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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nMindy Sherfy, Director of Client Support, BDI<\/em>. Mindy brings to the table more than 30 years of experience in direct marketing and strategic nonprofit fundraising. She has had the opportunity to work with many rescue missions, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Eternal Word Television Network and The Salvation Army. Prior to joining Brewer Direct, she served as a Senior Account Director at The Lukens Company. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Director of Client Support, Mindy serves as a senior fundraising strategist and trusted advisor for her clients. In addition to working with clients, she works across teams within BDI to review processes and tools that are in place in order to develop and execute multi-channel fundraising plans \u2013 ensuring clients\u2019 needs and fundraising goals are met or, ideally, exceeded. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Time flies\u2026 or so the saying goes. We\u2019ve all experienced that feeling of wondering how time passed so quickly without us realizing it. And that\u2019s especially true for donors, who might not realize how long it\u2019s been since they supported your nonprofit. That\u2019s why I\u2019m sharing 5 steps to help you win back your lapsed donors. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n But first, allow me to indulge in my own story to illustrate how fast time flies: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Recently my family was reliving stories of our last ski trip \u2013 like my husband and I riding on the chair lift, chuckling as a skier barreled down the mountain, only to end up doing a 360 and wiping out (Thankfully, said skier wasn\u2019t hurt because it was our oldest son!). <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t skied in a couple years. We should go!\u201d I said. But I was quickly reminded it had been SEVEN years since we hit the slopes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n What? We love skiing. We love Colorado. We love spending time with friends. We love everything about a week at our favorite ski resort \u2013 so why haven\u2019t we been on the mountain since 2015?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n I imagine this response might be similar to what you would hear if you sat down with a lapsed donor: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? I haven\u2019t given in seven years? I love Worthy Nonprofit. I love your vision and mission. I love how you have influence in our community. Are you sure it\u2019s been that long?\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Every year, rescue missions spend thousands of dollars to acquire new donors so they can grow their revenue stream, only to lose about 60% of them in the first year.<\/strong> In fact, most nonprofits face high attrition when it comes to new donors. Couple these lost new donors with inactive and multi-year givers who do not give again, and the pool of lapsed donors gets bigger every year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I encourage you to look at this as an opportunity<\/strong> rather than an obstacle<\/strong>. You have thousands of people who have supported your organization and championed your cause. Now it\u2019s time to get them back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The first step to winning back your lapsed donors is understanding why they stopped giving in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most donors won\u2019t send you a text or draft an email to let you know why they stopped giving. You will need to do some detective work to find out why your donors lapsed and then craft a plan for winning them back based on what you\u2019ve learned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A crucial step to winning back your lapsed donors is to contact them in meaningful ways: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t expect a single letter or email is all you\u2019ll need to get folks back on your bandwagon. Segmenting and evaluating lapsed donors by their giving history \u2013 and potential lifetime value \u2013 will help you determine how much you should invest in winning back your lapsed donors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Call-out box –<\/strong> <\/strong>It\u2019s not \u201cone and done\u201d… work to reactivate lapsed donors all year round!<\/strong> Consider including targeted groups of lapsed donors in your strongest direct mail appeals throughout the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, BDI included $100+ 3-5 year lapsed donors and $500+ 6+ year lapsed in a year-end matching challenge campaign for a client. From this, the organization reactivated 26 major donors with an ROI of $9.11!<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, donors come in all shapes and sizes. There isn\u2019t a \u201cone size fits all\u201d strategy to win back the hearts and minds of these valuable donors, but here are some reactivation ideas to try: <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter the channels you use to target these lapsed donors, it is important to make it easy for them to give: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some donors may not be able or ready to give financially again. But they may be interested in supporting you with their time and talents. Offer other opportunities for them to help you further your mission: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, it\u2019s easier \u2013 and less expensive! \u2013 to re-engage current doors than to try to acquire new ones. These tips should help you in your quest to reactivate those lapsed donors and encourage them to recommit to your cause. And once you\u2019ve welcomed them back with open arms, don\u2019t forget to continuously, genuinely treat them with TLC and remind them how valuable they are to you<\/a> and how much of an impact they are making! <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have questions about your nonprofit fundraising efforts, the BDI team would love to chat with you! Learn more about how we serve nonprofits by visiting our website: <\/strong>www.bdiagency.com<\/strong><\/a>. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additional Resources: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We value relationships and are proud to connect nonprofits to our partner network<\/a> and hope this helps increase your nonprofit’s effectiveness and success. We proudly partner with BDI<\/a> (Brewer Direct), a full-service, omni-channel, marketing and fundraising agency for nonprofits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mindy Sherfy, Director of Client Support, BDI. Mindy brings to the table more than 30 years of experience in direct marketing and strategic nonprofit fundraising. She has had the opportunity to work with many rescue missions, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Eternal Word Television Network and The Salvation Army. Prior […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":31448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[264,261],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s start here, with 5 steps to win back your lapsed donors:<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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1) Do a little digging to figure out why donors stopped supporting you.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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2) Reach out with a personalized letter or email to grab their attention.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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3) If at first you don\u2019t succeed, try something new.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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4) Remove obstacles and make it as easy to give as possible.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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5) Invite them to engage with you in multiple ways, so they can pick what\u2019s best.<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nAbout BDI<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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