    Have you seen the Guidestar report that recently came out about fundraising performance in the first part of this year? In a survey of over 7,000 organizations, 40% said that they saw their total contributions decline between January 1 and May 31 this year compared to the same time last year; 26% said their contributions had decreased “greatly”.

    What I’m finding most disturbing, though, is that 67% said that a reason they are seeing these shortfalls is because fewer individuals gave this year as opposed to last. The same number said that individuals are giving less in overall dollars to their organizations in 2010 than in 2009. Foundations and corporate gifts were also considered major factors in the decline, with 40% of respondents blaming their shortfall on smaller gifts from these funders.

    And many of us had good expectations for this year. On the Front Range Source website, 58% of people who responded to our poll said that they expected increased fundraising results this year. In the Guidestar report, 41% of the organizations surveyed have a 2010 budget that is larger than the one they had in 2009.

    What were we thinking? That the worst was surely over in 2009? I don’t believe that’s the case – particularly with this decreased giving by individuals. It’s one thing for a foundation to pull back. It’s expected for corporate giving to drop. But individuals? Once we’ve lost them, it’s really hard – and expensive – to bring them back.

    Here’s what I think. The top 20% of your donors may be unfazed by the recession, but the rest of your donor file isn’t and you’re going to have to work really hard to keep them. This doesn’t necessarily mean asking more often. But, it does mean building relationships for the long term.

    If you had a friend, would you only call them if you needed help? No, and yet so many of us are doing just that. A friend of mine who is an on-line consultant said to me today that her most successful clients are the ones sending the most stuff without a fundraising ask. The more they send about their work with no fundraising appeal, the better the results when they do ask for money.

    When’s the last time you sent your donors something just ‘cause? If you’ve just grimaced, don’t fret. You still have four months to remedy it this year. Take a slice of your most loyal and call them to just say “thanks” for their continued support. Send a group of middle donors some news clippings or copies of notes from clients you serve. Start a weekly e-blast with a “photo of the week” from your work. Do it your way, track your results, and write us back to let us know how it’s going.


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