How to Reconnect With Donors Who Stopped Giving

Tuesday, August 11, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time

Colin V. French is executive director of the Boy Scouts of America National Foundation, in Irving, Tex., where he previously served as the group's senior endowment counsel.

Lawrence Henze is managing director of Target Analytics, a division of Blackbaud, a Charleston, S.C., company that provides fund-raising software to charities. Previously, he founded Core Data Services, served as vice president of predictive modeling services at USA Group Noel Levitz, and was president of the philanthropic division of Econometrics.

Mark Moshier leads the Council Funding Team of the Finance Impact Department for the Boy Scouts of America, in Irving, Tex., where he has been a staff member for nearly 30 years.

A transcript of the chat follows.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    Hello, and welcome to today's online discussion. This time around we're taking a close look at some of the ways nonprofit groups can reconnect with donors who have stopped giving.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    While easier to recruit than people who have never given in the past, former donors are proving a challenge to cultivate since the economy is forcing many contributors to limit the number of organizations they support.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    Joining us today to address those challenges are Lawrence Henze, managing director of Target Analytics, a division of Blackbaud, a Charleston, S.C., company that provides fund-raising software to charities; Colin V. French, executive director of the Boy Scouts of America National Foundation, in Irving, Tex.; and Mark Moshier, who leads the Council Funding Team of the Finance Impact Department for the Boy Scouts of America.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    All three will be available for the next hour to take your questions.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    Before we get started, I'd like to issue a couple of reminders. You are invited at any time during the discussion to ask questions or post comments on what you are reading. To do that, simply click on the “ask a question” link on this page and type your question or comment. And as always, we will be offering a full transcript of this event after it is complete at http://philantrhopy.com/live.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    We've got a lot of great questions in today, so let's get started.

Colin V. French:
    In my opinion, lapsed donors represent great opportunities for charities. They may not be as easy to deal with as current donors, but there is much more potential among lapsed donors than among prospects -- those who have never given. In terms of today's discussion, reframe the question. Don't just ask, "How do we get back lapsed donors?" Ask the real question: "Why have these people started giving to other charities instead of us?" In reality, that's what has happened. The answers to that question now become more intuitive: because we aren't staying in touch with them, because we aren't telling our story as effectively as other charities, etc.

Question from Jeff Cline, ALS Association, Greater Philadelphia Chapter:
    Tribute Renewal: My organization has just begun experimenting with renewing 1-time memorial donors by sending a personalized, hand-signed letter from the Executive Director. The letter includes the name of the person in whose memory the initial gift was given, the gift amount, and is sent one month prior to the first anniversary of the gift. We have teaser copy on the envelope - "Honor [Name]'s Fight Against ALS" with the hope that the personal connection will increase the odds of having the envelope opened and the letter read. The letter was mailed 2 weeks ago and to date we have received just 3 gifts out of about 200 mailed. My question: Is there any industry benchmark data for such efforts? Thank you.

Lawrence Henze:
    I am not aware of an industry benchmark for renewing memorial gifts, but I can tell you from my work with clients that the response rate is typically somewhere between terrible and abysmal.

Jeff, I like the thoughts behind your efforts and would not despair just yet. It is summer, it is a recession, and it is memorial giving (not exactly a positive trifecta), so I would probably test it for awhile longer.

Here is another three-part strategy I recommend that you consider:

First, as you seek to renew their giving support, offer the opportunity to repeat the gift designation used in the initial gift. Second, share data on the positive impact of all gifts of this type on your organization to establish a "team giving" concept and to highlight the importance of giving to your mission. Let them know that memorial giving is an important part of your fight against ALS. Finally, do not pursue lapsed memorial donors for the customary three-to-five years. Unless I had some modeling data that showed some of my lapsed memorial donors to be good ongoing prospects, I would remove them from my solicitation plans within 12-18 monthes of their last gift.

Question from Ruth Anne, Belize:
    I have inherited some lists of former donors with very little information about these donors. In some cases I have a name and amount and perhaps some contact information. In contacting these lapsed donors, what is the best "first questions" or "introduction". It is entirely possible that there has been some contact since they gave but there is no record of that (a situation we are immediately correcting). Considering I am in Belize and most of my donors are in the US, is an email a good way to start or would an individualized mailing be better, or should I just break down and use the phone where I have numbers? Thanks

Colin V. French:
    Ruth Ann: In dealing with lapsed donors (any donors, for that matter), there is no substitute for connecting on a level that is as personal as possible. If you hadn't heard from a friend in a long time, wouldn't you rather get a phone call from them than an email or letter? Just think of your lapsed donors as friends from the past. If you have phone numbers, I'd definitely start with those prospects and call them. I know that may be the most expensive choice for you in particular, being in Belize, but I think it's the most effective. Obviously, if you don't have phone numbers, you'll have to make do with emails or letters. If you can grab their attention with a great opening line, or effective subject line (e.g. "We'd Like to Get Reacquainted with You!), an email is certainly a good place to start. If there's a way to tell what they originally responded to (e.g. a direct mail appeal) you may want to go back with another direct mail appeal. After all, they liked it the first time.

