8 Things You May Be Doing to Turn Off Donors

Relationship building and careful communication are key to building donor loyalty at your organization, but some of your efforts might inadvertently alienate supporters.

We asked experts about common pitfalls a nonprofit is likely to face as it encourages donors to give again. Here’s their advice on what to avoid.

1. Asking too often. Donors say this is the No. 1 reason why they stop giving, says Penelope Burk, president of Cygnus Applied Research, a fundraising research and consulting firm.

   Supporters have become less responsive to mass solicitations made through direct mail, e-mail, and telephone, according to her company’s annual study. “It is counterproductive in the most enormous way,” says Ms. Burk.

2. Treating new donors like any other supporter. Don’t send first-time donors regular communications immediately. Too often they receive the next letter or e-mail that’s planned, even if it’s “very boring,” says Adrian Sargeant, a professor of fundraising and director of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy at Plymouth University.

   “It makes more sense when somebody’s recruited to send them the next two or three most sexy messages that the organization has ever generated in its history so that you get that all-important second or even third gift,” he says. ”Then go into the regular communication cycle.”

3. Mixing solicitations and thank-yous. Assess how much you “ask” and compare it to how often you “thank,” says Lynne Wester, director of alumni programs and engagement at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and author of the Donor Relations Guru blog.

   You’ll turn donors off if the ratio tilts toward the solicitations. Every appeal should be designed with an accompanying recognition message. And make sure that the two pieces are completely distinct, says Ms. Wester: “Make sure that an ask is an ask, and a thank is a thank, and never the two shall meet.”

4. Taking all the credit. Make sure your communications are more about the donors than your organization. These kinds of messages are more welcoming and make the donor feel good, Mr. Sargeant says. “It feels like you had a tangible impact, rather than the organization itself always taking the credit for what it’s doing,” he says.

5. Failing to ask for feedback. Donors are not cash machines; ask for their advice and value what they have to say.

   “The mere act of seeking a donor’s opinion will improve the retention rate,” says Roger Craver, author of Retention Fundraising: The New Art and Science of Keeping Your Donors for Life.

6. Neglecting the phone. Other than visiting in person, the telephone might be the most valuable way to reach supporters, Mr. Craver says.

   Whether you thank donors, invite them to join a monthly-giving program, or ask them to participate in a survey, people who get a phone call are more likely to give again, he says.

7. Following the pack. Differentiating your organization from other similar groups is key to holding on to contributors, Mr. Craver says. “It’s not that donors stop giving; donors stop giving to a particular organization,” he says. “Copycat messaging and copycat physical appearance is creating a good deal of the churn in these organizations that have poor retention rates.”

   According to research by Mr. Sargeant, 36 percent of contributors leave an organization because they find another organization they believe is more deserving.

8. Ignoring young people. They may be underemployed and burdened by debt, but Millennials are interested in philanthropy, even if they can’t contribute a lot now. “Not only are they willing to give, but they are avid volunteers and they’re willing to help in extraordinary ways,” says Ms. Burk.

   While the pressure is on fundraisers to bring in dollars immediately, organizations would do well to spend some time and money cultivating younger donors. Says Ms. Burk: “The big payoff is not very far down the road.”