True or False?
True or false: “this for that” or transactional donors are just a waste of time and effort. If you responded true, please read further.
While it makes sense on the surface not to want transactional donors, you should consider whether or not it’s limiting your growth.
What if I suggested that you intentionally make your organization attractive to these donors who give something to get something for two reasons:
Support- Our experience tells us that many transactional donors giving gifts can add up to a lot of revenue and impact on your mission.
Many transactional donors, through their giving, become true believers over time.
Larger nonprofits have known for a long time that many of their best donors are “transactional”. They started out by giving one small gift, had a good experience, gave a second gift, and developed through habit and experience into loyal supporters.
Is it smart for nonprofit organizations to develop low-priced offers, and to make your fundraising accessible, so that it becomes attractive to this type of donor? According to many of the most successful fundraising organizations, “action drives belief” instead of what most people have traditionally believed to be true—"belief drives action.”
Emotionally, it’s kind of easy to want to attract donors who are true believers in the work you’re trying to accomplish. It’s nice to meet with them and be appreciated by them, isn’t it?
But if you really want to grow, don’t just ignore transactional donors. Some of them may soon become much more than that over time.
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