As for a good "first question", introduce yourself and ask something like "Have you been keeping up with what we've been doing lately?" Maybe "We really appreciate your past interest in our organization and, if you have a minute, I'd like to share some exciting news about a project/new program/whatever that we've just started." Frankly, if you have a particularly compelling need, it's also fair game to say "We need your support more than ever before, and I'd like to tell you why." None of those assume that they've given before, which appears to be one of your challenges with the records you've inherited!

Question from CP, statewide nonprofit:
    We've recently changed our name & lost some donors. What are some low-cost strategies to reconnect with past donors?

Mark Moshier:
    I would begin by trying re-acquaint donors with your organization. We have over the past few years become advocates of Penelope Burk's "Donor Centered Fundraising" work and also of Terry Axlerod's "Benevon or Raising More Money' model. Both of these approaches involve consistent planned communication with donors, either through planned, targeted and concise newsletters (one page) highlight information the donors want. Terry model involves a more personal interaction with small groups of donors, past donors or potential donors so they come to better understand the mission of your organization. A name change can cause a felling of disconnect, but could also give you an excuse to re-educate the public of your mission.

Question from Jon Labaschin, Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy:
    Recently became Director of Dev. Prior to 2007 there was resonable outreach to donor base, but from 2009 through 2007 the organization lost touch with its donor base. Your thoughts on a way to reconnect.

Lawrence Henze:
    I would suggest that you use your status as the "newbie" to your advantage. Through a variety of different methods - personalized mail, email, phone calls and visits - introduce yourself as the new director of development. Acknowledge that the organization went through changes is aware that it had fallen out of touch with its best and most loyal donors. Apologize. Restate the mission and the need for their engagement. Cultivate these relationships and ask for their participation in your efforst to make the organization more effective and efficient.

Be truthful and forthright and I believe that your donors will respect you and return to the fold.

Question from CP, statewide nonprofit:
    Our organization is seeking financial support (sponsors) for a new program. How do we best reach out to past donors & corporate sponsors to help us with this new program?

Mark Moshier:
    My experience has been that donors or sponsors are more willing to support programs that fit best with their personal interests. Go back to you notes about donors, look at their past giving in support of similar programs or information that would lead you to believe that they would have interest in this new program. (Profession, family connection) I have less personal experience with corporate sponsors, but I would look for prospects whose business might be related to the program or whose corporate mission indicates a match of interests. Also do some research about the personal interests of top management. They might have a personal issue that would drive the corporate mission. i.e. Wendy's and adoption, Dollar General and illiteracy, the list goes on.

Question from Karyn, medium sized non-profit:
    We're planning on phone banking our recently lapsed members as part of our year-end appeal. Is this a worthwhile tactic, or are there others you'd recommend?

Colin V. French:
    Karyn: I think that a contact by phone is certainly preferable to email or a letter. As I mentioned to another participant today, your lapsed donors are more or less "old friends" of your organization. Wouldn't you personally prefer to get a phone call from an old friend than an email or letter? If you really want to increase the effectiveness of the calls, it'd be great to have some of your Board members make some of the calls. That may not be practical, depending on how many folks you're trying to contact or how large your board is. But that would give you a peer to peer, or volunteer to volunteer connection. That's often quite effective (compared to having a staff member call). "I'm a member of the Executive Board of XXXXX" is a pretty impressive way to get people's attention and set your calls apart from the calls of other organizations.

Question from Kim Latour, Center Theatre Group:
    Are there any specific strategies to reconnect with Corporate donors?

Lawrence Henze:
    Hello Kim.

1.Treat each corporation as a unique entity and learn more about their status and stability before soliciting.

2.Identify individual donors employed by the corporation and try to rebuild the relationship through that connection.

3. Investigate opportunities to engage the company through employee volunteers or gifts of services/products.

4. Target market corporations, employees for specific performances. Personalize the connection

Question from Kathie small private liberal arts college :
    We are interested in reconnecting with past donors and we're ALSO interested in raising our donor's sights. Can you suggest some strategies that would allow us to do both at the same time?

