Reassessing and Rejuvenating our Approach to Donor Relationships

Individual donors are vital contributors to the revenue streams of choral organizations across the United States and Canada. Where would we have been without them during the pandemic? So many of our patrons and donors gave generously and often. 

However, since the end of the pandemic, many nonprofit charitable organizations have seen a decline in individual donations, which has been attributed primarily to donor fatigue and the cost-of-living increase. Donors are being more careful with their money and are scrutinizing how they spend it and whom they choose to support more than they did in the past. 

Small to mid-sized organizations with budgets of under $500,000 have felt the effects of this most acutely. Many organizations of this size are operating with skeleton staff of perhaps one part-time or full-time manager and one or two sub-contracted workers. Organizations with much smaller budgets are often managed entirely by a volunteer board. Choral organizations need to take stock, reassess financial and organizational priorities, and adjust their business models to ensure they will fully recover from the pandemic over the next couple of years. 

Chorus America’s 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report states that the most significant types of funding across a dataset of 107 choral organizations are individual donations (36% of overall revenue), followed by foundation contributions (16%).  Of all revenue streams for choruses, the one that administrators can manage most easily and effectively is individual donations.

As a donor to a broad range of charitable organizations, I received an unprecedented number of emails, social media posts and direct mail from these organizations and others I did not currently support on Giving Tuesday last November and at the end of December for year-end giving campaigns. Competition for donations is fierce. The effect of receiving so many asks is that they are often deleted, discarded, or ignored. Donor fatigue is real. 

The key to rejuvenating your approach to individual donor relations is centered around four pillars: stewardship and retention of existing donors; sharing your organization’s story to cultivate and engage potential new donors; diversifying ways for patrons to give; and developing effective tools to take your small to mid-sized organization to the next level in donor engagement. Small to mid-sized organizations need the committed involvement of their Board members to support staff in these efforts. One of the key responsibilities of the Board is ensuring the organization’s financial stability, and donor stewardship and engagement are a wonderful way for reluctant fundraisers on the Board to get involved.

1. DONOR STEWARDSHIP

Donor stewardship is the relationship-building process that occurs after a donor makes a gift, no matter how small or significant. The main purpose is to thank them for their gift and to inspire them to give again in the future. There is a saying in the nonprofit world that is well worth remembering as you consider your donor relationships: “Your donors are not ATMs!” Donations are not one-way transactions; they are part of a relationship between the donor and your organization. Let’s look at the ways in which you can strengthen your donor relations through stewardship best practices:

• Thank your donors – It seems obvious, but so many organizations send their tax receipts and thank you letters out twice a year, or worse, at the end of the year, just before tax season, and with a generic thank you letter. 

  Donors have chosen to send their hard-earned money to your organization, so thank them soon after receiving the donation, and write a customized thank you letter that connects with them directly, with language that is focused on them. You may have a thank you letter template as a base, but ensure you customize it to include the donor’s name and mention the program they chose to support. If they donated to general funds, speak to how their donation will impact your chorus’s activities this season or in the coming season. Let them know how they are making a difference to your organization. This is a perfect task for chorus members or Board members to help with as well. Donors will appreciate the personal touch of a handwritten letter or personalized email.

• Recognize them appropriately – Decide how and where best to recognize your donors at each of your organization’s giving levels or gift types. Perhaps you will recognize all donors at every level on your website, and only top donors ($2,500 and up, for example) in concert programs and in your enewsletter banner. For many donors, this recognition is important, but others will prefer to remain anonymous. Make sure you respect this wish but include them on your donor lists as “Anonymous” under the appropriate giving level regardless. Ensure you have records of individual donors’ wishes regarding recognition.

  Plan for at least two donor recognition events or actions over the course of the season. Make the events or actions cost-efficient, but unique and memorable. Some examples may include pre- or post-concert receptions, an exclusive meet and greet event with your artistic director, an opportunity for a top donor to conduct a Christmas carol at your annual holiday concert, or a special reception with a mini concert involving a group of your choristers. Or donors might be recognized with a gesture like leaving chocolate bars  with customized thank you notes on their seats at a concert. 

