When Donors Don’t Respond: Rethinking Your Donor Stewardship
Many fundraisers may know the feeling. They might call, send an email, or send a thank‑you to their donors but don’t hear anything back. When this happens, you may start to wonder if you should keep going or if there is any point. For many small organizations, this lack of feedback can feel quite discouraging.
Why Some Donors May Not Respond to Stewardship
There are several reasons donors might not respond to your stewardship activities. Some are content with giving and having little or no contact with the organization they support. As loyal donors, they may continue to send annual or monthly contributions, appreciate a thank‑you, and prefer no further relationship with the organization. They are pleased with your work and happy to contribute to your cause. Other donors may prefer newsletters or impact reports they can read when they have time. They may not want phone calls or coffee meetings, but they still value your work and the results you share.
For donors like these, it is important to respect their preferences. Repeated contact that ignores those preferences can turn them away, leading them to unsubscribe from emails or block calls when communication feels excessive. These donors give because they care about your cause, not because of how often you reach out.
Fundraising Stewardship Strategies to Respect Quiet Donors
It may be easy to think that when donors do not respond they are not interested, but that is not always the case. Many donors stay engaged in their own way. They may read every email update, appreciate the information, and continue to give even if they never reply. For them, taking in the information is simply their preferred way of staying involved. Some things your organization can consider are:
Keep track of contact preferences. Whether you use a donor database or a spreadsheet, it is important to note how each donor wants to receive communication. Some may prefer email, while others may not want to be contacted at all.
Focus on updates that highlight impact. Create impact reports so supporters can see how their gifts are contributing to your cause and helping the community.
Use donor segmentation. Donor segmentation helps you group different types of donors so you can personalize communication. For example, a donor who gave at an event may be interested in similar activities. You can use your donor data to guide what information you want to share with those that support you.
Using these techniques helps you respect donor preferences while still showing them the impact of their contributions.
Choosing the Right Donor Stewardship Strategy
People get many phone calls, emails, and marketing messages, and many prefer fewer, more meaningful updates. When that does not happen, donor fatigue can set in. We have to remember that when a donor does not respond, in some cases it may reflect how they want to interact with your organization. However, if a donor used to be active and has stopped, that is different and needs attention. But there are donors who prefer a less‑is‑more approach.
The principles of donor stewardship are very effective, however, you have to understand those that support your organization and decide what stewardship strategy will work best for them. Some simple approaches include:
Send fewer messages. If you are sending a lot of messages and not getting the response you want, consider lowering the number and focusing on quality. This may lead to stronger results depending on your donors.
Keep updates shorter. Supporters often receive many updates from different places. Since donors have limited time and attention, shorter updates that highlight the impact of their contributions can be more effective than long or frequent messages.
Always thank donors. Some organizations have lost support simply because they did not say thank you. A thank‑you paired with a positive outcome can be very effective for donors to see where their support is going.
Donor stewardship is not about contacting supporters numerous times, it’s about respecting preferences and showing impact in ways that matter to them. When organizations choose strategies that fit their donors, they encourage continued giving even when donors do not always respond.
Ready to make donor stewardship simpler? Our software Chronicle is for small nonprofits that helps you organize donor data, track giving history, and capture communication preferences so you can create messages that fit your supporters. With Chronicle, you can segment donors, automate thank‑yous, and share impact updates that matter, making stewardship easier for your team and more meaningful for your donors.
