Re-Engaging Lapsed Donors

Lapsed donors, or supporters who last gave to your organization more than a year ago, are important to consider re-engaging year-round, but especially when planning for your upcoming GivingTuesday and/or end-of-year fundraising campaigns. Beyond raising money, lapsed donors are great individuals to reach out to because they have a history of supporting your nonprofit. With increasingly short time horizons for many of us since the pandemic started, renewing your connections with people who you last heard from a while ago can be a way to check in with and strengthen your community of supporters.

Identifying and Prioritizing Lapsed Donors

When identifying who to begin reaching out to, it can be most helpful to organize your list of lapsed donors by timing as a gauge for how interested they may be in responding to your outreach. Often, we see that donors whose gifts are still within their memory are the most likely to re-engage with you. There are a couple groups of donors that are good to identify: 1) Donors who gave to your organization last year but have not given this year (your LYBUNTs); and 2) Any donors who gave to your organization during the pandemic. It is especially important to reach out to those who gave in 2020 to ensure they see themselves as long-term supporters of your organization. We recommend that you don’t look for donors whose last gifts were more than five or six years ago — typically, nonprofits tend to see diminishing returns on outreach to donors whose last gift was three or more years ago, and especially to donors whose last gift was over five years ago.

An additional way to prioritize your lapsed donors is by reviewing their giving habits, which include donation amount(s) and frequency. Determine the minimum amount a donor had to had given annually for you to reach back out to them. Though you can engage your whole list of donors regardless of the level of their contribution(s), this is ultimately a question of your staff capacity. If you start with donors who gave at least $100 annually, for instance, you can narrow your list while also prioritizing the lapsed donors who are likelier to be more invested in your mission. As you do this, don’t forget to also account for frequency — recurring donors and donors who gave multiple times over multiple years showed a significant degree of commitment to your mission.

Finally, make sure you include and prioritize supporters who may have a personal connection to your organization, such as consistent volunteers, previous board members, and any other personal contacts.

Crafting Your Outreach

Lead with gratitude! Your messaging should start with a note of thanks for their past support. Broad research indicates that two out of three donors stop giving to an organization because they don’t feel appreciated. While you may not know the exact reason why your lapsed donors stopped giving, it is always a good practice to reach out and highlight the impact of their previous gifts first before sharing more about how their support has helped you do the great work you’re doing now.

Once you thank them, you can then focus on the impact of their giving and use this chance to share any updates you may have about how you’ve shifted your work since their last gift. Keep this section short and sweet! The best storytelling tends to tap into people’s emotions, so craft a narrative of the journey you’ve been on and emphasize two or three big developments for your organization. Be as transparent and authentic as you can about any major staff transitions, program or strategy shifts, and growth you’ve experienced. As part of your storytelling, you can also include a piece of content you’ve already created, such as a client story that demonstrates the impact of your work. Tease this content and give them the option to continue reading it on your website or elsewhere.

Lastly, end by inviting your lapsed donors to learn more about your programming or to connect with you. This ask should depend on how they first engaged with your organization, so if they were a volunteer, you could share more about an upcoming volunteer opportunity. Other ways to connect can include inviting them to an event, to follow you on social media, to subscribe to your newsletter, and/or to make a modest gift. You do not have to make all of these asks at the same time! You may need to reach out a couple of itmes to re-engage your lapsed donors, and you can also start with a small ask to get them involved first before committing to donating.

In each of your messages, don’t forget to personalize the language you use! For example, you can customize your message to mention their last year of giving, as well as share how they last engaged with you and why their support was valuable. To make it more of a conversation, you can also consider asking your lapsed donors for their feedback, thoughts, or ideas.

A Few More Tips

Be patient with your outreach! It may take a while for your lapsed donors to re-engage but, most importantly, you’ve taken a step in making a connection with them again. Try reaching out about three times and, if you still don’t get a response or see other signs of re-engagement, consider them a former donor — some individuals may have moved on, and that’s okay! This is all part of the donor lifecycle.