• Get to know them – Engage with your donors even when you’re not asking for help. Get to know them, show them you’re interested in the person behind the donation and that this is not just a transactional relationship. Book a one-on-one phone call or in-person meeting between the donor and the manager, Board member or chorus member to learn more about the donor and share updates about upcoming events which may be of interest to them. This is a great opportunity to engage Board and chorus members with donors. Prepare some guidelines for the conversation, give everyone a list of names to contact and have them send back notes for your records after they have met with the donors. This interaction is invaluable and is key to cultivating donors which may turn into regular gifts and become major contributions over time.
   
• Share the impact of their gifts – A crucial best practice for donor stewardship is to tell donors how their gifts have been used by the organization and the positive impact their gifts have had on your organization’s activity. This can be done regularly through your e-newsletters and social media posts but can also be in the form of a one-page report with photographs which is part of an individual donor campaign. Telling these impact stories also provides another opportunity to thank donors for their generosity and demonstrates their gifts are being used responsibly and as intended.
   

• Ask them for feedback – Online or in-person donor surveys using Google Forms, Jotform or Survey Monkey, for example, are a wonderful way to get valuable feedback about their experiences as donors and as patrons of your choral organization. You will find that those who feel truly invested in and passionate about your organization will share freely. Aside from donor surveys, consider interviewing a selection of different categories of donors (for example, donors who give under $150, $150-500, over $500) and ask them why they support your chorus, what motivates them to give, and whether they are happy with how they are recognized as donors. This level of interest and engagement with donors can pay off in spades.

  I once called a donor who had given two donations of $500 over the course of a pandemic year. When I called him, he said he had made similar donations to several cultural organizations, but I was the only one that had called to thank him and find out more about him. This relationship turned into an annual gift of $5,000, sent in January, which then turned into a monthly gift of $2,000, in addition to the $5,000! It pays to steward and cultivate donor relationships!

• Tell their stories – Telling your donors’ stories is a compelling way to inspire previous donors to give again, or to give another kind of gift. For instance, you could tell the story of a monthly donor who gives $25 a month and how this is not only a manageable amount for the donor, but that it amounts to a $300 annual gift for your choral organization. Or you could tell the story of a donor who chooses to donate shares to your organization annually or has included a bequest for your organization in their will, and how these gifts have significant impact on the organization but will not affect the donors as much financially. Some donors will appreciate sharing their stories to help your organization raise much-needed funds.

2. SHARE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S STORIES

Imagine one of your loyal patrons, a Board member or chorus member, invites a friend to one of your concerts and they are inspired to learn more about your organization. What do you think they’ll do next? More then likely, they will go to your organization’s website, YouTube channel, Facebook or Instagram pages. Your digital presence is vital to telling your organization’s story!

Cathy Landolt, Founder of Blue Elephant Productions in Toronto, works with several choral organizations in Canada to optimize their online presence through robust social media campaigns and engaging, relevant content. “Patrons and donors want to see the chorus in its natural environment, making music and bringing joy to the audience. They want to feel like they’re included in the inner workings of the organization on some level. Creating compelling content, like videos, regular e-newsletters, interviews with the artistic director, guest composers, members of the chorus, and sharing statistics about outreach events and outcomes, how your chorus is making a difference in the community, the power of choral music, etc. all bring your audience, and potential donors, closer to the organization,” Landolt explains.

While I recognize that many smaller organizations are run by volunteers and others have limited staff and budgets, I would encourage you to consider investing in a digital marketing expert who is well-versed in the arts and choral music to manage your online presence, for a cohesive, professional presence that will engage existing and potential new subscribers and donors. Most digital marketing consultants will work within your budget and will be well worth the investment over the long run. 

