Retention rates for new donors consistently hover somewhere around 19%. That’s not great! And one of the reasons it’s got so much (ahem) room for improvement is because nonprofits are waiting too long after a donor’s initial gift to start building a long-term relationship.
On the contrary, those first days and weeks after someone’s first gift are the best time to establish a relationship with them that will keep them engaged with your mission (and your nonprofit) for years to come.
A thoughtful, well-crafted new donor welcome email series is one of the most effective ways to ensure new supporters feel seen, valued, and inspired to stick around. Want to know the best part? You don’t have to send one manually to each new donor. You build it once, turn it on, and update it every once in a while. That’s it!
We created an entire (free!) guide to creating a new donor email series—complete with tips, templates, and worksheets to help you craft the perfect welcome. To download that guide, click here.
What Is a New Donor Welcome Email Series?
Put simply, it’s a sequence of messages that introduce new donors to your nonprofit. But this goes beyond a simple thank-you message!
A good series will educate new supporters about your mission, impact, and additional ways they can get involved.
Think of this as a getting-to-know-you opportunity. Over the course of a few emails, you’re helping a new supporter understand who you are, what you do, and how their support makes a difference.
Why a New Donor Welcome Series is So Important
If donor retention is a challenge for you, you’re not alone! We alluded to it earlier, but only about 19% of new donors give again the following year. That means that, on average, one in five of your new supporters may only give once.
That feeling sucks! After all, you worked hard to acquire those donors! Keeping them actively involved in supporting your work, whether that’s by donating, volunteering, attending events, etc., is the key to building a solid donor base. So, how do you buck this trend?
The first step is to understand why people don’t give again. Some of the top reasons for donor churn include:
- Not being able to afford to give
- Feeling disconnected from the organization
- Not remembering that they gave in the first place
- Being asked to give when they don’t understand their impact
- Not being asked to give again
A good welcome email series will help you address most (maybe even all!) of those issues. With some thoughtful planning, you can:
Give new donors additional ways to get involved
Try spotlighting volunteer opportunities, community events, and other chances to support your work. If you include non-financial options, you can keep new donors engaged even if they can’t afford to make more monetary gifts.
Deepen the connection between your donors and your cause
Sharing impact updates, success stories, and interesting educational content will reinforce the emotional connection that inspired them to give in the first place. This also reiterates their desire to make a real-world impact and lets them know that future gifts will achieve similar outcomes.
Make new donors feel amazing about their generosity
People remember strong emotions. If you send new donor welcome emails that celebrate their generosity and share how it makes a difference, they’ll be more likely to remember your organization longer.
Set the stage for future gifts
When a donor understands that their contribution is recognized, appreciated, and used wisely, they’ll be more likely to make additional gifts later on.
Your new donor welcome series can do a lot of heavy lifting for you. It’s a valuable way to make a good impression on new donors and help you boost your donor retention rate!
How to Build a New Donor Welcome Email Series (Without Overthinking It)
This sounds like a lot, right?
Well, good news: creating a really effective new donor welcome series doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re using a good nonprofit CRM (we are, believe it or not, pretty fond of Neon CRM), you can create these emails and turn them into an automated workflow—no additional fussing required.
Here’s a basic framework to get you started:
- Start with a sincere thank-you: This is where you reiterate your gratitude and make the donor feel genuinely valued. This sets a warm tone for future interactions.
- Set expectations: Let your new donor know you’ll be in touch with a few updates and impact stories. This will help boost open and engagement rates.
- Ask for a small favor: This could be something simple, like following you on social media or filling out a quick survey. Due to something called the Ben Franklin effect, this will make your new donor feel more connected to you and your organization.
- Share stories and impact: Show them how their gift is making a tangible impact! Heartwarming stories help donors feel like part of the solution to a problem that’s close to their hearts.
- Offer other ways to engage: Give them non-financial options for staying involved, like volunteering, attending an event, or even simply spreading the word about your organization.
- Make a thoughtful second ask (eventually): Only after you’ve built trust and demonstrated someone’s impact should you ask them to make another gift. Be thoughtful here! Reference their original gift and make a good case for why they should give again.
A new donor welcome series will be most effective if you use your supporters’ data to personalize your emails. A one-time donor who gave $20 to a special campaign will likely appreciate a different message than an existing monthly donor who gave an additional gift to your annual fund.
Want to Build Your Own New Donor Welcome Email Series?
If you’re ready to build a welcome email series that strengthens your donor relationships and increases your retention rates, check out The Fundraiser’s Guide to Welcome Emails! It includes storytelling templates, planning worksheets, and real-world examples that can help you build an email series your supporters will love.
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