Beyond Money: Building Donor Relationships That Lead to Fundraising Success

A fundraising professional's purpose should be to cultivate time, talent and treasure from individuals over time. With proper recruitment and orientation, donors can be engaged in ways that align with your organization’s priorities. As prospects become donors, develop strategies for sustained engagement.

Through research and personal visits, you will begin to understand the donors’ needs and motivations. Your goal is to encourage them to engage as volunteers in areas that interest them. If they show leadership potential, groom them for board or ambassador roles. Once donors express preferences that match organizational needs, immerse them in those priorities. With thoughtful cultivation, the ask — and the funds — will naturally follow.

Building Donor Relationships for Long-Term Success

Build and sustain transformational relationships with each unique donor. This involves acquisition, retention and engagement — gathering donor information, developing personalized engagement plans, acknowledging gifts, sharing impact stories and creating authentic, lasting connections.

This process takes time and often involves staff, volunteers, board members, administrators and other donors. You must decide whether a relationship is a “date” — a temporary phase — or a “marriage” — a long-term partnership. If your goal is to move from annual giving to major or planned gifts, every donor interaction must be taken seriously for its long-term potential.

Effective donor relations lead to higher retention, greater donor lifetime value, better cost-effectiveness, stronger reputation, deeper impact and greater satisfaction between donors and institutions. Donor success should be measured by both financial and non-financial outcomes — not just dollars raised.

Donors are motivated by emotional connection, purpose and involvement. They have personal missions and values that must align with your organization’s. Your challenge is to align those missions and inspire advocacy. Relationships must never be taken for granted.

Establish trust, communicate clearly, and make donors feel informed and valued. Appreciate their nonfinancial contributions and create a sense of community. Seek their advice on organizational priorities and encourage them to open doors for your nonprofit. Respect their time, make every interaction meaningful, and always focus on long-term impact.

The Value of Time in Donor Engagement

Time is one of the most valuable gifts a donor can offer. Volunteers provide essential services that support nonprofit operations. According to Independent Sector and the Do Good Institute, the national value of a volunteer hour was $34.79 in 2024.

You want your donors to volunteer in key areas of need so they can see their investment in action. Engagement through volunteering deepens understanding and increases giving. The Do Good Institute also found that volunteers are 14.5% more likely to give the following year and those who gave last year are 9.3% more likely to volunteer this year. Similarly, AmeriCorps reported that more than 75.7 million Americans volunteered last year, with nearly 80% of volunteers also making financial contributions.

I recently directed a capital campaign that aimed to raise $6.4 million to renovate several facilities for The Salvation Army Indiana Division. We ultimately raised $13.4 million, thanks to a $5 million lead gift and a focused strategy of securing multiple gifts from major donors.

We continually invited major donors to volunteer for the campaign or visit the project sites to see their gifts in action. Once they were emotionally and physically engaged, additional gifts followed. We also drew on their expertise — inviting some to serve on boards or as ambassadors. Regular feedback from these donors improved our storytelling and case for support.

Improving Your Donor Relationships 

It is not always about money with donors. If you engage them meaningfully over time, the gifts — and the loyalty — will follow. Look holistically at your organization’s metrics. Bring donors closer to your mission and priorities. Donors want to see impact, feel connected, trust leadership and engage with transparent organizations. They value clear communication, variety in involvement, and genuine appreciation.

Treat donors as you would like to be treated. Approach every ask as part of a thoughtful sequence of moves, never rushing the relationship. Remember: You can’t pull the cart before the horse.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.