Mark Moshier:
    My experience is that the best way to engage donors is to capture their imagination as to what is possible, with their help. The best way to do this is trough communication. We have over the past few years become advocates of Penelope Burk's "Donor Centered Fundraising" work and also of Terry Axlerod's "Benevon or Raising More Money' model. Both of these approaches involve consistent planned communication with donors, either through planned, targeted and concise newsletters (one page) highlight information the donors want. Terry model involves a more personal interaction with small groups of donors, past donors or potential donors so they come to better understand the mission of your organization. Donors give best when the outcome matches up with their personal interest. Past contributions, personal involvement and programs inquiries would give you clues to their interests.

Question from Alysa, mid-sized liberal arts university:
    Am I wasting my time by trying to reach out via letter to past donors who gave just a few $100 gifts back in the mid-90s for library event that is now defunct?

Colin V. French:
    Alysa:

In my opinion, that is an excellent place to start looking for more donors. Again, unless some grievous or horrible wrong has been exacted by the university against these folks, it's a lot easier to reconnect with people than to start from scratch. Especially if these are donors who have given at that level more than once. It simply sounds like someone has quit paying attention to them.

Consider reconnecting with them with an appeal that relates to what they USED to support. If they showed interest in a library event in the past, you probably don't want to ask them to support a new football stadium or scholarship fund. Tell them about some of the programs and needs your libraries currently have. They've already shown an interest in library activities or events -- just tell them a great story about what's happening with yours these days!

Question from Ruth Anne, Belize:
    I work out of Belize (Central America) fundraising for a conservation organization. Most of our donor support is from the United States, some from Canada, and a bit from Europe. In addition to the standard thank you letter, I use hand written thank you notes, but distance does make the personal touch a little more challenging. What ideas can you share?

Lawrence Henze:
    Hello Ruth Anne. The hand written notes are a great idea, and a similar idea would be a personalized email thank you. Anything that you can do to draw the donor into your mission, probably by linking their gift support to specific accomplishments, will help bring them closer to your organization.

You may want to survey your donors to find out more about the needs and interests of these individuals so that you may tailor their communication streams more directly. I know from my experience that those who respond with their preferences often increase their gift support in amount and/or frequency.

Question from Lauren Robinson, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, small nonprofit:
    After how long of a donor not giving to our organization, should we remove them from the mailing list and stop soliciting?

Mark Moshier:
    This would depend on the how many appeals you would be doing in a year. If you are doing 4-6 appeals in a year, then two one year cycles would be enough. If you are doing more than that, then one year would be enough. Make sure that they have been a part of at least one year end appeal.

Question from Bianca, volunteer for large non-profit:
    I was asked to head the steering committee for a young patrons group at a large non-profit last month. Unfortunately, the organization did not keep up with the previous version of this membership group while it went through a rocky 18 months of transition. As we reach out to the former steering committee members, I have had little response. My feeling is that these donors felt "dropped" by the organization. I am bound to only do as much as the organization allows me to do, and even though I am the volunteer chair, I want to pick up the phone and call these people directly and ask why are they not responding to the organization's mailings and emails anymore. Should I ask the organization if I can do this and go ahead with it? It seems important for me to know what went wrong so it doesn't happen again, especially since I am heading this group now. The organization seems to want to "move on" and not ask about the past, but it seems that's not only the way the find out information but also to rekindle interest. As the saying goes, "Ask for money, you get advice. Ask for advice, you get money." Any ideas?

Colin V. French:
    Hi Bianca: Unless you call during dinner (!), people usually love to share their opinions, especially about organizations they are, or have been, involved with. You have an advantage here: you have a title, and that raises both the stakes and interest level for someone you call. "I know we haven't met, but I'm Bianca ___, head of the steering committee for XXXX. I'm going to be making some changes in our group. Since you've been active in our group in the past, I'd love to get your perspective on them." You're off to the races now. Once they've had a chance to share their thoughts, they now have a renewed ownership in the direction of the group. By the time you get around to asking, "Can I count on you to be part of the group again?" they'll probably be more inclined to say yes.

Granted, some folks will look for an excuse to get out of something. But they all got involved in the group for SOME reason. Helping them rediscover the passion for why they joined in the first place is key to getting them back into the fold. I don't know a better way to do that than just call and talk to them (unless it's a personal visit, which may not be practical).

Comment from Exec. Director, Nonprofit:
    I disagree with telephone solicitations. I recently received a telephone soliciation from a national nonprofit that I have never given to. In their call they indicated that I had given $150 last year, which I had not. Because of those tactics, I think many donors are very reluctant to talk with charities over the telephone, unless you know they were not just a friend but a loyal supporter.

Question from Lauren Robinson, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, small nonprofit:
    Is it common for organizations to get a large one time contribution from a donor? What can we do to better develop these relationships and turn them into consistent large donors?

