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Thoughts from the Group

Explore the DRG blog for fresh ideas on all things donor experience, leadership, team building, donor relations, and change management.

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Donor Retention

6 Steps for Implementing Effective Change Management to Increase Donor Retention

Donor retention is often a neglected metric in fundraising, with many organizations focusing more on the volume of donations or the...

Recognition and Engagement

3 Essentials for Successful Top Donor Engagement Plans

Bespoke engagement plans for top donors are one of the hottest topics in fundraising, and for good reason––the “one-size-fits-all”...

Donor Retention

Beyond Giving Tuesday: Building Lasting Connections with First-Time Donors

Giving Tuesday can be a whirlwind of support, particularly from new donors who resonate with your cause. But after the rush, it’s...

Donor Retention

Building Donor Loyalty: Insights, Strategies, and the Power of Milestones

We just sent out our loyal donor milestone mailer this month. We honor the donors who have given to our organization for at least five...

The Donor Experience

4 Key Tips for Donor Survey Success

At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, it’s hard to imagine a more powerful tool than a custom survey of your organization’s donor base. I...

Nonprofit Leadership

Change Is Coming: How To Build Trust With Donors in Uncertain Times

The only thing constant is change . Greek philosophers have given the world much to ponder over a few thousand years, but this...

Donor Communications

5 Essential Segmentation Strategies for Nonprofits to Connect with the Perfect Audience

One of the more fascinating—and often truly baffling—aspects of the donor experience is what happens to our data after we make a gift....

Fundraising

20 Questions That Are Key to Unlocking Your Donor’s Philanthropic Passion

As a major gift fundraiser turned donor relations professional, I’m often asked when is the “right time” to ask donors for a major gift....

The Donor Experience

How to Engage, Inspire, and Retain First Time Donors (and we have examples!)

First-time donors give for many reasons, and donor retention looks different for each donor behavior type. First-time gifts can come from...

Recognition and Engagement

Recognition Societies : Build, Revamp, or Retire?

Have formal donor recognition societies already had their day in the sun? Should we be eliminating or investing in them? That is the big...

Donor Retention

Behavior-Based Donor Relations: Fad or Phenomenon?

Have you ever gotten so deep into a subject that you can’t recall what brought you there in the first place? The concept of...

Donor Retention

The Four Pillars of Donor Retention

I often say that the most important measure of any fundraising shop isn’t how much money you raise at your nonprofit, but rather how many...

Stewardship and Reporting

3 Keys to Improving Your Impact Reports AND Donor Retention

According to Penelope Burk’s Donor Centered Fundraising, 93% of individual donors would definitely or probably give again the next time...

Donor Communications

Two Data-Driven Decisions to Improve Your Year-End Solicitations

‘Tis the season for year-end appeals…and year end fa-la-la-la-cknowledgments! As we gear up for these incredibly important giving...

Acknowledgments

7 Communications to Send Your Donor After They Make a Gift

A donor just made a gift to support your organization, so what comes next? You may be asking yourself, “Now what happens? Should I ask...

Donor Retention

Marginal Gains for Strategic Donor Relations: Small Steps for Big Impact

Now that you’ve had a chance to dabble in some of the strategies shared in our previous series on behavior economics (catch up here →...

Thoughts from the Group

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