Retention low-hanging fruit

It’s no secret that fewer Americans are donating to charity, particularly among small-dollar or “grassroots” donors. One key reason? Many say they feel their generosity isn’t noticed or appreciated by the organizations they support.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution: Make your grassroots donors feel seen and valued. Here are two tactics, both of which can be accomplished economically. And both of which are astonishingly rare.

First, the Chronicle of Philanthropy recently highlighted a nonprofit that sends monthly donors updates demonstrating the cumulative impact of their giving over time. One donor shared her delighted surprise upon realizing she’d contributed thousands over several years:

“As a nonprofit employee, I don’t make a ton of money. If someone asked, ‘Could you give thousands of dollars?’ I’d say, ‘I’d love to, but I can’t.’”

This powerful tactic sends a clear message to donors: “We see you, and your contributions matter.” That cannot help but increase retention.

A second impactful yet simple step is sending donors an email every year on the anniversary of their first gift. This would be a pure expression of gratitude, not a renewal solicitation. Almost every nonprofit has the data needed to automate a heartfelt anniversary thank-you note—with extra points if you mention how many years they’ve supported your cause!

Surprisingly few organizations take these straightforward and low-cost steps. As nonprofits trip over one another to bring in the fat cats, overlooking the small-dollar base could be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Many of today’s modest givers—I’m thinking of millennials who are early in their careers and supporting families—could become your mid-level, major, or planned-gift donors of tomorrow. And even for those whose gifts remain modest in size, isn’t making them feel more seen the right thing to do?

There’s simply no excuse for not putting some effort into making small-dollar donors feel more valued.