Lawrence Henze:
    Hello Lauren. It is more common that large gifts come from loyal donors that build their support over time. But it is not unusual that you might receive a one-time gift out of the blue. The biq question is how do you determine if the gift is one-time?

Here are some suggestions:

1. Attempt to thank the donor personally using an executive officer or board member as part of the thank-you effort

2. During your communication with the donor, ask thoughtful questions to determine the motivation of the donor in giving to your organization.

3. Ask the donor how they would be involved in the organization and its mission going forward?

4. If possible, follow-up with a report on story on th eimpact of this gift on the fulfillment of your mission.

I hope this helps.

Question from Danielle, smaller Canadian charitable healthcare foundation:
    Could you recommend any free resources of sample telephone scripts to help guide the conversation that development staff, volunteers and board members conduct when calling to reconnect with donors who have stopped giving? What do you think about sending a promotional gift after having a positive telephone conversation as a way to follow-up with a donor in the process of reactivating? (ie. USB keys, branded notepad & pen, etc.) Would you send the item after receiving a new gift or before to entice another gift?

Colin V. French:
    Hi Danielle:

Unfortunately, I don't know of any sample phone scripts I can recommend. I'm sure there are some out there; we just haven't had occasion to use them. You might get some great inspiration to write your own, though, if you listen to some of Bob Newhart's wonderful comedy routines, where you only hear one side of the phone call!

Studies on the effectiveness of offering promotional items for a gift typically find that they are not important to donors. I think the exception is offering an item that is really connected with your mission. In other words, people don't really get excited about a mug or calendar with your organization's name on it. But, for example, we have a brand new Boy Scout Handbook just being released. That'd be a great giveaway directly tied to our mission as an incentive for lapsed donors (any donors, for that matter). In your case, maybe something like a first aid kit with your logo on it as an incentive.

Perhaps the best "incentive" to offer is tied to the gift itself. If you have a $1,000 giving level, e.g., make a one time offer to your lapsed donors to get in to that group with a gift of only $700. Every one loves a bargain. Another idea is to get a current major donor to offer matching gift amounts for any lapsed donors who make a current gift. Obviously you'd want to cap the amount based on what the "matching donor" wants. But, again, I think lapsed donors would feel particularly important if their gift had a proportionately greater impact than even current donors.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    As we approach the midway point in today's discussion, I'd like to offer a reminder that participants are encouraged to ask questions at any time. To submit your query, simply click on the "ask a question" link on this page and type in your question.

Question from Linda Brown, public education foundation:
    Do "past donors" respond more to positive E newsletters on a regular basis or to a one time personal ask?

Mark Moshier:
    I don't see this as an either or. A communication plan, including newsletters, e-mail, personal notes or even a phone call durring the course of a year will help ensure the success of a personal ask.

Question from Lauren Robinson, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, small nonprofit:
    What method is best for reestablishing a relationship with past large donors? i.e. letter vs. in person vs. phone

Lawrence Henze:
    Lauren, try to avoid the temptation to use letters to cultivate and solicit your best donors. Personal cultivation is always best. Once your relationship with a top donor is established, it may be possible to maintain that relationship primarily through phone calls and personalized e-mails. But make it a point to try to visit with your best prospects at least once a year in a face-to-face meeting.

Question from Michelle, small private university:
    Our university does not have a long history of fundraising or alumni cultivation. As a result, our participation is very low. Curiously, we seem to have many one-time donors. An alumnus makes a gift of $50, receives a thank-you phone call followed by a letter signed by the president of the university. They get the twice annual newsletter, and if they have provided their email, regular updates in their inbox. When it is time to renew, they don't. But we somehow attract another first time donor to send a gift which isn't renewed next year. Ideas?? Reasons??

Colin V. French:
    Michelle: Interesting question. It's hard to criticize the quality or content of the newsletters and updates, having not seen them. And, typically, staying in touch on a regular basis with donors is critical in keeping them informed and interested in what you're doing.

Do your first requests do a better job telling a compelling story than your renewal pieces? I guess I'd say to take a critical eye to what you're using to get second and third gifts. Perhaps they assume too much about what the donor knows about the university -- maybe they take too much for granted that the donor knows how their gift is being spent, and the impact it is making on the university? Might start with that.

Comment from Laura Deaton, Full Glass Consulting:
    This is more of a comment on telephone scripts. I've seen them used effectively when coming from service recipients, like students at a college calling former donors or teenagers in a youth mentoring program. Can be very powerful if done well, especially if framed as a thank you call for past support as opposed to a direct solicitation.

