Do recovered charitable donors stick around?
Yes, indeed, once they give again they continue to give.
In an analysis we did of recovered donors for 14 small to medium sized non-profits in all sectors of the industry, we found that the median annual retention rate after they returned was in fact much better than the median retention rate of new donors and multi-year donors.
Here’s a look at the 14 organizations in the study.
| Organizations in the Study | |
| Sector | Number |
| Animal Welfare | 2 |
| Arts & Culture | 1 |
| Education | 2 |
| Environmental | 1 |
| Healthcare | 4 |
| Social Services | 4 |
| Total | 14 |
The following chart shows their median distribution of lapsed donors by years lapsed. As you can see from the total number of lapsed donors, these organizations are in the 98% of non-profits whose revenue is under $5 million…in other words, financially, organizations similar to yours. (data from the National Center for Charitable Statistics).
What is the Number of Lapsed Donors for this group?
by Number of Years Lapsed
Bar chart showing the median number of lapsed donors per organization by number of years lapsed. The count peaks at year 1 (about 1,240) and levels off near 225 to 475 across years 2 through 10. The full figures are in the data table below.
Data table
| Number of Years Lapsed | Median Lapsed Donors Per Organization |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1,240 |
| 2 | 475 |
| 3 | 330 |
| 4 | 295 |
| 5 | 370 |
| 6 | 395 |
| 7 | 378 |
| 8 | 370 |
| 9 | 248 |
| 10 | 225 |
What is the median recovery rate by number of years lapsed for this sample of organizations?
by Number of Years Lapsed
Column chart of median donor recovery rate by number of years a donor has lapsed; recovery is highest in year 1 (about 55%), drops sharply to about 24.5% in year 2 and roughly 11% in year 3, then tapers off below 4% from year 5 onward, reaching about 0.8% by year 10. Full figures are in the data table below.
Data table
| Number of Years Lapsed | Recovery Rate |
|---|---|
| 1 | 55.0% |
| 2 | 24.5% |
| 3 | 11.0% |
| 4 | 6.5% |
| 5 | 3.5% |
| 6 | 2.0% |
| 7 | 1.3% |
| 8 | 1.0% |
| 9 | 1.0% |
| 10 | 0.8% |
The number recovered from donors lapsed 4, 5 and 6 years looks small. Why would you spend time and effort recovering them?
Does it Make Sense to Spend the Time and Money to Recover Them?
We find that the Cost to Raise a Dollar from soliciting donors lapsed up to 10 years by direct mail is almost always profitable….see the data here in What is the Recovery of Donors by the Year of their Last Gift.
But Cost to Raise a Dollar doesn’t tell you about the additional future value of those recovered donors. The ROI from their future value makes it exciting.
Once those donors are recovered will they continue to give?
In the year following their recovery, donors who had only lapsed 1 year had a median retention rate of 72.5%.
Their retention in the second year after recovery was 78.5%.
For donors lapsed 2 years the median retention rate after recovery was 50%. And for donors lapsed 3 to 10 years, the retention after recovery was between 30% and 40%.
Here’s the graphical breakdown.
Following Recovery by Number of Years Lapsed
Before Recovery
Column-and-line chart of first-renewal donor renewal rates in the year following recovery, by number of years a donor had lapsed before recovery. Median renewal (orange bars) peaks near 72% in year 1, then settles between about 33% and 52% for years 2 through 10. The 75th percentile (blue line) stays roughly 45% to 77%, while the 25th percentile (green line) falls from about 66% in year 1 to a low near 2% in year 8. Full figures are in the data table below.
Data table
| Number of Years Lapsed | Median | 75th Percentile | 25th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 72.0% | 77.0% | 66.0% |
| 2 | 52.0% | 58.0% | 47.0% |
| 3 | 43.0% | 53.0% | 33.0% |
| 4 | 40.0% | 51.0% | 32.0% |
| 5 | 36.0% | 55.0% | 17.0% |
| 6 | 33.0% | 45.0% | 14.0% |
| 7 | 33.0% | 49.0% | 27.0% |
| 8 | 39.0% | 60.0% | 2.0% |
| 9 | 41.0% | 63.0% | 25.0% |
| 10 | 33.0% | 50.0% | 18.0% |
Following 1st Renewal
Column-and-line chart of second-renewal donor renewal rates in the year following the first renewal, by number of years a donor had lapsed. Median renewal (orange bars) ranges from about 50% to 84%, peaking at year 10. The 75th percentile (blue line) climbs to 100% at years 7 and 10, while the 25th percentile (green line) dips to a low near 10% at year 6. Full figures are in the data table below.
Data table
| Number of Years Lapsed | Median | 75th Percentile | 25th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78.0% | 80.0% | 74.0% |
| 2 | 61.0% | 71.0% | 45.0% |
| 3 | 53.0% | 54.0% | 45.0% |
| 4 | 62.0% | 69.0% | 43.0% |
| 5 | 52.0% | 66.0% | 42.0% |
| 6 | 50.0% | 63.0% | 10.0% |
| 7 | 60.0% | 100.0% | 37.0% |
| 8 | 55.0% | 88.0% | 50.0% |
| 9 | 50.0% | 75.0% | 33.0% |
| 10 | 84.0% | 100.0% | 50.0% |
These numbers show that
Recently lapsed, recovered donors are very loyal once they come back.
They also show that even deeply lapsed donors, once back are surprisingly loyal. Their long absence doesn’t mean they don’t care. It means circumstances, or perhaps lack of communicating and asking, was what was keeping many of them away.
What have we learned about lapsed donors? Don’t give up on them.
Keep them in your email list. Be sure they are hearing your stories and successes.
Keep them in your direct mail and email appeals.
Send them your printed donor impact reports.
Invite them to events.
And remember that the key to recovering those lapsed donors and keeping them around once they come back is stewardship. Make sure to include these personal touches:
Have the Director of Development send them a personal thank you email for their gift.
Have a volunteer send them a personal thank you card.
Have a board member give them a thank you call.
Written by Gary Henricksen
