Attentive fundraising – know your nonprofit donors

What’s the average age of donors and how long do they typically stay with an organization? Jeff Brooks, a direct mail pro, says his data suggests a young donor is age 60, and almost half of donors in the U.S. are 65 and older.

And what about the so-called ‘giving span’ of the average donor? Based on one analysis of five million donor records, it’s about five years. That’s how long they’ll stay with you. You may get lucky and see a giving span of seven or ten years, or many donors may falloff after three years if you don’t properly connect with them. A small percentage will stick with you for a lifetime.

The point is you constantly need to be attracting new donors to the fold, and you need to periodically look at who’s giving to make sure you’re communicating with them in the most effective way with a most effective message.

If you’re wondering how to better connect with your donors, we can help with a communications assessment. You should have one performed every two or three years. Maintaining donor relationships take plenty of attention, yes, but it’s a labor of love.