Cultivation for Membership

Cultivation for Membership

DONORS WHO KNOW THEY’RE MAKING A DIFFERENCE GIVE AGAIN

Develop a cultivation plan that gives donors a sense of belonging. Donor cultivation activities are those that stoke the enthusiasm of a prospective or current donor, increasing their happiness at being a part of your station’s activities and prompting them to give again. Many stewardship activities can double as cultivation activities. Important Improving donor retention is a critical issue in fundraising. The better your station is at keeping donors engaged, and ready to give again…

Develop a cultivation plan that gives donors a sense of belonging.

Donor cultivation activities are those that stoke the enthusiasm of a prospective or current donor, increasing their happiness at being a part of your station’s activities and prompting them to give again. Many stewardship activities can double as cultivation activities.

Important

Improving donor retention is a critical issue in fundraising. The better your station is at keeping donors engaged, and ready to give again the better. Find ways to cultivate and remind them of their importance. Otherwise, your essential members will have less reason to remember your station with their giving. And then they won’t stick around.

Good cultivation helps set the stage for donors to feel great about giving no matter if you are working towards a first gift or a hundredth. This work goes beyond sincere thanks, the goal is to show donors that they matter and build a sense of belonging. Don’t make the mistake of abandoning donors until the moment you ask for more money. Develop a cultivation plan that involves at least four pieces of mail or email per year that don’t include a solicitation.

To Start

An Email Welcome Series
A “welcome” email series is an easy, cost-effective way to continue nurturing connections with new donors. This is usually a series of three to four weekly or bi-weekly emails, which share information about the station with your new donors. Let them know about member benefits, newsletters, social media, member surveys and events, as well as other ways to get involved like volunteering, vehicle donations, or planned giving. Be sure that the tone and content of each message is generous and useful, not asking and transactional. Sample series here.

Donor Surveys
Ideally you’ll accumulate information on donors over time by their behavior and interactions with the station but a strong cultivation tactic is to start right away by sending new donors a short survey to learn more about what they are interested in at the station. Other good uses for surveys are to understand how donors feel about your donor benefits or giving levels and who might be interested in making a planned giving commitment. Ensure that responses are included in your donor database so you can use this information donors share.

Tax Letters
You’re required to send out a year-end tax statement. This is another ideal opportunity to add a friendly message of thanks and reminder of member benefits.

Some Additional Ways to Cultivate Donors

  • A member magazine
  • Email newsletters
  • Annual Reports
  • Postcards just to say thanks
  • Postcards with useful, timely news for donors
  • A special gift, like a bookmark, sticker, or notepad
  • Special event invitations or ticket discounts
  • A special message from the CEO with insider information
  • Emails with staff recommendations for books, podcasts, local shops and venues
  • Behind the scenes videos of station or staff out in the community

Make sure to plan out a full year of activities to see how they will feel to a donor.

See more from the Essential Strategies for Public Media Membership Growth Toolkit

Jay Clayton

Jay Clayton

Greater Public Individual Giving Advisor

(781) 598-8822 (Eastern Time Zone)
jclayton@greaterpublic.org
Main contact for individual fundraising; pledge drive strategy; general membership