239. What Matters Right Now: Donor Behavior Matters More Than Giving Amount - Lynne Wester, Jonathan McCoy, CFRE & Becky Endicott, CFRE

Donor Behavior Matters More Than Giving Amount with Lynne Wester, We Are For Good Podcast

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2022 Nonprofit Trends That Matter
This episode is part of our 2022 Nonprofit Trends That Matter Series. Explore the entire series here.

Overview

It's our final Friday discussion in our 8️⃣ Trends That Matter in 2022 as we dive into Donor Behavior Matters More than Giving Amount with our donor relations muse, Lynne Wester. The way we think about donor recognition is dead wrong. Our current retention rates are 23% for first-time donors and around 50% overall. So what if we could change that by changing our behavior? We need to bless and release the way we value donors. The future of donor relations is based on behavior rather than giving amount. Tune in and learn why.

💡LEARN
👆Setting the Scene: Donor Behavior is King
👆Core components of switching to a donor behavior mindset
👆Steps to grow retention & accelerate donor velocity
👆Case study examples of who's doing it well! 🎉

“We need to rethink what we consider good donors and change our behavior to rectify some of the wrongs and make it a more inclusive experience for anyone who decides to be generous.”

— Lynne Wester, Founder, Donor Relations Guru

Episode Transcript

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Episode Overview

Tone setting: donor behavior is king. (1:30)
Shifting our mindset (2:50)
Lynne’s ethos behind this philosophy (4:00)
Where to start to begin shifting this mindset and behaviors we can employ to start getting these behaviors in our mind (6:00)
How this can help answer our retention problem (9:45)
The concepts of velocity and doublers (14:00)
A case study of where Lynne has seen this work (19:00)
Playing the long game and fundraiser turnover (22:00)
Lynne’s One Good Thing: Go and find the story of a donor who no one has ever paid attention to, and go find their story. (25:00)

Powerful quotes

“We have been taught in development that a donors’ worth is tied to their dollar amount. What Lynne is saying about donor behavior is going to shift how we engage with our donors.” -Becky

“If you’re not postured like this as an organization, and bought into the mindset that behavior matters, it’s going to trick down to how you build relationships and campaigns.” -Jon

“Do you really believe that everybody that is engaging with you has just as much value as that major gift donor?” -Jon

“We want to see what happens as more and more organizations lean into this.” -Jon

“There we stand overlooking people who, through good times and bad, through good leadership and bad, through winning on the field and not winning on the field, through a horrible economy and a great economy, and even during a pandemic give to us. Why don’t we value them as much as somebody who walks in the door and drops a large check with tons of strings on us? It always has nagged at me at the back of my head.” -Lynne

“We need to rethink what we consider good donors and change our behavior to rectify some of the wrongs and make it a more inclusive experience for anyone who decides to be generous.” -Lynne

“The first and most important thing starts with you and starts with the person doing the work. We need to recognize that generosity needs to be supported, rewarded and encouraged.” -Lynne

“Generosity has worth.” -Lynne

“I think we need to take a new and refreshed look in the mirror. Who do we value at our organization? Who do we want to keep giving? I mean, yeah, I'd love to keep a billionaire giving, but also, if I keep a billionaire giving, does that alienate 100 amazing donors of another ilk?” -Lynne

“It never ceases to amaze me that we still rate nonprofits by how much money they raise a year. And that indicates whether you're a good nonprofit, or a good fundraising shop, not how many donors you keep happy every year.” -Lynne

“Somewhere in your database, is the next million dollar donor, she is waiting for you to notice her.” -Lynne

“For some people, if we're going to say that we're going to commit to the long game, then don't we have to stick around to see it.” -Lynne

“Our fundraiser turnover is 16 months at this point. And people get very impatient and aren't willing to build long-term. They're not I don't get to pay off fast enough. I'm not closing the gift fast enough. And so I think we need to have more patience and more respect.” -Lynne