Question from Bianca, volunteer for large non-profit:
    I'm a volunteer chair for a new Patrons group at a large performing arts institution. Unfortunately, as we launch our new membership group, I have first reached out to the former group's steering committee to invite them to join and be a part of the leadership for this new group. I have gotten little response by mail and email. My impulse is to call them up and reach out to them on a more personal level. The organization resists this. I feel that I want to maybe get a sense of why they are not re-joining-especially since these were the leaders of the former group (also 18 months has passed since the former group was inactive). Were they ignored by the organization? Did they move onto other interests, etc? I want to know if maybe the organization did something wrong, to prevent it from happening again. The organization does not want to revisit the past. It's easier to renew a lapsed donor than recruit a new one, but how far can you go, especially when you are the volunteer and not staff? Thanks.

Mark Moshier:
    We would first suggest trying to probe the staff of the organization to find out why they want to marginalize the former group. If they were heading in a direction contrary to the best interests of the organization then it might be best to let sleeping dogs lie. If you have any personal relationship with members of this group, have a discussion with them and try to find out about the situation. As a volunteer you can also talk to other volunteers even the board chairperson. You are right, it is easier to renew a lapsed donor, but there may be extenuating circumstances.

Question from Lauren Robinson, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, small nonprofit:
    How do the levels of giving during the current recession compare with previous levels of non-recession giving?

Colin V. French:
    In my opinion, some of the large, new gifts we've received are probably less than they would have been a year ago. Many of our donors have admitted that. But we haven't had any major donors try to get out of, or renege, on current, existing commitments. A handful have asked if they can extend the pledge period an extra year or two, and we obviously want to accomodate them. But they aren't trying to get out of the gifts. One study in particular has shown that the vast majority of donors will still give, especially to charities they have supported before, if they are asked to do so by either a friend or a key volunteer from the charity. That continues to be good news!

Question from Mike McNamara, Mayo Clinic:
    What are you seeing nationally at end of July that gives you encouragement or discouragement for how 2009 will end for non profits?

Lawrence Henze:
    Hello Mike. In my work, I freakily travel across United States and visit with nonprofits of all different shapes and sizes. The recession is currently topic number one, and almost everyone wants to know how other nonprofits are doing across the country.

Unfortunately, there is no one answer I can give in response to this question. An organization that has basically "thrown in the towel" at the beginning of the recession and are seeing the results of their reduced fundraising efforts in significantly reduced revenue. On the other side of the spectrum, I see organizations that are committed to fundraising as usual, and not surprisingly, their fundraising efforts are doing well.

In the middle, most organizations are seeing a decline in the number of lower echelon donors, as well as postponement of payment on mid to large size campaign pledges. Charitable gift annuity and bequest activity is up, as these type of plan gives actually flourish in a recession.

Mike, I admit to being an optimist. I see positive signs that the industry is weathering the storm and that this we may actually emerge from the recession as better fundraising organizations.

As I tell my clients, there is no better time to evaluate your communication stream with your donors and prospects than during a recession. Include not only your fundraising communications but all contacts with your donors and prospects from the organization as a whole in your evaluation. You may be surprised at how often you contact your best constituents. Perhaps it is time to restructure your communication stream with the intent of building a stronger, yet less intrusive, relationship with your donors.

And when the economy rebounds, as we know it will, retain the lessons learned during a recession and commit to a more donor friendly communication stream.

Question from andra Bostian Ferguson counsultant:
    Why does a phone bank work in higher ed? does it work - don't the potential donors feel interrupted when someone calls? I never like solicitation calls yet this seems to be a very popular program with universities.

Mark Moshier:
    It works because they engage the students and alumni feel a connection. My personal belief is that aggressive telemarketing has soured this methodology for most other nonprofit organizations. When higher education does it well, they engage students in thank you calls and regular communication calls to donors in addition to the solicitation call.

Question from NW, Nonprofit:
    Are social media networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter) good avenues to get donor support in addition to emails or calling?

Colin V. French:
    I think they are increasingly effective at reconnecting with people, if you have a special interest group tied to your organization or a certain aspect of it. For example, in our case, there is obviously a large Boy Scouts group on Facebook. But the groups that appear better connected and more personal are the subgroups -- Philmont Staff members, individual Scout council groups, etc. Having a group like that for your organization, and encouraging lapsed donors to check it out online, gives them a chance to anonymously get reconnected for starters. Some of them may then jump in and formally get reconnected by joining.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    We recently held an online discussion about nonprofit groups and social networking tools. Take a look at the transcript to get a fuller picture of how nonprofits are using such tools: http://philanthropy.com/live/2009/07/payoff/index.shtml

Question from Piper Stege Nelson, NDI :
    We have a number of donors in our donor database that have not given for 2, 5, or even 10 years. When do you take a donor off your list or at least stop sending them solicitations?