In addition to reviewing your donor stewardship strategy to ensure that you’re thanking your donors regularly, set your own goals for donors’ giving and engagement, and track these consistently. This data will be helpful when you plan your next fundraising campaign and want to incorporate lapsed donor re-engagement into your strategy.

Found this article helpful? The Catalogue for Philanthropy offers similar resources through our Learning Commons membership, which provides access to 80+ live webinars every year and a portal that houses over 200+ existing tools, recorded webinars, and more. If you’re not a nonprofit in the Catalogue network and you’re interested in learning more about a membership, please contact Chiara Banez, our Nonprofit Programs Manager.

Reflections on our Inaugural Grassroots Accelerator Program (GAP) Cohort

Recently, the Catalogue for Philanthropy concluded its inaugural cohort for the Grassroots Accelerator Program (GAP), a six-month program designed to empower leaders of small, local nonprofits with organizational budgets of $250,000 and below. Too often, nonprofits that operate on small budgets with small teams are overlooked when it comes to sharing resources — from gaining information to reaching donors to leveraging funding. When they are directed to capacity-building resources, the recommended practices aren’t usually adapted to be realistic for teams of 1-3 staff members either.

We developed GAP precisely to address this challenge and to increase equity of access to networks, skills, resources, and information for such small nonprofits that would be practical and actionable for them. Through twice-monthly sessions on topics like organizational structure, nonprofit finances, branding, strategic planning, and more, local Executive Director (EDs) engaged in the vital skill-building needed to grow their organizations sustainably in a community of peer leaders.

On the heels of wrapping up our first GAP cohort, we want to reflect on what we’ve learned throughout this process and share more about how participating in this opportunity has made a concrete difference for small, local nonprofit leaders.

1. Gaining new tools and frameworks

One of the elements we were particularly intentional about when creating GAP was ensuring that participants would complete the program armed with relevant and practical tools for success that they felt comfortable using. In addition to providing tangible resources like worksheets, guides, and templates during each session, participants were given a 6-month membership to our digital Learning Commons portal after finishing the program, which aimed to supplement their skill-building with 200+ recorded webinars, downloadable tools, and more on a variety of topics.

At the start of GAP, we decided that if participants put into place one action as a result of each 2-hour session, we would consider it a measure of our success. To our excitement, 100% of participants shared in a post-program survey that they have put into practice something they learned from this cohort. “We now have new helpful frameworks for strategic planning conversations, board management, and board retreats,” one GAP leader told us. “We have new tools to improve the way we do budgeting… (and) a library of helpful information to refer to in the future as the need arises.”

Another GAP leader noted that “Executive Directors of small nonprofits are often expected to wear many hats, but we all have our professional strengths and weaknesses. This program gave me concrete steps — and confidence! — to tackle projects that are not in my ‘wheelhouse’.”

2. Forming new relationships with other small nonprofit leaders

As leaders of small grassroots nonprofits, EDs are usually the only staff member — if not one of the three or fewer staff members — doing all the work. Giving participants the consistent space to connect on challenges that come with having multiple roles, and to celebrate the successes of their organizations, was key to the program’s cohort model design. Week after week, leaders had the chance to both learn alongside each other and connect over small group discussions.

The aspect of the cohort that participants found to be most valuable was that they all lead organizations of the same size. As one participant shared, “I started the nonprofit based on a passion for our mission but never attended business school. As such, some of the hats I wear as an ED feel like they belong on someone else’s head… It has been relieving to listen as others share what it is like for them to carry out and further their missions as similar small fish in a big nonprofit pond.”

Not only were individual relationships formed, but a network of peers was created. Another participant noted that “Prior to participation in this group, I did not know many other founders/executive directors of small nonprofits.” This sentiment was echoed throughout the cohort.

