Even when you’re doing everything right to keep your donors happy —showing appreciation, sharing heartfelt stories, and stewarding—some will still stop giving. It’s disappointing, but every nonprofit faces this challenge.
Here’s the thing: donors lapse for all kinds of reasons.
But that doesn’t mean they’re gone forever.
With the right approach, you can renew lapsed donors, rebuild the relationship, and bring them back to your mission.
The good news is the right approach, you can renew lapsed donors, renew the relationship with them — resulting in a donation. And guess what? We can help you with all of this!
What Is a Lapsed Donor?
A lapsed donor is someone who hasn’t made a gift to your organization in over 12 months. Life happens—people get busy, their priorities shift, or they simply forget.
While it’s tempting to focus solely on finding new donors, the truth is:
- Acquiring a new donor is more expensive and time-consuming than re-engaging an old one.
- Lapsed donors already know you and your mission—you just need to reignite the connection.
Why Donors Lapse
Before you can bring lapsed donors back, it’s important to understand why they leave in the first place. There are three main reasons donors lapse:
- They move away. Most people like to give where they live, and if they move to another city or state, they may switch their donations to a nonprofit in their new home town. Makes sense, right?
- They pass away. It’s an unfortunate reality that some donors pass on, and unless you’re in their estate plans, their giving ends.
- They go away. People will stick around and give as long as they feel needed and believe their donation matters. When they start to feel bored or they think they’re just a number in your database, they’ll leave.
You have no control over the first two, but you CAN do something about #3. Focus on giving donors a great experience and you’ll be less likely to lose them in the first place.
A great experience means making people feel good after they give. It’s about 2-way communication and building trust.
That means you should listen to and carefully consider any criticism, from complaints about services to issues with online donation renewals.
Invite their feedback by asking your donors what they think through surveys or online polls. Call them to personally thank them and ask for their thoughts and opinions on current issues in your nonprofit, like expanding programs, adding a branch in a new town, or other things that might impact your reputation.
Communication is important for two reasons. First, it’s the best strategy for going after the donors who have left. Second, it helps you retain more current donors in the future.
Identifying Lapsed Donors
Typically, nonprofits consider someone who hasn’t given in over one year to be lapsed.
Segment lapsed donors into 3 groups: pre-lapsed, lapsed, and deeply lapsed.
The longer it’s been since their last donation, the harder it is to renew them. Grouping them based on how long it’s been since their last gift gives you an idea of the number of people in each group you need to renew and what the odds are of renewing them.
- Pre-lapsed donors are those that haven’t given in the last 11 months and are about to lapse. Maybe they’ve gotten busy and forgot to give or maybe they haven’t felt inspired. This is the easiest group to renew but you need to catch them before they lapse because once they do, it’s harder to get them back. I used to send handwritten notes to people in month 11 to invite them to renew their support of our fight against hunger. I’d usually get at least 10% of those donors to renew.
- Lapsed donors haven’t given in the last year but gave sometime in the past 2 or 3 years. The sooner you can attempt to renew them, the better.
- Deeply lapsed donors gave at some point in the past, but not in the last 3 years. This is the hardest group to renew, and with some extra TLC, you may be able to get some of them back.
Your donor database is extremely helpful in pulling these lapsed donors and their giving histories — making it easy to segment them into the 3 groups. Once you’ve done this, you can customize your message to each group while being sure to acknowledge that they used to give.
Renewing Lapsed Donors
Once you understand why donors lapse and you’ve identified who your lapsed donors are, you need a plan to invite them to renew their commitment to your cause.
Make it easy to give again. If you ask a lapsed donor to start giving again, make it as easy as possible for them to do so. If you send them a letter, include a reply envelope. If you call to renew them, be ready to take their credit card info over the phone. If you email them a request, give them a link directly to the donation page, so they can give in as few clicks as possible. The easier it is for them to take the action you want them to take, the more likely they are to do so.
Remind them why they care. Giving is an emotional act, so tap into the donor’s emotions in your renewal request. Tell them how people or animals are suffering and that your nonprofit is poised to change that, but you need the donor’s help to do it. The more emotional the request, the better. You don’t need to beg, but you do need to tap into the emotions they already feel about your cause.Customize the request. If you know WHY the donor gave in the first place or what they used to support, (maybe they ALWAYS gave to particular program or a particular group of your program participants) customize your ask to that. That shows the donor you’re paying attention and invites them to re-engage in a way that matters to them.
