1. Actively engage with your new donors

If you want to increase donations, it is crucial that you do not wait weeks before contacting new donors again. Instead, build on the existing momentum and begin an ongoing conversation right away. Send them a welcome letter. Thank them for their donation and then regularly reach out to them with customized content. Be sure to communicate on a (seemingly) individual basis. So, don’t send a first-time donor emails that are primarily targeted to long-time donors. With the help of a good marketing automation tool, your new donors will automatically receive content bespoke to them. Marketing Automation automatically provides the new donor with customized content.

2. Help your donors get to know you

Share the successes and milestones of your projects with your supporters. Send them regular updates and tell them what amount is missing to reach the next milestone – ideally in a personalized and automated way.

3. Increase your default donation amounts

Don’t give your donors the task of coming up with an amount to donate. Do the work for them, while nudging them to donate more – by providing 3 suggested donation amounts. From our experience (as well as behavioral psychology) we know that people tend to give more when they see higher suggested donation options. This is called priming. And it works. Instead of 10, 25 and 65 euros, why not give them the option to donate 80, 100 and 120 euros. As a fourth option, donors can enter a desired amount. Chances are that their desired amount will be higher, if the suggested amounts are increased.

Determining default donation amounts is a complex topic and organizations should not underestimate the potential this holds. The Salvation Army Switzerland let us take a closer look at their donation forms and test this phenomenon. Our solution is called Dynamic Donations! And it pays off: we were able to increase the average donation amount on the website by 12.3%. Click here to read our case study from the Salvation Army.

4. Seek out large donations

Why not leverage your existing donor pool? Analyze your database to identify those who have transferred four-digit amounts (or more!). Approach them directly. ​​Determine what projects they donated to in the past. Uncover what topics they are drawn to. If their last donation was not project-specific, use engagement tracking to gauge what content peaked their interest. Engagement tracking lets you see exactly how long your donor engaged with your content and whether they shared or forwarded it. Use this information to guide your approach.

5. Rely on direct debits and standing orders

Recurring donations allow you to better plan your budget. Many donors also find it easier to give several small amounts than to donate a large sum in one go. Be smart and take advantage of your supporters’ convenience: A bank transfer requires the donor to take action. Likewise canceling a standing order or direct debit mandate requires him/her to become active. Segment the contacts in your database into those who pay by direct debit or standing order and those who don’t, despite donating regularly. If your marketing automation system is connected to your CRM, you can contact these donors through a tailored automation and offer a change of payment method. How does this work? Find out here.

Would you like to learn more about how you can increase your donation income? Then get in touch with us. We are happy to advise you!