Colin V. French:
    Piper: I guess if you've been sending materials for 10 years without a response, maybe it's time to move on. But I'd hate to give up on folks after 2 or even 5 years. Unless you send the same piece year after year, you just never know when one of your pieces, or new programs, will hit someone's "hot button."

Also consider a targeted letter or card to folks you haven't heard from in a long time, giving them the chance to remove their name. Something like "We really would like to help you cut back on mailings you don't want. Just check this box and mail it back, or go online, to let us know if you'd like us to stop sending this." As soon as a prospect has to actively do something, even this simple, some will probably check the "Stop Mailings" box. But I'll bet a lot of others will check the "Keep Sending me things" box. On a very small scale, even this will have helped you reengage a lapsed donor.

Question from Laura Deaton, Full Glass Consulting:
    I work mostly with nonprofit organizations that have recently gone through a really difficult transition (.e.g program closure, fraud, executive transition, etc) which has frequently been publicly covered by the media. For these nonprofits, I've found that they have a unique message for lapsed donors, namely that "things have changed" or "we're back on track." Have you seen other nonprofit organizations effectively leverage transitions to re-coup donors, and can you share some effective strategies? I've seen some really great major donor and mail campaigns that have done this, but would love to hear more, especially since many nonprofits are likely to have some of those inflection points coming soon, either because of executive transitions or funding changes.

Lawrence Henze:
    At one time or another most organizations encounter situations which reflect poorly upon them in the eye of the public. In fact, if this does not happen it is likely that the visibility of your organization in your community is below the radar screen.

It is quite common that problems of this nature force changes in staff. Like you, I believe that this offers an opportunity for the new staff to introduce a commitment to "changing direction" or a "return to our core mission", whichever is most appropriate. Certainly during a recession we may see more programmatic changes related to an organization's mission than normally occur.

Laura (by the way I love the name of your consulting enterprise), I encourage organizations facing these challenges to be open and honest in their communications with constituents. Share your plans with your best donors, involve them in the commitment to change, and outline how it will be done and he expected timeline for the changes to be implemented. If the changes involve fiscal contraction and/or program elimination, discuss how the revisions will create a stronger organization with a renewed commitment to an important mission.

Whenever possible, invite your best donors to small group meetings to discuss the changes and encourages or their input. Make them part of the solution and they will remain loyal to the cause.

Question from Sara Garry, Project for Pride in Living:
    We have some email addresses for lapsed donors. Has sending a lapsed paper appeal followed by an email appeal (or vice versa) been shown to be an effective way to re-connect with past donors?

Colin V. French:
    As you may have seen in some of my other responses, phone calls are probably better than either. But I think it's a good strategy to match up your lapsed donors with how they responded in the first place. If they made an online gift, an email is probably the best place to start. If they originally responded to direct mail, consider a mailed contact to them first. That's how you connected with them once -- maybe it'll work a second time.

Question from Elizabeth Finlayson, Women Employed:
    When regular direct mail does not work in renewing lapsed donors? What cost-effective methods do you suggest? How can we re-engage someone who hasn't given in several years.

Mark Moshier:
    I assume that you are working with a direct mail house that is cleaning up your mailing list for moved and deceased donors. I would suggest regular communication (one page newsletters) that give information but do not ask for a gift between solicitations. You need to evaluate the return on investment and concentrate on those gifts with the greatest potential. i.e. higher level donors and donors who were more consistent prior to lapsing.

Question from Erin Ison, private music education school in Chicago:
    I am working in a year-old development department and have just begun to reach out and personally touch current and lapsed donors. We will be celebrating our 100th year starting in September, and with such a long list of alumni, the possibilities are unlimited. How can the centennial celebration be used to personally reach out to the masses? Thank you.

Colin V. French:
    Congratulations! We're in the same situation -- next year is our 100th. I think my best advice is to just look at how others are celebrating, and what they are using to reconnect. We had a 100th anniversary logo contest that engaged people all over the country, e.g. Without sounding too self-promotional, look on our website this year www.scouting.org. and you'll see lots of 100th Anniversary ideas. The same is true for other organizations, too. Google "Centennial" or "100th Anniversary" and see what others are doing. A major milestone like that is a priceless promotional opportunity for you, especially if you focus on preparing for your NEXT 100 years.

Question from Erin, Easter Seals:
    Our national office handles our direct mail program, but on a local level we do not have real relationships with these donors. We need to reconnect with them in order to engage with them with what we're doing on a local level, but have not had a great deal of success. Do you have creative suggestions on how we could connect with our direct mail donors on a local level?

