Creating Relationships That Matter: Why You Need Sustainer Donors

If there’s one crisis that affects virtually every nonprofit, it’s the increasing difficulty in retaining donors.  The fact is, donor-retention rates across virtually every nonprofit sector have been in steady decline for the last decade.  Factors like increased competition, institutional relevance, ineffective stewardship (i.e. donor validation of support), and generational attitudes toward loyalty are just a few of the reasons it’s become so difficult to keep donors. 

And while understanding donor behavior seems to be a moving target, let’s not forget that human behavior hasn’t really changed.  Across millennia, humans have an inherent need to belong … to be part of a community.  So, the question is: How do we reach, relate, engage, and connect with donors?
 

A Vision for Sustainer Donor Relationships

As any TrueSense client knows, our agency approach to how we plan fundraising strategy is built on transforming donor relationships from simple transactional gifts to ongoing, committed relationships.

Sustainers (committed donor relationships) are some of the most important assets a nonprofit can have.  Not only do they retain at higher rates (usually in the 70 to 90 percent range), but they tend to have longer tenure, improve net income, provide a predictable source of income, and create an improved donor experience.

In the commercial space, our current and future donors already recognize the benefit of a recurring relationship.  The emergence of Pandora, Hulu, and Netflix reinforces the concept of committing to organizations and causes that are important on an ongoing basis.  And lest you think it’s just younger donors, remember the Columbia Record Club or the early days of AOL?  Well, so do your older donors.

A Solution for The Salvation Army: Friends of The Army

Friends of The Army (or Army of Hope in some Territories) is TrueSense’s sustainer relationship strategy.  It is a unique service that allows donors to control how much and how often they donate to The Salvation Army.  It puts donors in control of their philanthropic support, and focuses on maintaining and upgrading donor commitment.

Frequently Asked Questions About Friends of The Army:

• What are some of the benefits to donors?
  Giving is easier.  Donors can sign up one time, and their gifts are made automatically and at a frequency of their choosing, giving them flexibility and convenience.  Salvation Army donors support all the good work done on an ongoing basis.  They receive less solicitation mail, but still receive limited, targeted communications — helping them stay informed of all the good work going on in their community, along with additional opportunities to extend their support (especially during the holidays).
• What are some of the benefits to The Salvation Army?
  While monthly gifts are the most common type of recurring gift, any proactive donor commitment — monthly, quarterly, or annually — results in a much stronger connection between the donor and The Salvation Army.  More importantly, once a donor settles into a pattern of behavior, they become a potential source of volunteers, advocates, Angel Tree donors, event attendees, planned giving prospects, and higher-value donors. The key is to find opportunities to engage donors more fully with the organization.
• How are donors invited to become part of Friends of The Army/Army of Hope?
  TrueSense creates multichannel communication efforts (mail, phone, email, and digital) that focus on the value and benefit of the program to donors, and then cultivates and stewards those relationships over time.  Further, all response channels (remits, buckslips in acknowledgment mailings, donation forms) include a sustainer option, while donor phone programs consistently lead with a sustainer gift ask.
• How will donors know when it’s time for their donation?
  Donors are sent convenient reminders that include reply envelopes to mail gifts back. They will also get an annual statement that shows all of the tax-deductible gifts given, and includes an opportunity to upgrade.
• What are some ways to ensure the program succeeds?
  It’s critical to have a well-thought-out system to code, process, and manage sustainers, including flexible payment options (EFT, credit cards); an established system to charge/debit funds; and protocols to update payment information and exception processing (e.g. credit card declines, expired bank accounts). 
  
  

TrueSense has built efforts to help clients recapture sustainer donors, including periodic phone calls to donors who’ve missed payments or have declined/expired payment information on file.  And while credit card and EFT payments are preferred (they have the highest retention rates!), TrueSense has a robust reminder program in place for donors who are not on automatic payments that attempts to convert paper-check donors to an automatic payment method.

One area for The Salvation Army to explore, in order to avoid losing sustainer revenue because of expired credit cards, is employing a credit card updater service.  These services have a cost somewhere in the 50-cent range for each credit card reinstated — a cost well worth gaining the immediate ability to recharge donations.  Keep in mind that when using a service like this, all credit cards will not be updated, so you still must have all other recapture elements in place to manage the cards that do not get picked up in this manner.

By providing donors with access and choice, you can build an environment that balances both the donor’s desire to offer support, and your organization’s need to retain that support.