Everything That Is Wrong With Our Retention Programs and How to Put Them Right

And that's just in the microcosm of one campaign to the next. What happens when you throw everything else that the rest of your organization does into the mix, things that have no direct value attached? Your magazine for example, does it help or harm? Most charities have one. Most ask for money. Most make a big financial loss. To your CFO it's a red number that needs to be ditched. But many fundraisers believe it adds value; that donors appreciate it, and that in turn it positively influences attitudes toward future giving. But they have no way of knowing.

But now they can, thanks to a remarkable study conducted by Kevin Schulman and Roger Craver into what precisely makes a committed donor. Their study was carried out across 250+ organizations around the world.

They've deconstructed precisely why what we're doing right now isn't working and shown us how to put it right. You'll see how every experience and touchpoint you create, today, can be viewed through the lens of a commitment model and given a precise financial value. In other words, you'll be able to see which, of all the experiences you create, matter and are causal of loyalty and which don't and aren't. From there you'll be able to create a donor-led strategic blueprint, of the current world you serve up, telling you exactly what needs to be kept, fixed, scaled or ditched.

Take a moment to let that last sentence sink in ...

Today you're spending an enormous amount of time, energy and money to deliver a huge range of experiences. Some matter and some don't, but you don't know which are which. From now on you can. From now on poor performance, value and retention are not facts of life but choices to pursue broken "best" practices instead of proven better ones.