Invest. Experience. Loyalty. Retention. Income. Repeat.

If you are able to keep your donors longer, you will raise more funds for your cause. Simple as that.

The simplest way I can explain it:

We invest in our staff and our fundraising programs. This should result in the best possible experience for both potential and existing donors. This influences satisfaction, commitment and trust, which constitute the donor’s attitude towards the charity. In other words: increased donor loyalty. This leads to the desired behaviour: higher retention rates. In turn this results in more income, which can be invested again. In projects for our beneficiaries, in staff and our fundraising program. And repeat.

18 ingredients for successful fundraising

I’m celebrating my 15 year anniversary as a fundraiser!

In a blog post 5 years ago I wrote about the best strategic ingredients for a successful fundraising program. Let’s try that again and see if I want to change my perspective now I’ve grown older…

Fundraisers are gold. Quality fundraising staff makes all the difference. Without the right staff you can forget the rest of this post. And your fundraising results. Hire great professional fundraisers. Now.

An example of greatness in donor appreciation and recognition

Last week Jeff Brooks reminded his readers how to write an effective thank you to your excellent donors. In order to “thank your donors so they really feel thanked” you need to know the following three things about your donor:

• Who is the Donor? (Show that you know who they are and what they did.)
• Which Campaign or Program Did They Give to? (Thank them for the specific thing they gave to. Finish the story you started when you asked.)
• How Will You Turn Their Gift Into Impact? (Make it clear: Their money is doing something great!)

The Syrian refugee crisis, tipping points and fundraising

Remember how you felt last week when you saw the photo of Aylan Kurdi, the little Syrian boy who drowned and ended up on a Turkish resort beach? Or when you saw Laith Majid, the father crying and embracing his children as they arrived on the beaches of Greece? Both probably stirred powerful emotions in you. Whatever you think of the politics behind the situation, this current Syrian refugee story is a human tragedy.

Drowned little boys and girls, lying on Mediterranean beaches, alone, miles from home. These are some of the saddest things I’ve ever seen in the media. These images and stories should ignite action. It’s almost impossible to do nothing. That’s what happens when extreme human suffering is in our face.

opinionReinier SpruitSeptember 7, 2015emergency, Malcolm Gladwell, media, emotion, MSF, Syrian refugees, storytelling, donor communication

Fundraisers: you need to be one to hire one

Some months ago someone asked me why I spend so much time preparing the right set of questions for an interview panel. I told him that we only have one chance of doing this right. We can cross our fingers and hope to choose the right fundraiser, but if we don’t take this seriously enough it’s more likely that we hire the wrong candidate.

the fundraiserReinier SpruitJune 1, 2015hiring&firing, the fundraiser

#NazisAgainstNazis - Germany's most involuntary charity walk

On 15 November 2014, neo-Nazis walked through the streets of Wunsiedel. It was impossible to stop them - but Exit-Deutschland could make them walk for something meaningful: and that is how for the first time a right-wing memorial march became a charity walk - without knowing of the participants. For every meter they walked, €10 went to EXIT-Deutschland - a Nazi opt-out programme. The result: €10.000 and lots of surprised right-wing extremists...

inspirationReinier SpruitMay 13, 2015video, EXIT-Deutschland, charity walk, campaign

A retention vision like Billie Holiday

Across the charity sector we literally spend days on the creation of boardroom presentations, we meet for hours in cross-functional working groups, and the other half of the day we're either in one-on-one or team meetings... We're all taking selfies. It's all Me, Myself and I. But we're looking the wrong way... we should be taking pictures of our donors. All those snapshots will tell us a story about who they are and what they want.

4th Annual Fundraising Growth Analysis

Oops, I did it again. Like previous years I sliced and diced the Central Bureau of Fundraising (CBF) annual figures into some sort of growth analysis for the Dutch market.

Perhaps I should not repeat the methodology and disclaimer, because you’re probably not gonna read it anyway. Most of you scroll straight down to the tables below to see where your organisation is ranked. But let me just mention the main points before we dive into the figures.

The struggle for justice is a marathon

In the closing plenary of this year's International Fundraising Congress Kumi Naidoo, International Executive Director of Greenpeace, shared an inspiring story I'd like to pass on to you (slightly paraphrased). Kumi is a life long activist from South-Africa, where he was involved in the anti-apartheid movement.

Kumi Naidoo: 'My best friend growing up was Lenny Naidu, and we fled around the same time into exile in 1987. He asked me a question the last time I would see him before we fled.'

opinion, the fundraiserReinier SpruitNovember 23, 2014Kumi Naidoo, IFC2014, IFC

Retention Fundraising: adapt or die!

Almost 10 years ago Roger Craver gave me the book Moneyball from Michael Lewis. I was excited, because I have played ball since I was a kid. I love baseball. The book is about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and its general manager Billy Beane.

Roger told me it could widen my horizon, that I would look at things differently and think outside the (batter’s) box. He wasn’t talking about baseball, but fundraising…

The BIG 5 in fundraising performance metrics

You might love it. You might hate it. But if you respect your donors and your work as a fundraiser you are likely to spend a few hours per week looking at reports. Those reports will tell you all sorts of things about the behavior of your donors, a.k.a. your fundraising results. But, in general, what are the most important fundraising performance metrics you should monitor? Keep reading and get your free download at the end of this post.

What I'm about to share seems somewhat simple perhaps. This is in fact not simple; these are the basics! Unfortunately too many fundraisers out there still don’t respect the basics.

data analysisReinier SpruitMay 9, 2014data analysis, data, metrics, ROI, lifetime value, retention, acquisition, example

25 awesome fundraising quotes

Often we hear great quotes capturing the essence of the message. They are inspiring! They remind us of the important reasons why we work for charity and how we should do it, or how best practice would describe it…

In December I attended The Annual Lectures, where an awesome line-up of speakers was challenged to deliver their message in 30 minutes. This forced them to be to the point. And I heard some great quotes.