Everyone knows that there are thousands of causes out there competing for fundraising dollars.  Many times it’s a strategic marketing ploy or a gimmicky challenge that get people to donate.  Let’s ask ourselves, out of the biggest of non-profit challenges, how many of the donors have returned to donate more than just once?  Probably a very small percentage! Here are a few tips to  retain your donors and your volunteers and ultimately raise more funds:

1. Gratitude – send your donors and volunteers a warm Thank You card or email.  Send this out soon after the donation of time or money – don’t forget!
2.  Sharing Information – Where has the money been used?  What good are the donors’ dollars up to?  Share what the volunteers have been participating in and have an ‘hours donated’ chart (our pic for this month’s Blog is from the Calgary Food Bank).  Something fun, engaging, relevant and impactful!
3.  When fundraising with a product, keep it simple for your volunteers and clients; ask yourself the following to ensure success:

• What is the profit margin?
• Is this product/company local?
• Is this a quality product?
• Can my volunteers easily sell this?
• Relevance – Will my donors buy this?

      4. Make it easy – Set up an online store or a central location where people can buy your fundraising product or make a donation.

       5.  Keep good records and goals – how much did we raise last year?  How many new donors versus repeat donors and what will our goal be for this year?  Use your database and keep it clean in order to follow up with your valued clients and volunteers!