For those organizations who cannot afford to hire a digital marketing expert, perhaps this is a role which may be filled by a Board member with marketing expertise, or by a member of your chorus, on a pro bono basis. You may also consider hiring a recent graduate from a digital marketing program at your local college or university, who would not charge as much as someone who is more experienced.

3. DIVERSIFY WAYS OF GIVING

It’s important for your choral organization to offer as many ways of giving as possible, to ensure your donor base feels comfortable supporting your organization at any giving amount. Remember, you don’t have to be wealthy to be a donor!

Many nonprofit organizations are now encouraging monthly giving. It’s less of a financial burden for a donor to give $20 a month, but the impact is very meaningful. Not only does the organization have much-needed predictable income every month, but this gift amounts to $240 over the year, which could well be more than the donor may have given as a one-time donation.

Matching fund campaigns also resonate with donors. The way this usually works is that a Board member or generous patron pledges a set amount ($5,000, for example), which they will donate dollar for dollar to match any donations made during the campaign. Sometimes the donor pledges to match dollar for dollar only if the donations meet or exceed $5,000. There are several approaches to matching fund campaigns, but they are popular, as they incentivize donors to give, knowing their donations will be doubled.

Two additional ways patrons may support your organization is by donating shares and by leaving a bequest to your chorus in their wills. Both of these options can be arranged through their financial planners and lawyers. You may want to consider promoting these options to your patrons through telling the stories of why other patrons have chosen to support your chorus in this way, in addition to stating these options clearly on your website and in your communications pieces.

One thing to consider for all your donors is ensuring you have payment options which are familiar and comfortable for both the older generation who still prefer to pay in person or by mail with a check or credit card, and for those who prefer to pay online through your website or other giving platforms.

4. EFFECTIVE TOOLS FOR DONOR ENGAGEMENT

Small to mid-sized organizations have limited staff and capacity to cover all the administrative bases, so efficient and effective systems are very important. If your organization does not currently use constituent relationship management (CRM) software, I highly recommend you find one that works best for your organization. It will help your fundraising and stewardship efforts tremendously.

CRM databases allow you to store crucial donor information, including contact information and gift history, and can also send communications, integrate with social media, track organizational data like finances, volunteer activity, and issue tax receipts with customized thank you letters.

There are several CRM software companies which are designed for small to mid-sized nonprofits. In Canada, two examples are Keela and Zeffy, and in the United States, nonprofits are using software such as Bloomerang, Little Green Light, ArtsPeople and Kindful. These are by no means the only options out there. I encourage you to contact other choral organizations of similar size to yours to get their feedback on the software they’re using. You may also want to reach out to peers on Chorus America’s Online Community or on NTEN’s online groups.

The main considerations for your organization will be user-friendliness, ensuring your existing software systems will integrate with the CRM software and that they are able to seamlessly share information. Ensure one person in your organization is the CRM lead and that they will be able to train others on how to use it as required. Of course, cost will be an important factor, but consider this an investment which will improve your donor relations game well into the future. The cheapest option may not always be the best.

For those choral organizations that are just starting out or don’t have the budget or staff to manage a CRM system, the most important thing is to keep clear records about your donors, and to document any interactions and pertinent information about them. Excel spreadsheets would be the best option for this. If your records are well organized and clean, they will transfer well to a CRM system when you are ready to take that step. 

Remember, your existing and potential new donors are not transactions, they are relationships. If you view every donor through this lens, the dynamic of your donor relations and revenue will change. The actions your choral organization will take now to cultivate these crucial relationships will reap rewards in the coming months and years!

Laura Adlers recently relaunched her consulting business – The Adlers Agency – and works with cultural and nonprofit organizations on operational assessment and strategic planning, fundraising and development, board development and succession planning, artistic administration, special event and tour production, and cross-cultural collaboration. She joined the Board of Chorus America in June 2023. For more information about Laura, visit lauraadlers.com.