Ep. 120 | Don’t Lose Your Donors After Fundraising: 3 Ways to Keep Them Connected

If fundraising feels awkward, uncomfortable, or you’re never quite sure what to say to potential donors, join me for my free live workshop, Fundraise with Confidence.

You worked hard to raise your support. You had donor conversations, meetings, church services, follow-ups, and probably more awkward conversations than you wanted to have. Maybe it took you three months to get fully funded, or maybe it took you three years.

Then you finally hit your goal, and there’s this huge sense of relief. You have your support! You can finally put fundraising aside and focus on the ministry you actually raised all that money to do.

But this is where I see missionaries and ministry leaders make a really common fundraising mistake. Once the money is raised, all their attention shifts to ministry, and the donor relationships they worked so hard to build slowly start to weaken.

Your fundraising season ended, but the donor relationship didn’t

Think about this from your donor’s perspective.

In your mind, you just finished a huge task. You raised your support, so fundraising feels finished and you’re ready to move on to the actual ministry.

But in your donor’s mind, they just joined you.

You invited them to be part of what God is doing through your ministry. You shared the vision with them, asked them to come alongside you, and they said yes. Then, once they start giving, they barely hear from you.

Maybe your newsletter keeps getting pushed down the list because there are more urgent things happening in the ministry. Maybe you send an occasional update but don’t really think about donor communication again until your next fundraising season.

Over time, that donor has less connection to what they’re supporting. They may still be giving every month, but they don’t really know what is happening or what difference their giving is making.

That makes the relationship much easier to walk away from. If they suddenly need to cut something from their budget, your ministry may be an easy choice because they don’t feel particularly connected to it anymore.

So once you’ve raised your support, there are three things I want you to keep doing.

1. Stay in consistent contact with your donors

Don’t disappear until you need money again.

Consistent communication reminds your donors why the ministry matters and what they’re part of. It also builds trust over time because they continue hearing from you and seeing what is happening through the ministry they support.

Consistency doesn’t mean you have to post every day or spend hours every week creating donor content. In fact, I would much rather see you choose a simple communication rhythm you can maintain for years than start something ambitious that disappears three months later.

Maybe you send a regular newsletter. You could send personal messages or quick updates throughout the month. A private Facebook group might work well for your donors, or you could occasionally invite supporters to a Zoom call where you share updates and answer questions.

The specific method is up to you, and it should be based partly on where your donors actually show up. The important thing is that you choose something sustainable and keep doing it.

Your relationship with donors is part of fundraising even when you’re fully funded.

2. Tell stories instead of only giving updates

Updates are good, but I want you to lean heavily into stories.

A list of everything your ministry accomplished this month gives your donors information. A story allows them to experience what is happening.

Instead of telling them that 50 people attended an event, find one person from that event whose story you can tell. What was happening in that person’s life? What did they experience? What changed? What does their life look like now?

You can tell impact stories about the people your ministry serves, but those aren’t your only option. You can share personal stories about what God is doing in your heart or stories from volunteers and other people involved in the ministry.

You can even tell donor stories. If one of your donors tells you how meaningful it has been to support the ministry, ask if you can share their experience. Those stories can be incredibly powerful because another donor can see themselves in that person’s story.

Stories help your donors connect emotionally with something they may never get to experience in person. For a donor sitting hundreds or thousands of miles away, that matters.

3. Help your donors see where they fit in the story

Your donors shouldn’t feel like they’re sitting in the audience watching you do ministry. They need to understand the part they’re playing in it.

Show them specifically what happened because they gave. Use language like, “Because you gave, this happened,” or “Because you said yes, we were able to do this.” When something worth celebrating happens in the ministry, celebrate it with your donors as something you accomplished together.

I’ve experienced what happens when this piece is missing.

We supported a missionary couple for a while, and honestly, I don’t remember receiving many updates from them. Maybe there were a few, but I couldn’t really tell you what their ministry was doing or what our giving was accomplishing. I didn’t feel like we were making an impact on anyone.

Eventually, they announced that they were leaving the mission field, and that became a very easy opportunity for me to stop giving. There wasn’t a strong relationship there, and I didn’t feel connected to what we had been supporting.

That’s exactly what you don’t want your donors to experience.

You don’t want someone giving every month and eventually feeling like they’re basically sending you money so you can pay your rent, buy groceries, and live your life. There is a much bigger reason behind their giving.

Their support allows you to go and serve. It allows your ministry to reach people, meet needs, disciple someone, provide resources, or do whatever God has called your ministry to do.

Your donors need to see that connection. And because they aren’t there watching it happen every day, it’s your responsibility to show it to them.

Fundraising continues after the support comes in

Getting someone to say yes to giving is the beginning of a donor relationship. Now you have the opportunity to continue investing in that relationship.

Stay in contact with your donors consistently. Tell them stories that help them experience what is happening in the ministry. Keep showing them where they fit and what their giving is helping make possible.

When your donors understand their impact and continue feeling connected to the ministry, you can build strong relationships with people who want to stay with you for the long term.

And if you’re struggling to figure out what to say to donors or how to communicate your ministry in a way that actually connects, that’s exactly what we can work on together in a one-on-one coaching session.

We’ll look at your fundraising message, figure out what’s unclear or missing, and work together to find the words that communicate your ministry clearly and confidently.

Learn more about one-on-one coaching at irisstorytelling.com/coaching.

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