Tips for Reinstating Lapsed Donors

Reactivating lapsed donors is a critical component of a successful direct marketing fundraising program. In order to build a healthy donor file, one must invest in bringing back donors who have not given to your organization in one or more years. After all, you've spent a lot of money to acquire these people and if they have not even given you a second gift, they haven't even paid back their investment.

Here are a few techniques that you can try in order to reinstate lapsed donors:

1. In your direct mail copy and telemarketing scripts, tell donors that you haven't heard from them in awhile and state how much their gifts have mattered to the organization. Make it personal by telling them that they are missed and that you hope they will come back to the family. You'd be surprised at how many of your donors don't realize that they have not given in quite some time.
2. Donors tend to give as they were acquired or as they have given in the past, so try reinstating them using the same technique. For example, if they were acquired through an address label package, try sending them another one.
3. Include your deep lapsed file in your acquisition mailings, especially those lapsed donors who have given multiple gifts. This will decrease your costs as well as increase your rate of return. Lapsed donors tend to respond at double the acquisition rate or even higher.
4. Make sure that newly acquired donors are thanked for their first gift as quickly as possible, preferably within 2 weeks. You should also send them a welcome package that thanks them for joining your organization and includes information on all of the different ways that they can give, including your monthly sustainer program and planned gifts. You can even try sending them another reply envelope, with or without an "ask."
5. Try using telemarketing to reinstate your lapsed donors, especially those at the higher giving levels (you should test groups under $25). Telemarketing your direct mail acquired donors will probably give you your best rate of return. Again, you've already invested a lot of money to acquire them, so as long as you're not losing money on the phone, you're coming out ahead.

Just remember that the likelihood of getting second gift from a new donor drops significantly after nine months (one year for membership programs). So the key is to not wait to long to get that critical second gift!