At the completion of this program, 85% of participants strongly agreed or agreed that they built relationships with other participants in the cohort and that, while the group dynamic certainly didn’t fill in for additional staff, it did provide support. As one member said, “It was very comforting to meet other Executive Directors who are also balancing multiple areas of running a business simultaneously.”

3. A deeper understanding of how to strategize more intentionally

Many resources that are offered for small nonprofits typically assume a larger nonprofit size than that of the organizations participating in GAP. When we built this program, we wanted to ensure that:

• The resources we provided were geared towards grassroots organizations and small teams
• We comprehensively covered nonprofit management topics from initial development through strategic planning
• What we shared was actionable and realistic

In designing the program, we shared content that could stand on its own but also fell into sequence with other topics that built on previous knowledge. For example, though conversations about finances might not usually be held at the same time as conversations about people management, we grouped them both in the same month as part of a broader focus on how we manage our resources. During another month, we brought together organizational structure and evaluation under the larger question, “How do you do your work?” As a result, participants were able to focus on those broader questions and on the interconnectedness of each month’s topics while diving deeper into specific areas.

“I have a more cohesive picture of nonprofit management and the specific strengths and weaknesses of our organization,” one leader told us after GAP completed. “Our organization is strategizing more intentionally to focus time and energy on areas that yield the greatest benefits for the nonprofit and recipients.”

The Catalogue is excited to continue iterating and improving on GAP, especially with the knowledge that grassroots organizations can increase their community impact that much more when their leaders feel empowered to grow sustainably.

For more information on GAP, or to stay informed on a future version of this cohort, contact Chiara Banez, our Nonprofit Programs Manager.

It’s Time to VOTE. Are You Ready?

By YWCA National Capital Area

At the YWCA National Capital Area, our mission of eliminating racism and empowering women guides our work every day. Civic engagement, including voter education and registration, is a key component of our intersectional work, as we believe that all voices should be heard at the ballot box.

With just a few weeks until election day, it’s time for all of us to make sure we are ready to head to the ballot box. Here are 10 things you can do to get vote ready for November 8:

1. Get registered to vote. You can use our special portal to get started.
2. Already registered? Double check your voter registration. Visit our portal to learn how.
3. Visit your local board of elections website for all things voting. Take 10 minutes today to visit your local board of elections websites. Here are links for the DC Board of Elections, the Maryland State Board of Elections, and the Virginia Department of Elections.
4. Learn about what’s on your ballot. Our friends at the League of Women Voters have created non-partisan voter guides, based on your address. Visit vote411.org to get started.
5. Know the voter registration deadlines and what to bring on election day. In the DMV, voter registration deadlines and voting ID requirements vary by jurisdiction. We recommend checking out vote411.org or your local election websites to find out about local requirements.
6. Learn about early voting, absentee voting, or voting by mail or drop box. There are lots of ways to vote. You can vote on election day, vote early, or via mail-in/drop off ballot. However, the rules for each of the options VARY GREATLY by jurisdiction. Do your research early.
7. Find your polling place, how to request an absentee ballot or where to drop off or mail your ballot. Don’t assume the process or location hasn’t changed since the last election. Polling places and ballot drop off boxes change frequently. You can find this information on your local election websites.
8. Know your voting rights. Our friends at When We All Vote have a great checklist.
9. Ask your employer about their policy for time off for voting activities. Many, but not all, employers offer paid time off for voting or to volunteer on election day. Check with your employer about what they offer.
10. Save the Voter Protection Hotline number. Have questions on Election Day? Call the election protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE/866-687-8683. They can help! The hotline is also available in Spanish (888-VE-Y-VOTA); Asian languages (888-API-VOTE); and Arabic (844-YALLA-US).

Have questions? We are here to help. Visit our website to learn more.

So, why does voting matter to us? Why is it an essential part of our mission at the YWCA National Capital Area? As an organization supported by our national office and sister branches across the country, we are committed to ensuring that all women, particularly women of color, are heard, supported, and given a seat at tables that so often exclude them.

