Lapsed Donors

An Over-Saturated Charitable Experience
May 22, 2017 at 9:55 am

In a previous blog post, I briefly examined what appears to be a growing sentiment in the nonprofit industry that direct mail fundraising is somehow flawed. Fundraisers have been slow to abandon outdated business practices or to evolve quick enough to react to the mounting challenges facing nonprofits today—and yes, there are many that we must overcome...

It’s Time to Let Those Donors Go
May 22, 2017 at 9:43 am

Letting go… It’s not always easy, is it? Anyone who has had to take their child to college or end a relationship knows saying goodbye is never easy. It’s also not easy for you as a major gift officer (MGO) when a donor, who you have been stewarding and cultivating over time, no longer meets the criteria as a major donor...

When Should You Give Up on a Lapsed Monthly Donor?
April 24, 2017 at 9:06 am

A year or so ago, I joined 20 organizations with a monthly gift. And (sneaky me), I gave them a card that was going to expire a month later. I then tracked what organizations did in terms of “thank you” letters and actions to try to get me back...

Don’t Write Off ‘In Memoriam’ Donors as One-Time Donors
February 14, 2017 at 10:01 am

There is definitely the tendency in our sector to write off “in-memoriam” donors as one-time donors, yet I think we must understand the emotional connection and make an effort to grow that relationship—with tact and in the gentlest, most-loving way possible...

Make the Most of 2016's Gifts to You: These 3 Donors
January 5, 2017 at 9:57 am

No matter how you feel about 2016, it’s now in the rear view mirror for fundraisers (except those who are frantically working to receipt the donations that were made or mailed before the clock struck midnight and 2016 faded into the past). But every nonprofit organization has three gifts from 2016 that are filled with potential for 2017—if only you take advantage of them in this new year...

Are They Really Lapsed? Or Have You Been Neglecting Them?
October 4, 2016 at 9:28 am

At what point after a donor has stopped donating to your cause do you stop mailing them solicitation letters? Five years? Fifteen years? Turns out, it’s ever too late to reactivate your lapsed donors—if you’re sincere about it...

Revisiting the Lowly Postcard
August 25, 2016 at 10:49 am

Earlier this year, I received a postcard mailing from the Share and Care Foundation, a nonprofit organization located in New Jersey. In just four panels (one of which was the address panel), the postcard tackled one of those funding needs that make many fundraisers cringe—toilets...

The 'Big Favor' to Donors That's Almost the Meanest Thing You Can Do to Them
June 21, 2016 at 10:00 am

I've had front row seats to this disaster several times: The organization's core donors (those who've been giving for three or more years) suddenly are lapsing at an alarming and unprecedented rate. Or to put it another way, the group of donors who normally have the highest retention rate of all donors suddenly is lapsing at…