Lawrence Henze:
    Erin, the relationships between national and local offices of large charitable organizations in the United States are, in my opinion, frequently counterproductive to donor development. Some of the problems I observe include cross messaging, over-solicitation,lack of donor identification with the cause, and lack of understanding of the wisdom of donor centered fundraising. Not surprisingly, it can be a struggle to maintain excellent donor relations and to cultivate major and planned giving relationships.

For purposes of this answer, I will assume that nothing can be changed in the short term. I do not believe that more direct mail to these local donors will elicit a response you desire. I suggest that you implement a personalized thank-you campaign that includes phone calls and small group thank-you events. These activities should allow you to share the message of your local chapter with donors in the community.

Question from Laura Moss, Phoenix House:
    What are your thoughts on using a third-party communications/marketing company to help attract past and potential donors?

Colin V. French:
    It's probably better to use a third party than to not communicate at all with folks. But you're basically asking whether I find direct mail appeals effective. I hate to waffle, but obviously some appeals and some companies are better than others. It's probably more effective for smaller charities, because there's really no other cost effective way to reach the most likely candidates for new gifts. It's a decent substitute for a less targeted and more expensive advertising campaign.

Question from Richard, small nonprofit (school):
    Capital or major donors are memorialized on plaques but records are otherwise nonexistent because most recent donation was 10-15 years ago and the school has reorganized. Assuming we can find them, the best approach is..?

Mark Moshier:
    How about sending these donors or family members an invitation (with a photo of the plaque) to a reunion with other funders. At this reunion you can show them how their contributions made difference at that time and how the school has progressed over the past decade. Re-engage them with the school, share the mission, share your dreams and have them walk away saying "I had no idea the school was doing all these great things."

Question from Lauren Robinson, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic, small nonprofit:
    How do we keep our large donors giving the same or more during a recession?

Lawrence Henze:
    Lauren, maintaining the relationships you have had in the past is the first step. If your organization has not been committed to personal, face-to-face meetings with your donors, start now.

Be prepared to learn that some of your donors are unable to support your organization at the same levels of their past support. Thank them for their past commitments and seek to encourage renewed commitment when the economy recovers. Now is not the time to contract efforts at donor relations, it is merely the time to be more sensitive and aware.

Question from JD, growing org:
    I'm the new development director at a growing npo that has relatively good visibility in the community. Since our founder moved on--he was very successful with major donors--we have had a drop off in major gifts; they seemed to have given due to their relations with the founder. Unfortunately, he is not able to participate at the board level and cultivating these relations with us (not due to any negative feelings, simply because he is not geographically available). Do you have any recommendations for reestablishing contact with these donors without having the founder involved? Thank you!

Colin V. French:
     If you can get other board members engaged and involved in calling donors and prospects, that's a decent substitute. I don't know how practical that is, based on the numbers you're talking about. But studies and common sense would bear out the effectiveness of a personal contact from a volunteer in a position of authority at the charity (e.g. board member) calling on a peer or gift prospect to discuss their support, or further support. That's especially true if you can connect friends of the founder with these donors and prospects. Those who know the founder and who have this informal relationship with him/her could be very effective. "If you don't give, I'm going to tell XXX and he/she will be very disappointed." You would not say that to most donors, but it's always lurking in the background in situations like that.

Question from andra Bostian Ferguson counsultant:
    If you make that one time offer of $700 = $1,000 do the $1,000 donors feel offended or are they happy they served as incentive and is that another thank you, steward opp. ?

Mark Moshier:
    We don't think that the $1,000 donors would feel offended. I would even communicate to them that they were instrumental in securing increased funding for an organization that they believe in.

Question from andra Bostian Ferguson counsultant:
    In working with a pediatic hospital how much informaton regarding current research do you think donors want to have. General information not specific to any one child.

Lawrence Henze:
    I think the answer varies by donor, which suggests that brief donor surveys seeking more information on donor interests are in order. My research indicates that donors who respond to surveys indicating the type and level of information they wish to receive are demonstrating a higher level of commitment to your mission. Frequently, these donors/respondents increase their support once your organization honors their wishes.

Absent this feedback, I suggest that the most effective way to communicate ongoing research is to link it to individual donor stories of those individuals supporting research through their philanthropy. Further tying it to the improved welfare of the affected children strengthens the message.

Question from Jana Byington-Smith, www.secondgift.info:
    I commend you on your relationships with your donors. Do you perform an audit of solicitation success with your former donors? For example do you stop a couple of times a year and compare the success of a certain appeal against the previous year? Do you ask those higher-level non-renewed donors who do not renew or who renew at a lower level about their giving change, either personally or by another means?