This year, YWCA USA surveyed more than 3,300 women and found that the concerns of women are deeply impacted by the continued inequality in our country. According to the survey on ywomenvote.org, 86% of women surveyed agree that it’s important for Congress to dismantle white nationalism and domestic terrorism. And, when it comes to concerns about voting, a majority (83%!) of Black women — across age, political party, and income — believe one of the most critical things legislators must do is put an end to voter suppression laws.

Civic engagement is not only essential to our mission, but to our democracy as well. Your Vote Matters. All voices deserve to be heard. Empowered People Vote. Happy voting from your friends at YWCA National Capital Area.

Nonprofit Neighborhood Guide

East of the River

View this as a PDF.

Alliance of Concerned Men

Youth crime and violence intervention/prevention

AppleTree Institute

Early education for under-resourced students

Anacostia Playhouse

Theater performances, exhibitions, and instruction in an under-served neighborhood

Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys

Tuition-free, independent school

Building Bridges Across the River

Reducing inequities through community collaboration

Calvary Women’s Services

Supports homeless women through housing, health, employment, and education

Community Services Foundation

Community service programs for residents living in managed communities

DC Creative Writing Workshop

Creative writing program for under-served youth

East of the River Steelband

Providing music education, youth development, & cultural education

Friends of Fort Dupont Ice Arena

Athletic and educational programming for young people

Fihankra Akoma Ntoaso

Changes lives for foster youth through safe and engaging programming

Healthy Babies Project

Health services & core needs for low-income, pregnant teens and women

Life Pieces to Masterpieces

Uses artistic expression to prepare African American boys & young men to transform their lives and communities

Project Create

Creative youth development for children experiencing homelessness & poverty

Mamatoto Village

Holistic maternal health & wellness for expectant mothers

Neighborhood Legal Services Program

Providing legal services to low-income residents

Samaritan Ministry

Supporting, coaching, & training our unhoused/unemployed neighbors

Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum

Illuminates the power of local communities toward an equitable future

Southeast Ministry

Helps individuals achieve self-sufficiency by overcoming educational & employment barriers

The Safe Sisters Circle

Provides culturally responsive legal services to Wards 7 and 8

Urban Ed

Transforms lives through information technology and skill development

Washington School for Girls

Transforms lives of girls through tuition-free private education

Event Tips & Tricks

Planning and executing successful events, especially on the relatively smaller budgets that many local nonprofits have, can be a stressful experience. This is why the Catalogue for Philanthropy has put together some suggested practices that we’ve tried and found helpful that you can consider implementing when planning, hosting, and closing out your events — whether it be virtual, in-person, or hybrid.

Before diving into the tips and tricks you can use six months before, three months before, during, and after your event, we recommend starting with the following basics:

1. Determine the type of event you’re hosting. While this article will primarily cover fundraising events, such as an annual gala, most of the recommendations we offer are adaptable for smaller-scale community events, too.
2. Decide on your ideal target audience based on the type of event you’re planning. In addition to focusing your guest list, your ideal audience will also help guide most — if not all — of your event planning decisions.
3. Finalize the budget for your event, which is both dependent on, and will help you determine, your event format and whether it should be in-person, hybrid, or virtual. Your event budget will also inform your capacity for marketing your event, so do keep your ideal target audience in mind. If you’re largely trying to reach people outside of your existing base, you may need to spend more to acquire that new audience. Finally, if your event is a fundraiser, it could be helpful to determine what your revenue goal is when considering your budget as well.
4. Create a marketing plan so you have a working calendar ahead of your event. This is particularly critical if you want to reach a new, or relatively new, audience. While your marketing plan can change, we recommend having one early.

