The simple truth for charities: treat donors well and they will give more

The commission on the donor experience was set up in March 2016 in response to media scrutiny of fundraising practice and a crisis of public confidence in charities. At its heart was a simple idea – to place donors at the centre of fundraising. We believe that if donors have a positive experience of supporting a charity, they are likely to give more and for longer.

This isn’t just about changing the way charities behave; it’s about changing the way they think. Why do donors support a particular charity? What motivates them? What do they want from their engagement with a charity?

Over the course of 18 months, we have spoken to more than 1,000 donors to gather their experiences, both good and bad, of supporting charities.

We found that donors often just want to be treated with respect. Of those surveyed who reported a “best charity experience”, 90% cited being thanked, being respected when they said no and understanding the difference they had made. However, 87% were also able to cite worst experiences such as feeling harassed, being pestered or being asked to give more money than they ould afford.

These findings were supported by the results of a focus group, conducted in partnership with YouGov. Participants felt there was an over-reliance on emotional language and appeals that they believed were intended to manipulate potential donors into giving.

“There’s a fine line between making people feel guilty and angry, and turning them off,” said one participant. “Sometimes the language is too negative. I feel a lot better about a charity if they tell me about a success story,” said another. Donors understand why charities behave this way, but it often leaves them powerless, upset or frustrated when they are unable to donate.

We combined this research with the insight and experience of more than 1,000 professionals from across the voluntary sector to create a vast body of resources for charities that includes 28 projects and 250 case studies. Our full report, launched today, outlines 526 recommendations to transform fundraising and offers practical ways for charities to improve how donors are asked for money, thanked and communicated with.

Many of the recommendations address fundraisers directly, but it is important for charities to recognise that to achieve them, the culture of the organisation must change. Trustees and senior management need to reconsider the measures they prioritise. Monthly cashflow is important, of course, but what about donors? How many new donors are joining? How many are cancelling their direct debits? Why?

For now, the commission is asking every charity to create a donor promise to send to its donors. It should be a simple statement, or a series of statements, that incorporate different assurances that charities want to offer their supporters. There are ideas for charities to use and adapt in our report, but organisations should write their own promise to suit their particular circumstances and donor needs.

But it must not stop there. The Institute of Fundraising will continue to promote other recommendations over the coming months. Expenditure on fundraising should be viewed as an investment not a cost, with more attention given to long-term results over short-term tactics. There is never any need for pressure.

This report is not another best practice handbook. It is designed to rethink how charities operate by examining fundraising from the perspective of the donor. This, we are confident, will help charities raise more money for their causes.

Giles Pegram is co-founder and vice-chair of the commission on the donor experience

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