Recurring Giving Reactivation Campaigns

How can you use Dataro's 'RG Reactivation' ranks and scores to reactivate lapsed recurring givers & grow your program?

What is Dataro's RG Reactivation propensity?

Objective: Identify which former but not current recurring donors are most likely to make a successful recurring gift in the next 6 months.

Output: RG Reactivation Rank (Rank 1 = most likely) and RG Reactivation Score (0.5 = 50% likely). 

Model Definition: Donor who has previously made a successful recurring gift but not within the past 6 months makes a successful recurring gift in the next 6 months. 

Overview of the Program

Dataro offers a data-driven approach to reactivation programs for nonprofits, via any channel. By replacing the traditional 'once a year' campaign approach, Dataro enables you to contact donors when they are most likely to reactivate. This approach leads to higher conversion rates, lower costs, and a better return on investment.

Why should I try to reactivate lapsed recurring donors? 

Reactivation for a recurring giving program refers to the process of engaging with lapsed donors who were previously contributing on a regular basis but have stopped their donations. The goal is to rekindle their interest, re-establish a connection, and encourage them to resume their regular giving. Reactivation strategies often involve showing gratitude for past support, sharing impactful stories of the organization's work, reminding donors of their initial motivations for giving, expressing that they are missed, and directly asking for a donation. By effectively reactivating lapsed donors, organizations can benefit from their familiarity with the cause, potentially lower acquisition costs compared to new donors, and the opportunity to rebuild relationships quickly.

Step 1) Decide on your outreach strategy and cadence

Options include calling, email, digital re-engagement, SMS & direct mail. Dataro recommends a multi-channel approach and we’ve found that calling has the best conversion rates, supported by digital channels. 

• Large program: rolling monthly reactivation calling + always on digital journeys
• Small program: quarterly calling + always on digital journeys
• All programs: Meta + Google re-targeting
• Optional: SMS + Direct Mail

Step 2) Determine your campaign size

There are several methods for determining how many donors you should contact, and it will depend on the channel and frequency you've decided on.

For a rolling monthly telemarketing/phone strategy:

Utilize Dataro's RG Reactivation campaign size suggestions, which were designed for this exact campaign type.

• Log into the Dataro app
• Go to Donors & Audiences > Campaign Size Suggestions
• Find the RG Reactivation recommended campaign size
• This is your guideline for how many lapsed recurring donors to call each month

For any other outreach channel or cadence:

There are myriad ways to determine an appropriate campaign size. You can make this determination according to:

• budgeted volume
• pre-planned volume
• team/agency capacity
• target number of conversions and expected conversion rate (goal / conversion rate = campaign size)
  • For example, if your goal is to upgrade 100 monthly donors, and you expect a 10% conversion rate, you'll need to contact 1000 donors.

After the campaign, you can evaluate performance and adjust future quantities as warranted.

Step 3) Make your donor selections

Now that you have decided your outreach channel(s), frequency, and campaign size, you're ready to pull your list of donors.

To select the donors who are most likely to reactivate, you will utilize the Dataro RG Reactivation Rank.  Here's how you'll do it step by step:

1. Log into the Dataro app
2. Go to Donors & Audiences > Audience Builder
3. Click "Filter" in the top right corner
4. Add a filter for:
   1. "RG Reactivation ranking is less than or equal to [insert your planned campaign size]." This will select all the most likely churners.

This is your base list of the recurring givers most likely to reactivate.

 

Naturally, you'll need to apply exclusions next, depending on your outreach channel and strategy. Some standard exclusions for a telemarketing/phone campaigns would be to remove:

• Anyone on a do not call list
• Anyone without a valid phone number
• Anyone who has already received another call in the past 3 months
  • Note: For rolling programs, you will need to keep track of which donors have already received an upgrade call. You can do this by creating separate Audiences each month and then excluding donors who were in those earlier campaigns (e.g. if they were in the March audience, they are excluded from the April audience.)

Click "Save filters." 

Update the columns to include RG Reactivation Rank along with any other helpful attributes, like last recurring gift date and last recurring gift amount.

Click "Save audience" and name it something recognizable.

With this information, create a data brief, so your team can follow a standardized process each month, quarter, or year.

NOTE: If you access Dataro Ranks via your CRM, you will use the Dataro RG Churn Rank field in your CRM and follow the same process as above.

Step 4) Create your content in AI assist

Use Dataro's AI Assist to create a first draft of your reactivation content. Read more about using AI Assist here.

Pro Tip: Use AI Assist Version 1.0 to create a Recurring Donor Reactivation Journey, which can produce content for emails (thank you, ask, reminder), phone call script, voicemail script, and SMS. which can produce content for emails (nurture, beneficiary story, ask) and phone call script. Read more about AI Assist v 1.0 here.

Tips for Reactivating Lapsed Monthly Donors:

1. Express Gratitude: Thank the donor for their past support to show appreciation and value their contributions.
2. Offer Options: Provide multiple ways for the donor to contribute again, such as setting up automatic payments or suggesting donation amounts to make the process easy and flexible.
3. Simplify Donation Process: Ensure that the donation process is hassle-free and straightforward, offering one-time and recurring donation options with various payment methods.
4. Personalize Communication: Tailor your communication to address the reasons why the donor lapsed, offering solutions that cater to their specific needs or concerns.
5. Create Alerts: Set up notifications to alert you when donors become lapsed in the future, allowing for timely follow-ups and re-engagement efforts.

Sample Script for Reactivation Call to a Lapsed Monthly Donor:

• Introduction:
  • "Hi [Donor's Name], this is [Your Name] from [Your Organization]. I wanted to reach out and express our gratitude for your past support."
• Acknowledgment of Lapse:
  • "We noticed that your monthly donations have lapsed, and we understand that life can get busy. We truly appreciate your previous contributions."
• Offer Assistance:
  • "To make it easier for you to continue supporting our cause, we have streamlined our donation process. You can now easily set up automatic monthly donations by visiting [Donation Page Link]."
• Highlight Impact:
  • "Your donations have made a significant difference in our work, and we would love to have you back as a valued supporter. Even small contributions play a crucial role in helping us achieve our mission."
• Closing:
  • "If you have any questions or need assistance with reactivating your monthly donations, feel free to reach out. Your support means a lot to us, and we look forward to welcoming you back as part of our community of donors."

By following these tips and using a personalized script like the one provided above, organizations can effectively reconnect with lapsed monthly donors and encourage them to resume their valuable support.

Analyzing your results

• Click into your saved audience
• Click 'Take Action' -> Open in Campaign Insights or 'View in Fundraising Insights'

How to store call outcome data

• For Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT
• For Salesforce

Make It Multi-Channel

Want to make your campaign multi-channel? Read more about multi-channel options here.