The Secret to Successful Donor Acquisition

It’s really so simple that it’s almost hiding in plain sight and that’s why it’s so often missed. I’m talking about identifying the right prospective donors for your organization.

Would they care about your work? Do they have the potential to make a gift of significance? Therein lies the trick, doesn’t it?

With that in mind, here are the four leading factors for accurately forecasting the potential for future giving;

1. A history of having given to your nonprofit in the past – These people should be considered your best friends because they’re more likely to give the next time you ask. In fact, past giving is the number one sign of future giving. As I said, it’s almost too obvious, but oh so important to remember.

2. A history of giving to other nonprofits – This is the next most significant predictor of future giving and, again, it makes good sense: people who are already in the habit of giving are more likely to continue to give. How much more likely?

• Those who have made a gift of over $100,000 to a nonprofit are 32x more likely to make a gift to another organization.

• Those who have made a gift between $50,000-$100,000 are 25x more likely to make a gift to another organization.

• Those who have made a gift of between $$10,000 and $25,000 are 10x more likely to make a gift to another organization.

• Those who have made a gift of between 5,000 and $$10,000 are 5x more likely to make a gift to another organization.

1. Individuals with involvement in nonprofits as a board member or trustee or director—Based on analysis to over 400 nonprofits, a prospect’s participation as a board member or director is even more powerful than any wealth indicator. The reason for this is also very understandable: these prospects understand the importance of supporting worthy causes based on their firsthand experience.

2. Political giving – Did you know that a single Federal Election Commission gift of $250 puts that constituent into the top 6% of the US population? It’s true. Here’s some more political giving facts:

• An individual who has given at least $2,500 in his or her lifetime to a political campaign is 14x more likely to give philanthropically than someone who has not.

• And if they have given at $500 in their lifetime to a political campaign they are 5x more likely to give to a nonprofit than someone who has not.