Fundraising 101 : 10 Things You Need to Know About Reactivating Lapsed Donors

5. Testing
Try new ideas and strategies for renewing donors. Here is one: Collect e-mail addresses from your new direct-mail donors, ideally at the time they send in the response card (self-reported e-mail addresses are best). Avoid the temptation to begin mass e-mail solicitations, and use the information to thank and inform. Good stewardship breeds loyalty. When the time comes to renew these donors via direct mail, send an e-mail in advance alerting them to the upcoming direct-mail piece. Experience demonstrates that this approach lifts renewal rates.

Even if you employ these proactive strategies and reduce your attrition rate, you'll still experience lapsed-giving behavior. Following are some ideas and strategies for reactivating those donors.

6. Better prospects
Lapsed donors are better prospects and are more likely to respond than individuals with no prior relationship with your organization. In other words, renewing lapsed donors should be a high priority and is likely to be more effective than new-donor acquisition. Is that how your organization positions its lapsed-donor efforts? If not, it's time for new thinking.

7. Predictive modeling
Use statistical modeling and segmentation methodologies to identify the characteristics of lapsed donors who reactivate their support. Segment the lapsed-donor files using scoring trends, and test reactivation strategies across the scoring spectrum. Although lower-scoring reactivation prospects are less likely to be responsive, you might find that different messages or packages do well in mid- or lower-level scoring cells. If tests reveal that higher scores truly reflect the best prospects for recapture, then reduce or eliminate the solicitation efforts in the lower-scoring segments.

8. Not all lapsing is bad
For example, it is not unusual for older donors in their retirement years to reduce or eliminate their cash contributions after years or decades of support. It might be more effective to employ a less aggressive recapture strategy (less frequent attempts) with these individuals, focusing on continuing support at any level rather than specific gift amounts. Continue to thank and steward these individuals, and market planned-giving opportunities as well. Reduction or elimination of their cash giving indicates a fiscally conservative mind-set that bodes well for planned-giving options to be considered. Seize this additional giving opportunity!

9. Memorial giving
It's important to know which lapsed donors are memorial or honorary contributors, as these individuals typically demonstrate less affinity to your organization. For these types of lapsed donors, consider a three-tiered strategy. 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 these gifts to the mission of your nonprofit. Third, unless donor modeling suggests a high likelihood of reactivation, eliminate these lapsed donors from ongoing recapture efforts sooner than donors with clearer affinity ties to your organization. Use the cost "savings" for more effective annual-giving solicitation strategies.

10. Data hygiene
The more deeply lapsed donor pools often suffer a breakdown in data hygiene as they become more distant from active status. Many organizations decrease National Change of Address and address-standardization updates on deeply lapsed donors, and that negatively affects recapture rate. If your organization's fundraising plan dictates that you will attempt to recapture lapsed donors for three years after their last gifts, maintain and update these donor records accordingly. Don't reduce your likelihood of success with poor contact information. 

Lawrence Henze is managing director at Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. Reach him at lawrence.henze@blackbaud.com 

Target Analytics' Matt Cobbett, Carol Rhine, Katherine Swank and Laura Worcester also contributed to this article.

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