Why do donors give? Answers from science

Why do donors give? Answers from science

The mindset is often volume-based Nonprofit standard mail volume has dropped from 13.3 billion in 2010 to 12.6 billion in 2015 (7%). However, over that same period, the number of donors has decreased over 14 percent. Source: http://www.nonprofitmailers.org/nonprofits-andmail/ Aggregation of Fundraising Effectiveness Survey at http://afpfep.org/reports/. Nonprofits sent an average of 139 emails per year in 2016. Total emails sent are up 12% year over year. And open rates are down across the board. Source: 2016 Luminate Online Benchmark Report

Which one causes the other?

Revenue -.33

The business model is broken

An Alternative Business Model + + Identity (their innate reason for giving) Commitmen t (what causes loyalty to your specific organization) Experience (their judgement on whether an interaction with you is good, bad or in-between)

Identity effects in charitable giving Identity 1 Identity 2 Control We had another female in your community who gave X dollars. How much would you like to give today?

Which touchpoints matter? And does this differ by identity? Personal Connection Personal I feel like I have a relationship with ORG I have an emotional correction to ORG ORG is very responsive to donor needs Constituent Experiences Brand (i.e. Key Messages) Marketing Donor Service Fundraising Operations Commitment to Organization Behavior Functional Connection Commitment I am a committed ORG donor I feel a sense of loyalty to ORG ORG is my favorite charitable organization Functional I feel like I know what to expect from ORG I get good value for the donations I make to ORG My donations are put to good use at ORG

Why donor experience matters 12% 12% conversion 32% conversion 32% conversion

Catholic Relief Services

Our retention rates were average 2013 Donors 2014 Retention Rate 2014 Donors CRS: New 103,073 22% 22,730 Median 41,143 23% 12,336 CRS: Reactivated 95,496 35% 33,349 Median 23,005 39% 7,924 CRS: 2+ Year 164,835 71% 116,335 Median 86,282 71% 58,306

Our commitment study

Now, just the important bits We are Catholics doing good despite some donor services Catholic Faith $127.38 Donor Services $69.24 $28.03 Helping the poor overseas $27.13 Working through Catholic churches/partners overseas $25.78 Serve as official Catholic int l humanitarian agency $25.05 Live Catholic faith in solidarity with poor overseas $21.39 Helping you live your Catholic faith $15.09 Providing helpful service and support $13.68 Make easy find contact info for donor service $12.89 Asking your feedback on how CRS is doing $14.03 Appropriately thanking you for your support $13.55 Acknowledging donations in a timely manner and how frequently you mail us. Fundraising $31.49 $6.63 Compelling reasons to give in fundraising requests $6.58 Making case for recurring, monthly donation $6.40 Case for continued giving after emergency donate $6.18 Asking for an appropriate donation amount $5.70 Asking appropriate number of times for donations

So we focused on the four Fs Feedback Faith Frequency There is no fourth F

Feedback

Commitment study Feedback Faith Frequency

Announce changes with survey Commitment study Feedback Faith Frequency

Results: No-ask feedback mailing Over 6% response rate Net positive revenue despite no ask

Keep up the good work Easy donating online Difficulty donating online No comment Also donate to others I trust CRS Good information Other Like directed donation Low overhead good Like Paypal Stop mail Monologue First time donating Want more information Reduce mail frequency CRS is one of my favorites Timely response Want donation to go to Haiti Monthly donor Do not share Personal information wrong Personal connection to CRS Like Dr Woo Catholic Church comments Results: Thousands of specifics 0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Results: Actionable recommendations Make it easier to direct donations to specific areas Acknowledge directed donations as directed Stop requiring title on donation form Remove requirement for address on memorial donations Make it easier for repeat donors to log in and store information

Faith and frequency

The test Pilot test and control group Test group Seven fewer mailings and two replaced by feedback mailings Over 10 fewer email asks Focus on why people give living out their faith

Some pieces did well in focus

But the C in CRS stands for something

Results Improvement in revenues 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% April 5 March 22 March 10 Feb 6 Nov 28 Nov 14 Nov 1 Oct 21 Sept 30 Sept 15 Aug 15 July 29 June 24 June 9

Results We are rolling out with the test in FY18 We are working on other donor-focused experiments Telemarketing List sharing Further reducing asks Moving to recurring giving as a solution Estimate we will cut about $500K in costs with minimal net revenue impact