The Word Whose Name Shall Not Be Spoken
Call the FCC! Fundraising Success Magazine has <gasp> used the “A” word. You know, THE “A” word: ATTRITION
In its article, Dealing With the Dreaded “A” Word, Pamela Barden writes about a topic that really needs to be addressed more. Lots more.
Attrition is a reality in our lives every day. For example, my bank account is going to deal with attrition because my car’s Check Engine Light came on today. NFL teams deal with attrition every time they are assessed with a penalty or the quarterback get sacked. Then again, not all attrition is bad. I’m hoping that by spending a few extra minutes on the treadmill each day, the couple of pounds I put on over the holidays will attrit right off my hips.
While we address these issues on a regular basis and come up with ways to slow <most> attrition, too many non-profit organizations ignore the problem.
While you can’t always compare one organization’s attrition rate to another, here are a few statistics that are fairly standard:
- Of the New Donors that you fought to acquire last year, 65%-70% will not give again this year.
- Of your core Multi-Year Donor segment, 35%-40% will not give again this year.
- Of the donors you reactivated last year, 60%-65% will not give again this year.
- Of all the donors who gave to your organization last year, around 50% will not give again this year.
But these don’t have to be standard metrics. By embracing your inner Sherlock Holmes and doing a little sleuthing, you can get a betting understanding of WHO is attriting, WHY they are attriting, and WHEN attrition rates are highest.
What was the campaign topic on which they were acquired? Some of your donors may have been joined your organization because of a certain campaign topic. If you are no longer talking to them about that topic, they may leave. What channel drove them to making their first gift? Just because their first gift was an online donation, doesn’t mean they only want to be communicated with online.
Do you see months with peaks in the numbers of donors lapsing? You will almost always see a peak in the same month in which tend to bring in the most donors. Be proactive! Identify at-risk donors several months before they lapsed and contact them.
There are many ways in which you can lower your organization’s attrition rate, but it involves developing a separate attrition strategy.
As the saying goes:
To have what you have not, you must do what you do not.
Tags: Attrition
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