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Lapsed Donors: How to Write a Fundraising Letter That Wins Them
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By Alan Sharpe
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Your definition may differ, but I define a lapsed donor assomeone who has not donated to your organization within the lastyear, two years or three years. Donors who have not sent you agift in over three years are not lapsed donors. They are formerdonors.
Lapsed donors are valuable. Unlike strangers, they havesupported you before. And they believe in your mission enough tohave sent you a gift (or gifts). That means they are worthmailing to. You can expect to receive an 11 percent responserate from a mailing to lapsed donors if your results aretypical, says fundraising expert Kent Dove (Conducting aSuccessful Fundraising Program. Jossey-Bass, 2001).
Here are some tips on writing an appeal letter that will winthem back. In the fund development profession, the letter youwrite is called a recovery letter because it aims to recoverdonors who have lapsed.
1. Write to one person
You will likelynot know why each donor has lapsed. Donors stop giving for anynumber of reasons. Some forget. Some lose interest. Some getdistracted with the arrival of children--or grandchildren.Others decide they do not like your new executive director'sties. Each donor is an individual, and the way to win each oneback is to send a warm, sincere, personal letter from your heartto theirs.
2. Say "we miss you"
What you are tryingto communicate in your letter is that you miss the donor morethan their donations, which should always be true. You have losta supporter first, and a source of support second. So write yourletter in such a way that you show your concern for the person.Here are some lines to use:
- We have not heard from you since March 2004. We missyou! We are counting on your renewed support this year for . ..
- We miss you. We miss your moral support, and we miss yourfinancial support.
- We sure have missed hearing from you these last fewyears.
3. Invite the donor to come back
Providea tangible way for the donor to renew support. Ask for a gifttoward a particular project. Offer a subscription to your freenewsletter. Do something to involve the donor and make them takeaction.
4. Customize your appeal
Wheneverpossible, customize your recovery letter to the uniquecircumstances of each lapsed donor. For example, if you knowfrom your database that a donor only sent a gift once a year atChristmas, mention that in your letter. Or if another donorsupported only one area of your work, mention that. The morethat your letter appeals to the interests of your donors, themore likely you are to recover them. Here's an example:
"The last time we heard from you, you had generouslyresponded to the humanitarian crisis in Honduras. You sent us agift that helped us meet the immediate needs of that emergency.Today, I am writing to you because I think you can help usovercome another crisis."
5. Match your language to the length oflapse
Statistically speaking, the longer you'vehad to wait for a gift, the less likely you are to receive one.That means you should segment your database into groups of 12-,24- and 36-month lapsed donors (or another criteria that youuse), and send each group a slightly different appeal. To adonor who has not given in a year, for example, you can say, "Wemiss you." To the donor who has not sent a gift in three years,you can say, "You have supported us in the past. Your gifts madea difference. I urge you to renew your commitment by sending agift today." The idea is to be casual with the new lapsed donorsand progressively more vigorous with donors who have not givenin two or more years. Some examples:
12-month lapsed
"Yourfinancial support in 2001 made a difference. Your gift at theend of this year will have a positive impact on the people,which in turn will lead to better health, hope and confidencefor humanity."
24-month lapsed
"Yourfinancial support in recent years was a great help to us. NowI'd like you to renew your support by joining with me and thevolunteers at . . ."
36-month lapsed
"We have notheard from you for quite sometime and yet your past support hasmade a difference for populations in danger. I think you canhelp us overcome this crisis."
6. Tailor your ask
Some of your lapseddonors will have given once and never again. Others will havegiven faithfully each month for years. Each donor demands adifferent letter. The more faithful your donor has been, themore that donor requires a personalized letter with apersonalized ask amount. In other words, don't take the easy wayout and ask a one-time donor and a 10-year supporter for thesame amount, treating each one the same way. You could ask theone-time donor for a gift that's the same size as their lastone. And you could ask the long-time supporter for a gift that'sthe same size as their smallest one, or their average gift overtime, or their last one, and so on. I'll leave the decision toyou.
7. Win back their hearts and minds
Lapseddonors need to be persuaded again to support your mission.You'll need to re-state your case for support, and address anyreasons you know of for donors stopping their support.
The two most important things to say in a recovery letter arethat you miss the donor and that their support made a bigdifference in the lives of the people your organization serves."A carefully crafted appeal that lets past donors know they areimportant, appreciated and missed almost always produces a netincome," says Stanley Weinstein (The Complete Guide toFundraising Management).
© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint thisarticle online and in print provided the links remain live andthe content remains unaltered (including the "About the author"message).
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