Nonprofit Adopts Ideas It Learned While Raising Money After a Flood—and Gets More Repeat Gifts

When floods created devastation in Colorado last September, Covenant Heights Camp and Retreat Center, a Christian nonprofit in Estes Park, had to cancel many programs, losing as much as $120,000 in expected revenue. A special appeal it sent a few months later helped the group not only recoup some of the money through donations but also attract more return donors than usual.

Last spring, the group’s donor-retention rate was about 40 percent; by the end of the year it had grown to 50 percent.

“It was an unusual circumstance, but the appeal and other work around it has shown us or reminded us of some of the things that help us keep donors giving,” says Jesse Bolinder, director of development for Covenant Heights.

The appeal was written and signed by four volunteers, including a board member and a major donor, and was printed on the donor’s business stationary. It featured an emotional message but also included information on the organization’s finances.

Mr. Bolinder says those are some of the elements he tries to incorporate in the group’s regular communications with donors throughout the year. For example, Covenant Heights sends donors five to seven postcard updates a year, as well as one-page quarterly reports explaining the organization’s activities, with photographs of the camp and quotes from campers.

Now that the group is using database software on donors that generates retention rates daily, Mr. Bolinder says he’s keen to watch what efforts pay off the best and build on the success of the flood appeal.

“Our retention rates are the first thing I see when I look at my computer,” he says, “so it’s motivating.”