How can charities encourage donors who are motivated by disasters to give again? So asks Jeff Brooks on his Donor Power Blog.

Mr. Brooks writes, in response to a Chronicle article on tsunami donors, that “the problem with disaster donors is their lower ‘renewal’ level than ‘normal’ donors.”

“This shouldn’t surprise us; these donors are often folks unmoved by the normal need for charity. But when they show up in huge numbers on an organization’s donorbase, they can cause a lot of confusion,” he says.

Mr. Brooks’s advice for dealing with disaster-motivated donors:

• Keep them informed about the impact of their gifts.

• Don’t immediately start talking about other ways for them to give. “Put the rest of your mission in context with the disaster for them,” he says.

• Don’t expect additional gifts of the same size. People often give unusually high amounts in response to disasters, he writes, so instead ask for smaller amounts.

• Don’t throw too much money into retaining disaster donors. When responses to appeals drop off significantly, says Mr. Brooks, “stop wasting your money.”

What do you think of Mr. Brooks’s advice? Do you have other ideas for holding onto donors who give after catastrophes?