Our research shows that 62% of first-time donors don’t give again within three years. That’s sad. Here’s one proven way to boost donor retention, courtesy of the Illinois State University Foundation: send personalized ThankView videos!
Advancement "customers" are different
Our EverTrue President Brent Grinna often reminds us that “Philanthropy is the ultimate discretionary purchase. It is the monetary representation of people’s hopes and dreams.”
In other industries, customers make repeat purchases because of product loyalty, brand affinity, or customer experience. At a sneaker company, for example, more repeat customers mean more sneakers get made.
But for higher ed philanthropy, repeat “customers” mean the world changes for the better. More kids get educated. Debt goes down. Diseases are cured.
(No pressure, fundraiser friends.)
So, yeah, donor retention really matters. Now the question is, what makes a donor give again?
The answer is: If they feel their hopes and dreams are coming to life. In other words, if they see the impact of their gift.
Why does a first-time donor give again? (Or not?)
We recently did an analysis of 275,000 first-time donors across 50 schools. The findings are pretty darn cool. (You can read the whole report here.)
Here are a few key highlights:
- First-time donor retention rates linger around 20%
- 62% of first-time donors don’t give again within 3 years
- The median response time for first-time donors under $1k is 6 months
- Faster follow-up boosts donor retention rates
While some of the findings of our research were disappointing (we can all agree that a six-month response gap for a first-time gift is far too wide), some are really hopeful.
Shrinking the gift-response gap with videos
Our research found that there is a correlation between quicker response time and increased retention rates. This makes sense. If someone invests in hopes and dreams and hears crickets, they’re not so likely to do it again.
But with a median six month response gap after a first gift, that leaves a lot of room for improvement! If teams focus their efforts on thanking donors quickly and meaningfully, donors will feel the love and respond accordingly.
Our friends at the Illinois State University Foundation are bucking donor retention trends and seeing growth in donor retention across the board, from first-time donors to LYBUNTs to high-level annual and major donors.
How? By consistently using a tool in their donor engagement toolkit: personalized video.
The ISUF team specifically targets first-time donors and LYBUNTs with personalized video messages, sent via ThankView. (You can tune into our webinar with the ISUF team here to get the whole story.)
Letting the video experts (students) send videos
The ISUF team runs 6-week micro campaigns in which the 20 students in their Engagement Center use omni-channel outreach (mail, social, video, etc.) to cultivate assigned portfolios of donors with a consistent, recurring message.
This means that donors are hearing from an assigned “Student Ambassador” across multiple channels about a priority on campus, multiple times, over the course of six weeks.
The focus of the “micro campaign” message changes every six weeks – it might be Giving Day, student scholarships, or a gift anniversary – but the communication stays consistent.
And this ensures that no donors fall through the cracks. What a beautiful thing.
Students in the ISUF Engagement center use ThankView because it allows them to personalize their outreach, they see great email open rates (above 60%!), and they can track video watch metrics to follow up with folks who are engaging.
Smart people + smart tools = can’t lose.
Sending videos to first-time donors
Using ThankView, the ISUF team sends first-time donors video messages that are super-personal AND convey the immediate impact of the donor’s gift.
The team uses ThankView personalization tokens to include the donor’s first name in the subject line of the email and in the email preview text.
They opt for a video thumbnail preview in the body of the email. (Way more click-worthy).
And they use ThankView’s “combine video” feature to easily blend personalized student intros (“Hey, Andrew! Thank you so much for your gift!”) with videos that show exactly how that donor’s gift will be used.
The ISUF team has seen a 3% increase in retention of first-time donors over the past three fiscal years, and they are hopeful that trend will continue.
Targeting LYBUNTs
The ISUF team also uses ThankView videos to re-engage and renew LYBUNT donors ahead of their gift anniversary.
Like many shops, the team sends a letter to donors just ahead of their gift anniversary. If folks don’t renew their gifts in response to the letter, the team follows up with a personalized ThankView video from an assigned Student Ambassador.
In response to these gift anniversary videos, the team has seen 2% yOy growth in LYBUNT gift renewals.
They make sure to personalize every message by…
- Using first name in subject lines and/or video greetings
- Customizing messages based on giving history
- Featuring students or familiar faculty
It is seven times more costly to acquire a new donor than to retain an existing one. So, making the effort to personally and meaningfully engage LYBUNTs is completely with it, from a bottom line perspective.
(Not to mention the surprise, delight, and happiness you extend by sharing a heartfelt personal video of thanks with a donor.)
Deepening relationships with LAG and Major Donors
ThankView’s one-to-one video feature allows gift officers to record a video for their assigned donors, embed the video in an email, and then track open and watch metrics to inform their follow-up. (Read more here.)
The ISUF team has seen some pretty awesome pipeline growth in gifts above $1.5k, and they consider ThankView to be an important piece of the pipeline puzzle.
In one recent example, a Student Ambassador at the ISUF Engagement Center sent a lapsed donor a ThankView video. The donor watched and responded to the video via email. The student scheduled an introductory phone call, during which the donor said they would like information on establishing a scholarship.
This led to a conversation with an MGO, and within four days, there was a new $920,000 stock transfer to fund a full scholarship.
Donors engage with and respond to videos from students at a much higher rate than traditional emails. Student Ambassador outreach via ThankView has uncovered many more 4- and 5-figure gifts, all because of the power of personal, engaging videos.
Takeaways
You DO need to retain your donors. (Because your institution relies on repeat donors.)
You DO need to show impact. (Because that’s why they give.)
You DO need to shorten the time between gift and outreach. (Because that’s what your donors deserve.)
You DON’T need a lot of time, money, or more people to start doing this.
In ThankView, you could send a personal video message to this month’s LYBUNTs by the end of the day. (Seriously.)
Here are some top tips from the Illinois State University Team to kickstart your donor retention, using video:
- Get students involved with recording sincere videos saying “thanks!” to donors.
- Use ThankView to build a video campaign and duplicate/tweak it for different donor segments.
- Personalize your videos by adding first name to the email subject line
- Combine a brief, personalized intro video with an impact video for a personalization
Personalized video increases donor retention and engagement. Period. Start sending your loyal (and lapsed, and first, and mid-level, and major) donors personalized videos via ThankView today. Get in touch!
Already have ThankView? Check out our month-by-month guide to a year’s worth of amazing ThankView campaigns.