While you want to aim to have these fundamental decisions in place nine months ahead of your event date, the timeline for executing your event also depends heavily on the event itself and on the capacity of you and your team. You can certainly adapt any of our suggestions based on what would work best for you! With that in mind, let’s dive into our recommendations when preparing for your event.

6 Months Before Your Event

At this point in your planning, it probably feels like you’ve still got a lot of time to prepare… but time will fly! If you’re planning an in-person or hybrid event, make sure to secure your venue and caterer, if using a caterer. You’ll also want to consider making any additional niche assistance you might need for a hybrid or virtual event and gather quotes to start making those decisions. These components are an investment in your event, so if you’re planning to underwrite it with sponsorships, now’s the time to put that packet together and engage your board and others to support this effort. Finally, start thinking about your program and/or other components of your event.

Selecting Vendors

Securing a venue and caterer for your event will help you further define and develop the look and feel of your in-person or hybrid event. Selecting your venue might seem daunting, but knowing how many guests you’re planning to invite, as well as the overall type of event you’re planning, will help you narrow down venue options. Your venue may already have a list of caterers they’ve worked with, which could be helpful as you gather those quotes as well.

Ideally, if you have the capacity to do so, gather at least three quotes when you’re starting out to help you compare different options. Each caterer’s offerings may be different, so do sketch out your needs ahead of time so that you can equitably compare the quotes and menus. The Catalogue has created a crowd-sourced, editable venue and caterer directory for the DC area, so feel free to use that resource to get you started and learn what’s available.

If you’re planning for a virtual or hybrid event, consider hiring additional support to run and coordinate the technical pieces and production. Over the past few years, many of us have gotten good at working with and adapting to new technology. Nowadays, in some cases, audiences can be less forgiving when it comes to technical glitches. A hybrid event is just that — it combines in-person components with virtual components — and outside support may be helpful to make sure your organization has covered all the bases. If you’re livestreaming an in-person production, this is key. However, it is most important to know your audience when weighing this decision with what you’ve determined to be your organization’s or event’s needs. If you’re streaming a panel on Facebook Live, for example, you might not need as much outside support in this area.

Securing Sponsorships

Your venue, caterer, and other needs all come with a price tag. It’s helpful to consider these items as investments to help you create a great event, rather than expenses. If you’re planning to seek sponsorships to underwrite these and other costs, start thinking about creating a sponsorship packet that you can share with corporate and individual prospects. Your packet should address not just the event itself, but also how it fits with your mission, as well as include attractive benefits for your sponsor prospects. If possible, try not to think of sponsorship as a one-time deal, but as a partnership between your organization and the donor or funder.

As you develop your prospect list, which may be a combination of previous and new sponsors, engage your board and other major donors to support you. They may be able to sponsor the event themselves or through their employers, make connections to prospective sponsors, and/or join you in brainstorming creative ideas and prospects based on your neighborhood and mission.

Sketching Out Event Components

Finally, as you work to secure your venue and explore the look and feel of your event, consider your event flow and program. What is your goal? If your event is a fundraiser, will you include a live appeal or auction component? Are you looking to connect new people to your organization and get them excited about your mission? Will you encourage networking and smaller group conversations, or do you want to address the whole group of guests at once? Will you include entertainment?

All of these pieces are also helpful to include in your conversations and outreach to sponsors, so you can help them know what to expect. While these might seem like a lot of components or questions to consider, keep your event simple! You don’t need to orchestrate a huge number of moving pieces for it to be a good event and accomplish your goals. Make a plan for your visuals and have a clear goal for the gathering.

3 Months Before Your Event

Now that you’ve nailed down the essential details for your event, such as the date, time, format, and venue (if you’re hosting it in-person), this is your chance to start promoting it! Three months before your event begins is the ideal time to send out save-the-dates, especially for larger events like a gala. As you continue to have conversations with vendors and finalize these contracts, as well as conduct outreach to sponsors, make sure that you begin channeling some of your energy to marketing your event.

