5 Steps to Better Donor Engagement

There’s one donor engagement story I’ll never forget. It happened during my time working with a small performing arts nonprofit. I was the chair of the “worker bee board” and I don’t think I’ve ever worked more for less pay ($0, with an expected contribution). I truly enjoyed the work, but SHWEWW! I was also happy to complete my terms!

The organization had never been officially branded as a gay men’s chorus, but it has always served a primarily LGBTQ+ audience. For many, it’s a place of identity, belonging, and joy.

When I was Board chair, we undoubtedly had the joy, but we definitely did NOT have the financial stability. Like many small nonprofits, we had certain points in the year when big expenditures would hit and cash flows just couldn’t keep up. This was one of those times.

We looked under every rock. We’d already trimmed expenses, called in favors, and delayed everything we possibly could. But the truth was, we needed a major (to us) contribution of cash and fast.

Blessedly, there was a donor I had in mind. This gentleman was in his early 70s and was new to embracing his LGBT identity.  When we first met, he told me he felt like he owed so much to the gay community because he had been in the closet for most of his adult life. I was able to connect him to our organization as a patron, and made a special point to include this admittedly terrible singer in as many chorus activities as I could.

Now, in our hour of need, I went to him with our artistic director, and laid it out plainly. We needed help. And he said ‘yes.’

This certainly wasn’t the kind of gift that would make The Chronicle. However, it was incredibly generous, extraordinarily meaningful for all involved, and kept us singing. 

Once the urgency had passed, we sat down and asked one of the most important questions in fundraising: how do we keep this transformational donor engaged?

While opportunities for engagement are important for every donor, for this donor, it was particularly important. His philanthropic identity was shaped by his inability to feel part of the gay community, so our engagement needed to match. Unfortunately, this donor had zero interest in serving on a board, wasn’t particularly outgoing, and was looking for something more meaningful than an ushering or ticket window role. That’s when I put my matchmaking hat on and started thinking about how we could pair this man’s unique skills with our organizational needs.

This donor had spent his career as a medical librarian, and (in Liam Neeson’s voice) had acquired a very unique set of skills. He knew database management forward and backward, was super organized, tech-savvy, and wasn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves.

So, we brainstormed a bit. And finally, our artistic director floated an idea: what if he became the music librarian? As any performer will know, music libraries can become a dusty repository for stacks of old sheet music that get thrown into a pile. This wasn’t “make work,” but rather something our organization actually needed. The role was a perfect fit! It gave this donor the opportunity to attend rehearsals, engage with chorus members, be listed as a member of our volunteer staff, and feel a part of our community. Talk about a match made! 

In reviewing that experience, I’ve identified a few key takeaways I bring to clients who are designing engagement opportunities for donors.

5 Steps to Better Donor Engagement

1. Ask yourself, what is engagement? A rose by any other name? Not really. Engagement is simply defined as asking your donors to DO something other than donate money. Attend this event, serve on a committee, sign this petition. These are all potential engagement opportunities that can be applied at scale. Have you considered asking your donors to:

   • Sign a petition?

   • Contact their elected officials?

   • Share their story on #GivingTuesday?

   • Write messages of encouragement?

   • Take a survey?
     

This adorable example from Boston Children’s is a great way to ask donors to give of their time and their kindness for children. 

My friends at the Maui Nui Resource Council run a program that trains resorts in reef-safe practices. They also have a program that allows private citizens to learn about reef-safe landscaping practices for residences. What a great way to ask for action that is mission-aligned and not a donation!

How can you ask for something that is related to your mission? 

2. Tap into your donor's most valuable asset (it's not money). Time is our most precious resource, so finding an opportunity to allow donors to give it, in addition to their treasure (and maybe even in a way that utilizes their talents!), is a huge win for engagement.  Research shows that volunteers are 14.5% more likely to donate than those who don’t volunteer, and current donors are 9.3% more likely to volunteer for nonprofits they support. There is a deep emotional connection forged when you allow donors to give both time and treasure—it is truly meaningful. On the other hand, when working in higher education where we are typically better resourced, I have lost potential donors who felt like they couldn’t become more involved. It’s important to know that, for many, giving of time is far more meaningful than giving of treasure.

3. Know your donor’s “why.” For this gentleman, his “why” was deeply connected to feeling left out of the community for many years. So, any engagement opportunity had to feature meaningful relationships with our chorus. Your donors may give due to family ties with your organization, or a connection to your mission through lived experiences, or any number of other reasons. How do you find out this information? By asking the right questions. Go beyond “How did you hear about us?” and discover their motivations, connections and identity. For your principal and major gift donors, this should take place in the context of a 1-1 conversation with a gift officer. And remember, this is not an interview. Gift officers (I used to be one!) should be weaving these questions into their discovery conversations with donors and then writing them up in a worksheet-style document that will be stored in your CRM. For annual fund or community donors, the questions linked above can be adapted into a short survey that then influences future broad-based engagement opportunities for many donors. Plan a mix of opportunities that roughly matches the responses collected in your survey.

4. Understand that Board service is meaningful for some, but not all. Many donors are not interested in serving on boards, committees, advisory councils, or whatever term you ascribe to your volunteer leadership groups. And that’s ok. But nonprofits need to have a mix of meaningful opportunities in pocket to engage those donors who aren’t afraid to roll-up their sleeves. The opportunities are endless. I’ve seen nonprofits use donors to:

   1. Serve as mentors for students, clients, or beneficiaries

   2. Work at nonprofits as reception help or greeters

      1. I worked with a nonprofit that brought donors in to serve as receptionists, and then utilized the replaced, paid staff member with work for other projects. A Win-Win!

   3. Provide skilled technical or financial assistance The key to implementing one of the options above is knowing your donors: not only the skills they have and their involvement preferences (front of house or back of house), but also whether or not they’re willing to make a long-term commitment. Some donors simply aren’t in a season of life where that makes sense. And let’s be honest: there are also a few folks whose “help” tends to generate more staff work than it saves (Bless them!). The goal is to match donors to roles where they truly thrive, and where your team won’t need to create a second job just managing the first one.
      

5. Create meaningful volunteer opportunities for donors that are “one-off” events. I love the “Day of Service” offered by the Purdue for Life Foundation. The Foundation purchases mulch, perennials, and trees and then arranges for volunteers–including donors–to partner with the campus community (including students) to plant them. The Foundation works with campus architects and building/grounds to buy products and plan an event that aligns with the campus masterplan, ensuring the opportunity is mutually beneficial for all involved. 

   The day provides a great chance for donors to give back and connect with students in a shared experience. What if, instead of a scholarship reception, you hosted a service project and then provided a casual meal afterward? As our industry continues to have critical conversations that move us toward more equitable beneficiary/donor interactions, service projects are a great way to break down traditional power distances and provide for casual opportunities to connect outside of a ballroom banquet and cocktail reception.

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As every successful fundraiser knows, asking donors for money is only one part of the equation.When we invite them to give of their time, their energy, and their ideas, we deepen the relationship in ways that can’t be matched by a check alone. Engagement is about more than board service or event attendance. It’s about purpose. And when you match a donor’s purpose with a real need in your organization? That’s where the magic happens.

Written by Colton Withers

Colton Withers is a recovering major gift officer who now channels his energy into helping nonprofits inspire donors through exceptional communications, build and implement innovative programs, design and analyze surveys, and train employees on the art and science of donor relations. He believes every donor has a role to play—whether it’s on the board or behind the music library. When he’s not matchmaking donors with purpose, he’s probably playing pickleball or walking his beloved dachshund, Winnie.