When I work with nonprofits that want to improve their fundraising strategies, I talk frequently about the donor journey — The path someone takes to become an engaged, passionate donor for your nonprofit. The final step in the donor journey is “leveling up” your donors.

What does it mean to “level up” your donors?

After someone makes their first donation to your nonprofit, you can inspire them to “level up” or increase their support by continually deepening your nonprofit’s relationship with them. Leveling up your donors is a crucial part of the donor retention process.

7 ways to “level up” your donors

There’s not one right way to inspire your donors to increase their support of your nonprofit. Each donor has their own unique motivation for supporting your mission, and each has their own strengths and interests that can be used to support you. Here are just 7 ideas for “leveling up” your donors:

1. invite them to become recurring donors

Once someone has shown interest in donating to your nonprofit, you can ask them to continue supporting you through recurring gifts. A recurring gift is set up to donate to your nonprofit on a regular basis (e.g., monthly or annually) without the donor having to remember to make their next gift. There are lots of online donation platforms that allow you to accept recurring gifts through credit card payments.

I highly recommend developing a recurring gifts program because:

Donors can usually afford to give in higher amounts through recurring gifts compared to one-time gifts. Think about it: If someone can only afford to give you $100 in a one-time gift due to budget constraints, they can likely afford to give $10+ per month through a recurring gift because giving $10+ at a time has less of an impact on their monthly budget.
Research finds that it’s much easier to improve donor retention through recurring gifts because donors don’t have to be reminded to give again.
When someone is set up as a recurring donor, you don’t have to waste time and resources appealing to them for future donations — You can focus on other relationship-building activities like sharing stories of your nonprofit’s impact and inviting them to get engaged with your nonprofit in other ways.

2. Invite them to become volunteers

Donors want to volunteer with your nonprofit! The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that 69% of donors become volunteers after giving financially. Additionally, donors who volunteer give about 56% more in their financial donations than those who don’t volunteer.

Donors love volunteering because:

Volunteering helps them feel closer to your mission and impact, especially when donors get a chance to directly work with your clients/animals/environments.
Volunteering often gives donors the chance to see how their financial contributions really make a difference.
Volunteering helps donors feel like they’re truly a part of your team.

If you don’t feel like you have opportunities for donors to volunteer, try asking them to:

Make “thank you” calls to donors
Draft social media posts and/or blog posts
Become social media “ambassadors” by sharing your posts once per week/biweekly/monthly
Send out donation requests for your next charity auction
Send out requests for public speaking opportunities for your nonprofit
Ask their friends/family/colleagues to get involved in your advocacy efforst
Write encouraging notes to your clients, or appreciation notes to your staff/volunteers

3. Invite them to join a committee or your board

When you have donors who are excited about your mission, offer them opportunities to become volunteer leaders at your organization so they feel more invested in your work.

4. Invite them to make non-cash gifts

Sometimes, donors want to give more than they can afford to give from their regular, discretionary budget. Offer them opportunities to give non-cash gifts such as through planned giving, stock donations, and cryptocurrency donations.

5. Invite them to make matching gifts

If you have a donor who has the capacity and willingness to give a large gift (such as $1,000 or more), consider asking them if they would offer a matching gift to your nonprofit to inspire other donors to give. A matching gift is like a donation challenge — The matching donor agrees to donate a certain amount of money if the nonprofit can raise that amount from other sources. For example, if a matching donor pledges $1,000, the nonprofit will receive that donation if they can raise an additional $1,000 from other sources. (Of course, if the nonprofit is unable to raise the full $1,000 amount, the matching donor can still be asked to give their generous donation regardless.)

Matching gifts are inspirational to other donors because they feel like their gifts are being doubled. They feel assured that their donations will go farther because they know another donor has pledged to match their gifts.

6. Ask them to engage their employer in your mission

There are lots of ways companies can support your mission, including through:

Matching employee donations — According to Double the Donation, about 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching gift programs which could double some or all of your donors’ gifts.
Offering employees paid time off to volunteer for your nonprofit — According to Philanthropy News Digest, about 20% of companies offer their employees paid time off to volunteer.
Offering a board match program which helps their employees find board opportunities that match their interests
Sponsoring charitable events and programs
Donating charity auction items
Hosting fundraisers, such as sales where a percentage of revenue is donated to your nonprofit

Start by asking your donors if their employers are willing to match their gifts. Then you can start to ask for support getting connected to their employers’ charitable giving and CSR programs.

7. Ask them to become “friend-raisers” or peer-to-peer fundraisers

Did you know 67% of new donors learn about causes through word of mouth, and 58% of first-time donors give because they care about the person who asks them to give? Empower your donors to become “friend-raisers” or fundraisers for your nonprofit.

Get more tips for developing your donor journey

“Leveling up” your donors is the final step of the donor journey. But do you know how to nurture donor relationships at the other steps in the journey?

Learn How to Develop Your Donor Journey

7 Ways to "Level Up" Donors At Your Nonprofit