In 2014, we released the results from our first $5 experiment. We’re excited to release the 2015 edition, which tracked donor communications from 50 random Chicago-area nonprofits.
This year, we examined how nonprofits followed-up after a gift within 14 days. Rather than focusing on speed, we focused on the type and amount of touches made after the gift.
You can see the results in the infographic below:
Methodology:
- Each donation was made on the afternoon of May 21st, 2015.
- All 50 of the nonprofits were chosen at random.
- All 50 of the nonprofits had a field for phone #.
- All donations were made online.
- We used a real name, real address, real phone # and real email address.
- We gave them any contact information they asked for, even if it wasn’t required.
- Each donation constituted a first-time donation to that org. In other words, it was a new entry into their database.
- We avoided third-party giving pages, like PayPal, Network For Good, etc.
Donation Page Anatomy:
- 20/50 required a phone #
- 41/50 had a recurring gift option
- 41/50 had giving level options
- 12/50 had an employee matching option
- 14/50 gave a choice of funds
The Results:
Highlights:
- 45/50 organizations sent a gift acknowledgement by email immediately following the donation.
- Out of the 5 who did not send a gift acknowledgement by email immediately following the donation:
- 1/5 sent an email acknowledgement three days later
- 1/5 sent an email appeal 10 days later (has never acknowledged gift)
- 1/5 has sent no communication whatsoever
- 1/5 sent a handwritten note by mail
- 1/5 sent a letter by mail
- Out of 14 letters sent by mail, 10 included a handwritten signature.
- Only 8 organizations made some kind of additional appeal within 14 days.
- 2/8 appeals were included in a gift acknowledgement letter by mail
- Only 1 organization sent a new donor survey
- 2/50 sent a handwritten note by mail
- 0/50 organizations made a phone call
- 0/50 organizations reached out on social media
- 2/50 organizations did not acknowledge the gift
First-Touch:
49/50 organizations made a first-touch within 14 days (98%).
- 46/50 sent a sent a gift acknowledgement by email
- 1/50 sent a gift acknowledgement by handwritten note by mail
- 1/50 sent a gift acknowledgement letter by mail
- 1/50 sent an email appeal
Second-Touch:
23/50 organizations made a second-touch within 14 days (46%).
- 10/50 sent a gift acknowledgement letter by mail
- 5/50 sent a gift acknowledgement by email
- 1/50 sent a gift acknowledgement by text message
- 1/50 sent a gift acknowledgement handwritten note by mail
- 5/50 sent an email newsletter
- 1/50 sent an email appeal
Third-Touch:
9/50 organizations made a third-touch within 14 days (18%).
- 2/50 sent a gift acknowledgement by email
- 3/50 sent an email appeal
- 2/50 sent an email newsletter
- 1/50 sent a gift acknowledgement letter by mail
- 1/50 sent a new donor survey by email
Fourth-Touch:
5/50 organizations made a fourth-touch within 14 days (10%).
- 2/50 sent an email appeal
- 2/50 sent a gift acknowledgement letter by mail
- 1/50 sent an email newsletter
Fifth-Touch:
1/50 organizations made a fifth-touch within 14 days (2%).
- 1/50 sent a gift acknowledgement letter by mail
Sixth-Touch:
1/50 organizations made a sixth-touch within 14 days (2%).
- 1/50 sent an email newsletter
For help crafting the perfect gift acknowledgement letter, download our free Basic Thank You Letter Template here >>
Full 14 Day Cadence:
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #2 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #3 | Email Receipt | Email Newsletter | Email Acknowledgement | Email Appeal |
| #4 | Email Receipt | Text Message Receipt | Email Acknowledgement | — |
| #5 | Email Receipt | Email Acknowledgement | Email Appeal | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #6 | Email Receipt | Email Acknowledgement | Email Appeal | Mail Appeal / Acknowledgement |
| #7 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #8 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #9 | Email Receipt | Email Appeal | — | — |
| #10 | Email Receipt | Email Acknowledgement | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #11 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #12 | Email Receipt | Email Newsletter | — | — |
| #13 | Email Receipt | Email Newsletter | Email Newsletter | Mail Acknowledgement |
| #14 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #15 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #16 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #17 | Email Receipt | Email Acknowledgement | Email Appeal | — |
| #18 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #19 | Email Appeal | — | — | — |
| #20 | Mail Handwritten Note | — | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #21 | Email Receipt | Email Appeal | Email Survey | Email Appeal |
| #22 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #23 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #24 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #25 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #26 | Email Receipt | Mail Appeal / Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #27 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #28 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #29 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #30 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #31 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #32 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #33 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #34 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #35 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #36 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #37 | Email Receipt | Mail Handwritten Note | — | — |
| #38 | — | — | — | — |
| #39 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #40 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #41 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #42 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #43 | Email Receipt | — | — | — |
| #44 | Email Receipt | Mail Acknowledgement | — | — |
| #45 | Email Receipt | Email Acknowledgement | Mail Acknowledgement | — |
| Org | 1st-Touch | 2nd-Touch | 3rd-Touch | 4th-Touch | 5th-Touch | 6th-Touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #46 | Email Receipt | — | — | — | — | — |
| #47 | Email Receipt | — | — | — | — | — |
| #48 | Mail Receipt | — | — | — | — | — |
| #49 | Email Receipt | — | — | — | — | — |
| #50 | Email Receipt | Email Newsletter | Email Newsletter | Email Newsletter | Mail Acknowledgement | Email Newsletter |
What do you think of the results? Should the nonprofits have done something differently? How does your organization follow-up with new donors? Let us know in the comments below!
Jennifer Crothers
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it is sad that non-profits can not seem to grasp how terribly important hand written thank yous and thank you phone calls are. it should not be about making another ask… it should be about gratitude with the first touch after a gift.
Typically a phone call thank you for a $5 gift just is not practical — only so many hours in the day and most non profits are short staffed and volunteers are stretched pretty thin as well. If it was a first time gift around $100 then I can see prioritizing and making time to thank them and find out more about their interests and what compelled them to make this “generous” first time gift. I applaud those organizations that acknowledged the gift (of any amount) within 14 days and then reached out via email, mail, etc. again within the first 30 day time period. We want to be grateful for all donations and build relationships and trust but also neeed to work smart and prioritize best use of our time and efforts in order to fulfill organization’s mission.
I think nonprofits of every size have the capacity to call all first-time donors, and should do so regardless of gift size. A thank you call should only take 30-120 seconds, which is actually way quicker (and cheaper) than sending an acknowledgement letter by mail (and can be more effective, depending on how good the letter is)
http://www.nonprofithub.org/fundraising/excuses-need-call-every-new-donor/
Voicemails are just as good.
https://bloomerang.co/blog/and-the-bloomie-goes-to-boys-girls-clubs-of-indianapolis/
Maybe $5 is generous? What if it came from someone with limited financial means but a lot of passion for your org?
https://bloomerang.co/blog/why-small-donations-matter-and-how-nonprofits-should-handle-them/
The pile of impersonal, templated letters – and the subsequent direct mail – that we received from the experiment, while “practical,” (status quo) doesn’t strike me as “smart.”
Saving personal acknowledgement for only large one-time gifts ignores the potential lifetime value of a donor.
https://bloomerang.co/blog/how-do-giving-habits-impact-donor-lifetime-value/
Really interesting findings. Will def be thinking about our new donor cultivation a bit more carefully.
[…] Shattuck and the folks at Bloomerang dive deeper into their $5 Donor Communications Experiment with 46 Real Nonprofit Email Receipt Subject Lines Made […]