Nonprofits May Be Waiting Too Long to Ask for Donations, Study Says

Charities may be waiting too long to get back in touch with potential donors they have provided services to, decreasing the likelihood of a gift, according to a recent study.

The study comes from Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Professors Katherine Milkman and Judd Kessler, with assistance from Amanda Chuan, a former Ph.D. student, analyzed a university hospital system and included data from more than 18,000 donation requests. They found that an extra 30-day delay between the provision of medical care and a gift solicitation decreases the likelihood of a contribution by 30 percent.

The study was intended to answer one fundamental question: Can you ask for donations too early? The report found no evidence of a donor backlash from asking too quickly. But there were problems from waiting too long.

A lot of charities send solicitations only when they think people will be generous or in the mood to give, like Christmas or Giving Tuesday, Kessler said. The research, however, shows that this tactic may not be prudent.

In the report’s case study, the hospital’s fundraisers sent out solicitations approximately every two months in batches that were scheduled in advance. This means someone who came to the hospital on November 2 would get the same request for donations as someone who came to the hospital on December 25, in January. As a result, some people received donation requests later after their hospital experience than others.

How soon is too soon to ask for support? The research didn’t reveal an optimum time to send appeals, Kessler said; perhaps the only time that’s too soon would be immediately after someone has received a service. He advises charities to experiment, altering their solicitation schedules to see if reaching out sooner after providing services results in more giving.