Donor development is the process of convincing potential donors to donate to an organization by showing them the need for donations. This includes contacting past donors and identifying potential new donors, and ultimately converting them into actual donors.
Donor development is the process of showing potential donors why an organization needs their donations, also known as nurturing. Once donors understand the need for donations, such as building a new building or funding a special program, donor development convinces potential donors to donate and even advises them on how much money they should donate.
Typically, donor development begins by contacting past donors to the organization. Contacting these donors can be handled in a number of ways. In reality, a campaign is typically created to reach these donors in different ways over a period of time. For example, the first part of the promotion that the donor may receive during donor development is a letter that states the purpose of the campaign. The organization normally requests a possible donation at this time, but it is not necessary to do so at this time. Some organizations have chosen to raise awareness as the first step and then ask for a donation later in the donor development process.
Several follow-up letters, emails, listings in the organization’s newsletters, and more will be sent to these past donors. The purpose of donor development is to get past donors to give again and to increase the amount of their donation from the last amount they have.
In addition to reaching out to past donors, donor development also encompasses identifying potential new donors. The first step is to identify groups that may have an interest in what is being raised. For example, a historical museum that is raising money to open a museum around a historic site would reach out to historical societies, historians, and county and city officials to obtain the necessary funding to create a museum around the historic site.
Once the organization raises awareness of the need for giving and identifies those most likely to donate, the final step in donor development is converting potential donors into actual donors. Some organizations require cash donations, and this is the most popular type of donation that most organizations are looking for. Some organizations are willing to take goods or services in kind. For example, a museum might take a donation from a construction company to build proper housing for an offsite historic site to protect the site from the elements.
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