Donor Journey: The Yellow-Brick Road you need to follow to "Bring Donors Home"

So, what is the donor journey, and why does it matter? Understanding the donor journey only matters if you want consistent results, with high-dollar gifts, closing most of your donors, and doing it relatively quickly.

The donor journey is the process donors go through when they make a large dollar decision to give to a nonprofit organization.

Some of the top fundraisers regularly align their work with the donor journey. Whether they are aware of the donor journey or unaware, they are routinely aligned with the donor.

Many fundraisers sometimes align with your cultivation with the donor on their journey. How do you know when you are in alignment with the donor?

Well, you know those great donors who regularly call you back, never miss or reschedule a meeting, and always ask, “so what’s the next step?” You know, the donors you say, “I wish all my donors were this way?” Those are likely the donors with whom you are aligning your work.

Unfortunately, many fundraisers do not align their work with the donors, which is a struggle. Donors don’t reply because why would they? You are asking about a proposal they received, and they are still back trying to decide if this is a vision they buy into!

So, let’s dive into it.

The donor journey starts with pain. We have a saying, “no pain, no change.”

The donor must be motivated to part with their hard-earned dollars; pain is a significant motivator. People often say, “I don’t want to bring up painful things with donors.” My reply is that your mission statement is, 99% of the time, a mission of pain (the animals need help, the people are sick, and we need a place to worship).

From pain comes vision, or the answer to the question, “what is the world like without the pain.” We, in fundraising, think that the donor is donating to our organization, but what the donor feels they are doing is buying the vision. They think, “If I invest these dollars, the situation will move from this pain into this vision.” From vision, solutions are identified, which answers the question of “how” we will move from pain to vision.

With solutions come actual costs. We need people, equipment, and buildings; this is where donors focus on costs.

Lastly is risk, or the cold feet phase. You know their risk meter is skyrocketing when you receive a bunch of calls or emails wanting to discuss the minutia of the project. They want to know that “will this work,” and the fundraiser being the calm, reassuring voice on the other end is critical to a successful closing.

For fundraising professionals, understanding the donor journey is vital to consistent, successful, large-dollar fundraising. Philanthropy Systems cultivation and solicitation methodology is based on the fundraiser guiding the donor down the donor journey, resulting in high gifts, more significant impact, higher conversion rates, shorter cycle times, more fulfilled donors, and more fulfilling careers. If you, as a fundraiser, want to have more developed relationships with your donors, guide them through this journey.