Make a personal connection. Review your list of lapsed donors with your Board, staff, and volunteers. Does someone inside your organization know the lapsed donor? If so, are they willing to reach out to that person? A personal connection from someone who is involved with the nonprofit is often the best way to renew a lapsed donor. Think about it – if you drifted away from a nonprofit and a friend asked you to renew, you probably would just because it was your friend who asked. Be ready to provide your Asker with a script and some support so they feel comfortable asking.
Offer other ways to engage. Depending on their situation, donors may not be able to give financially, but they might be able to give their time or help in another way. This may be a great first step for some donors to re-engage with your organization.
Customize your plan for different kinds of donors. Certain kinds of donors will need more than a basic Ask to motivate them to give again. Major donors might need a letter and a phone call to convince them to renew. A face-to-face request would be even better, because that shows the donor how important they are plus it’s harder to say “no” in person. Monthly givers that stop giving also need a phone call to renew.
Lapsed Donor Renewal Template
Here’s a swipeable format you can use in either a letter or email to renew your lapsed donors.
1. Personalize your request. Whether you send it by snail mail or email depends on your donors and how they originally gave. Send the renewal using their preferred communication method. Use the donor’s name and any other information you have about them in the letter. For instance, if their last donation was to help add beds to a homeless shelter, make sure you mention that specific fundraising campaign to help the donor remember their last donation.
2. Start with gratitude for past contributions. Thank the donor for their past support. Tell them how much of a difference they made. Update them on the progress their previous donations have helped achieve. Say “Because of your past generosity, our organization has built three new kennels and fostered over 30% more dogs this year.” Let them know that you’ve been moving ahead and fulfilling your mission and that their donation helped make it happen!
3. Bring donors up to speed. Without going into too many details and statistics, let the donor know what programs and services you’ve added or any big events you’ve been part of. If your nonprofit was involved in disaster relief for a newsworthy flood, mention that. For example, if the last year the donor gave was 2018 and your organization shipped water to a town in 2019 to help hurricane victims, let them know.
4. Appeal to the heart. Don’t just tell them about programs – share an especially engaging story about one of the dogs who was rehomed. Include pictures or video. Help them reconnect to your cause so you can rekindle the warmth and emotional connection they once felt.
5. Invite to give. Ask gently but clearly for them to donate. Give them a specific reason to give and include a sense of urgency so they understand why they need to renew NOW. Include your Core Number so they understand what their money will do. Even though they have given before, they need this information. Remember, they’ve been busy while they were away and probably haven’t spent the whole time thinking about your organization! Whatever you do…DO NOT GUILT THE DONOR! Your renewal letter should be positive, warm, and friendly. Never, ever list the things you couldn’t do because they didn’t give.
The Bottom Line
The more your nonprofit grows, the more donors you’ll gain and the more donors you’ll lose.
But don’t give up on the relationships you’ve taken so much time and money to build. Donor relationships are like all relationships – they take thought and effort to maintain.
There are a lot of reasons why donors quit giving but by being proactive and giving donors a great experience, you can minimize the loss, keeping dozens (maybe hundreds!) of donors in your family of supporters.
Other resources
How to Write a Fundraising Letter that Wins Back Lapsed Donors https://www.networkforgood.com/nonprofitblog/how-write-fundraising-letter-wins-back-lapsed-donors/
Step by Step Guide for Regaining Your Lapsed Donors https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/regaining-your-lapsed-donors/
We’re going into detail about giving donors a great experience inside Fundraising TV where you can learn specific “how to” lessons in short, 10-minute video trainings. It’s the best way for busy nonprofit fundraisers to boost their knowledge, skill, and confidence. Find out more and join at www.GetFullyFunded.com/tv
We’ve also found that personal phone calls go a long way in renewing the relationship.
Absolutely! There’s nothing like a personal phone call to connect with people.
Lapsed donors would likely have gotten a combination of email and USPS mail and sometimes a lapsed donor also sends us a Unsubscribe notice to an email newsletter, Giving Tuesday, or end of year donation reminder.
We can then no longer send them anything by email but in such a case, do we assume they don’t want to hear from us by USPS mail either? Would they be unkindly disposed to us by sending a letter via USPS mail?
Comments?
Carol, communicate with your lapsed donors using the method they made their donation if possible. If all you have is an email and it bounces, then you can try looking up their mailing address to send them postal mail.