Telling Your Current Supporters

The best place to start is by informing your existing audience that your event is happening. Collate all the channels you use to reach your supporters and create a schedule of content so that you have a clear idea of what you will be telling them and when. If you have an email list, send out a save-the-date invitation and don’t forget to time your social media posts with your emails to coordinate a bigger push. When creating your schedule, ensure that you’re giving your audience enough room to breathe by balancing the frequency of your promotion with your content — farther out from the event, for instance, you don’t have to post or email about it weekly. Follow your audience’s cues to figure out how often you should be sharing about your event and pair your asks with stories or information so that not every email feels solely like an ask.

Feel free to get creative with your content, especially if you have a theme for your event and/or if it ties into a larger fundraising campaign for your organization! Are there recent client testimonials you could highlight on social media or interesting staff and volunteer stories you could weave into an email about your impact? If you host this event annually, could you share snippets from your last event to give your audience a taste of what to expect?

You can also get creative with segmenting when sending event invitations to your audience. For example, if you’re celebrating an organizational milestone or anniversary, perhaps you could send an exclusive and early save-the-date to your most loyal supporters emphasizing their commitment to your mission. When inviting donors who are newer to your organization, consider providing them with more information about how their last donation has impacted your work.

Reaching New Audiences

A good way to reach new audiences is by promoting your event in local media sources and event calendars, such as 730DC, Washington City Paper, Washingtonian, DCist, DCTV, and more. Closer to your event, research the local papers and neighborhood listservs around your organization and reach out to ask if your event can be highlighted! We also recommend thinking outside of the box by brainstorming where your ideal target audience learns about upcoming events — are there small businesses you could flyer or neighborhood libraries with community bulletin boards? Is your target audience likely to be part of existing membership organizations you could invite to your event? Could you partner with a micro-influencer who your target audience is likely to follow on social media and host a raffle or giveaway to raise awareness about your event?

If you can spend some of your budget on advertising, we have also found success with running ads on social media. This doesn’t have to cost very much — especially if social media advertising is new to your organization, you can try budgeting just $2 a day and seeing if the ads generate new audiences for your event. Doing so will also allow you to reach more specific audience segments on those platforms.

During Your Event

You’ve made it! By now, you’re just following through with all the planning and preparation of the last year or so. Even so, there are some things that might come up in the last few weeks prior to the event. Here are several last-minute tips:

• Develop a staffing plan and communicate with your team their roles and responsibilities for the duration of the day. A big event, whether in-person, virtual, or hybrid — is truly a team effort.
• Regardless of whether your guests are joining you in-person or virtually, be sure to consider accessibility for your venue and your virtual space. For example, will you need interpretation or language translation services? Ensure all your guests can fully participate in your event.
• Your caterer may be able to provide extra coordination day-of, such as coat check, or help with registration/check-in.
• Designate a photographer/videographer (if that’s something you want), as well as a point person for any social media coverage you want to provide to those who might be following along there.
• Consider any signage or other materials you’d like to have — you don’t need much! You can repackage other footage, copy, photos, etc. for your event materials.
• Finally, HAVE FUN! Make sure you get something to eat and have a drink. You’ve run the race up to this point and now you just need to coast to the finish line.

Immediately After Your Event

Congratulations on completing a successful event!

The last thing you need to do when wrapping up is to send a thoughtful follow-up to everyone who helped make your event a success. This includes your event attendees — thank them for showing up! Don’t forget to segment your email list so you’re not sending a note of appreciation to people who weren’t there. Most importantly, make sure you have a pipeline in place for this event audience so that you know how you want to continue cultivating them to be your organization’s supporters and advocates. Will you be subscribing everyone who attended to your newsletter email list? Will you be including them in your future fundraising appeals? These answers depend on the purpose of your event and your audience, but they are questions to consider when clarifying how you will continue stewarding them.

Lastly, close out any vendor contracts and then take some time off! You deserve to rest and rejuvenate after all that hard work.