Colin V. French:
    Jana: We don't really use mass forms of appeal (phones, mailings) at the Foundation or the National level of the BSA, and we don't have an annual giving campaign. So the answer is no -- but your suggestion is obviously a good one. Now, of course, our local councils DO all of that, and we recommend to them that they call their donors and prospects whenever possible. The more personal the contact, the better. But I'll bet few if any of them do a mid-term analysis, so to speak, of the effectiveness of their appeal. Not that it wouldn't be a good idea!

Question from Keelin Parks, Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic:
    How do we appropriately ask lapsed doners why they decided to give to other orginizations?

Mark Moshier:
    We think that there is more downside to this, on a broad scale. The only way we would do this is through a focus group to help determine the stature, reputation and perceived community impact of your organization.

Question from Bill Huddleston, CFC workplace giving coach:
    How do you connect with anonymous donors?

"Why did the donors lapse in the first place?" is a question that should be asked as well. The answer is often� 'lack of communication.'

There is a special kind of donor where it is vitally important to have general and public communication through such vehicles as newsletters and websites because individual communication is impossible. I'm speaking of workplace giving donors who choose to remain anonymous, which is a very popular choice for donors in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). So how big a deal is this? Of the 275 million dollars of unrestricted gifts donated in the 2008 campaign, approximately $165 million was by anonymous donors.

Regards,

Bill Huddleston

www.cfcfundraising.com

Lawrence Henze:
    Hello Bill, I have one quick thought that I might share. Is it possible to get your organization into these workplaces for presentations that speak directly to the impact of the contributions made by employee/anonymous donors? This approach may help to personalize your organization and allow for interaction with donors who possess a higher degree of interest in your mission. Such a presentation may also assist in volunteer recruitment, and we both know how that relationship tracks well with ultimate giving behavior.

Question from Laura Deaton, Full Glass Consulting:
    Has anyone seen success with pulling together focus groups to get detailed group input from lapsed major donors?

Lawrence Henze:
    Hello again, I do not have current personal knowledge of success stories with focus groups and lapsed major donors.

I can tell you, however, that earlier in my career focus groups of this nature really provided valuable input and feedback that translated into improvements in donor relations, communications, and cultivation efforts.

In other words, as you might be able to tell from my responses today, I am a fan of directly soliciting input from current and past donors. Donor centered fundraising is only possible if you involve the donors.

Question from Elizabeth Finlayson, Women Employed:
    What do you think is the number one cause of donor lapses?

Colin V. French:
     I think the main reason is that people just no longer feel connected to the organization. When donors give to your organization, they have basically become a member of your extended family. If they no longer feel like they matter to you personally, or they are not getting the kind of attention they got before they made their gift, they tend to drift off. It's not unusual for charities to lavish all kinds of attention on a prospect before he/she makes a gift, then when the gift is made the attention from the charity drops precipitously. Also, if the charity's enthusiasm for receiving a gift does not match the donor's level of enthusiasm for MAKING the gift, you're already off the track for future gifts.

Question from Jan Wacker Dev. Director Boys HOpe Girls HOpe St. Louis:
    What suggestions do you have for reconnecting with past donors who have given small amounts, but have not increased or have fallen off the radar screen.

Mark Moshier:
    My answer is always communication! The more the better, but focused on issues that appeal to donors. My suggestion is one page newsletters that supporters can read while they open the mail. If it goes in the "I read it when I have more time pile, it will most likely go unread. Share personal success stories of participants in your program, even if you can't use the actual name of the person. Create donor giving levels, (1 youth, 5 youth, etc.) Ultimately, truly increased giving will only come through a personal ask. I don't know exactly what you mean by small amounts, but you always have to look at the potential return on investment for renewing lapsed donors.

Question from Peggy, Large membership nonprofit:
    What would be a good benchmark to use as a goal for re-enrolling lapsed donors? 50%? 30%?

Colin V. French:
    I guess it'd be fair game if you look at the average response rate for new, direct mail acquisitions (1-3%) and your renewal rate for current, active donors, and split the difference. That's about where these donors lie in terms of their interest and likelihood to get reengaged. But I've never seen a suggested benchmark.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    Unfortunately, our time is up. I would like to thank everyone who joined us today, and thanks also to Lawrence Henze, Colin French and Mark Moshier for an informative and lively discussion.

Maria Di Mento (Moderator):
    Please join us next Tuesday, same time, same place—when, in conjunction with The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual study of America's largest donor-advised funds, we will take a look at how the recession has affected charitable gift funds. We hope to see you then.