Donor loyaltypreview
- 1. Donor Loyalty: The Holy Grail of Fundraising Part I E W VI R E Analysis by Tom Belford PRecommendations by Roger Craver March 2009 A Continuing Series on Donor Attitudes and Behavior Powered by Data from DonorTrends
- 2. Donor Loyalty: The Holy Grail of Fundraising Part I In our DonorTrends 2005 White Paper, Donor Loyalty: The Holy Grail of Fundraising, we concluded: There would appear to be a solid 60-70% of donors who simply are not on the informational let alone emotional path to loyalty. Overall, the data suggest a profile where about one-third of donors show a propensity toward loyalty, one-third show little inclination to bond, and one-third sit somewhere in the middle. If this is accurate, an overall retention rate of 70% or more per year represents significant accomplishment. Where do we stand two years later? Professed Loyalty W As we said two years ago, the good news is that many donors claim to be and maybe want to be loyal donors. I E In our DT08 survey, fully 70% of respondents claim High Loyalty to a cause or charity they support. This compares quite favorably to other V products, services and relationships where High Loyalty is asserted: E My doctor 64% R A TV show 57% My current employer 55% P A sports team 52% My primary source of news 51% A beer or soft drink 48% A political party 44% My make of automobile 43% My telephone service 37% And as we have seen in the past, professed loyalty to causes and charities increases among those we term Platinum donors (i.e., those contributing more than $1,000 per year in total to causes and charities). Fully 80% of Platinum donors indicate High Loyalty, with half rating themselves at the Very Loyal level. We see a corresponding level of loyalty reported when we ask more directly about giving behavior: 息 2008-2009 The Agitator and DonorTrends. All rights reserved. 2 A single copy of this material may be reprinted for noncommercial, personal use only. For options and permission for using these materials please contact SubscriberCare@theAgitator.net
- 3. Donor Loyalty: The Holy Grail of Fundraising Part I Percent that agree with the following statements Total Total Seniors Boomers Newbies Platinum Online Offline DT05 DT08 I have contributed to my favorite charity for 58% 70% 74% 75% 62% 84% 67% 73% more than two years I contribute to a few favored charities or 48% 58% 66% 58% 53% 69% 56% 59% advocacy groups year after year As the table indicates: Reported loyal giving is significantly higher amongst our 2008 respondents W Loyal giving increases with age Platinum donors are by far the most loyal donors, and as we will E see below, this translates into higher levels of missionary work for I the causes they support. V No significant difference between online and offline donors. E For many donors, some sort of comfortability with a charity does develop, if not deep loyalty. By contrast, very few donors confess to impulse giving R or shopping around for different charities to support. P Percent that agree with the following statements Total Total Seniors Boomers Newbies Platinum DT05 DT08 I tend to donate on impulse, when I hear about an issue that 24% 25% 12% 26% 29% 20% bothers me or seems especially urgent I shop around for charities or advocacy groups as my 8% 11% 7% 9% 14% 14% interests change So, it would appear that five or six-out-of-ten donors perceive themselves to be steady supporters of their favored charities and causes. This suggests that they make a conscious effort to focus their giving, implying an ability and inclination to discriminate among groups and stick with a few that pass some reasoned or emotional test. Is that what is happening? Consider these further responses. 息 2008-2009 The Agitator and DonorTrends. All rights reserved. 3 A single copy of this material may be reprinted for noncommercial, personal use only. For options and permission for using these materials please contact SubscriberCare@theAgitator.net