The Difference Between a Giver and a Donor

by Infinity Concepts | Aug 2, 2019 | Consulting, Fundraising, Leadership

After a major disaster hit a large city, one of the emergency relief organizations, which was on the ground immediately, received a flood of donations to help those in crisis. The number of gifts was of an unprecedented magnitude, forcing the organization to scramble to create a strategy for processing the gifts and communicating with all of the people who gave.

This organization learned the hard way that the majority of those gifts were a one-time gesture and not worth putting into their usual donor communication stream. Very few of the tens of thousands of givers ever gave a second gift. The effort and resources that went into discovering this startling reality almost destroyed their organization and put them at the brink of closure.

What can we learn from this?

Not everyone who gives a donation is a donor. Givers respond to a need or an offer — donors engage with a mission or vision.

Every ministry or organization spends time and effort acquiring and growing their support base. One of the elements that needs to be in place is a way that effectively transitions a giver into a donor. Someone who resonated enough with your ask or your offer to give a donation — must become someone who is bonded with your organization. This process helps separate people who may never give again from those who will become long-term supporters of your ministry.

Sounds like a good idea, right?

Implementing a strategy to turn givers into donors is an often-ignored part of the development process — but fair warning — ignore it at your peril.

Non-converting givers can be a significant cause of a budget shortfall. Understanding the difference between giver and donors will help you manage your donor development process more effectively.

With the right tools in place, you can educate and inspire those who gave that first gift to your organization to give again and again.

Do you have Givers who need to become Donors?
Let Infinity Concepts help revolutionize your fundraising.
CLICK HERE or call us today at 724-733-1200.