3 Tips For Avoiding Donor Fatigue

If you constantly ask for help, your donors can get fatigued. Donor Fatigue is most common with large needs that initially attract a lot of attention but then slowly see less donor interest - even while the problem persists.

How can you help prevent Donor Fatigue?

Thankfully, DonorSee has some built in anti-fatigue tools that can help you avoid burning out your donors and support community.

Tip 1. Break a large campaign into smaller parts

Jill only recently joined DonorSee but she's been able to raise over $4.5k. While she had a huge goal to "Feed5000" people she set her first project at only $305 - just enough to feed 15 people. Eight donors quickly funded her project. (Note, each image is linked to the project it came from - so you can see exactly what Jill did.)

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She then used the initial traction from the success of her first project to launch a larger campaign that raised over $4,000 from 43 donors.

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Because she started small, she was able to show success and a number of great updates. This helped future donors visiting her profile "envision" how their gifts would help these families in need. That allowed a huge vision to appear achievable!

Tip 2. Include prior successes in new projects

Jill just posted a new project to feed even more people. She's helped feed almost 11,000 people for over two weeks. By including this incredible success and thanking donors in her new project, she's creating a positive giving cycle.

Her newest project video was basically an update on how many people the donors had helped feed. It included stories about the distribution and featured photos and clips of some of the families who received food. 

Because Jill is taking the time to really thank and engage with her donors, they will likely want to give again. And, by posting a newer project, she able to express the need is still relevant - which helps prevent Donor Fatigue.

Tip 3. Turn your donors into active partners in funding your projects

Finally, at the end of her latest video, Jill asks donors to help share the video - which will further help spread awareness.

By asking donors who've shown they care about the "Feed5000" project to help share, and sharing the project broadly herself, she can reach new donors who've might still be "fresh" and want to give.

Even a 'fatigued' donor can be asked to help share the word. On DonorSee, you can ask a potential donor to Follow you, leave a review (if they've given on DonorSee recently), or to help share your projects. This can give them a non-exhausting way to help support you and your projects. And, those three actions don't cost a dime.

DonorSee is a great platform for telling meaningful stories. Keep your projects small, don't forget to celebrate the successes, and, ask for your donors to support you in whatever way they can.

Are you looking for a way to sustainably engage with your donors? Let me know how I can help! Just email me at Chadwyck@donorsee.com