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From Technology to Mission Impact: A Virtuous Cycle

Sep 9, 2021

Trust us, it’s not so cute when you’re ghosting your supporters.

Most likely, you’ve heard of “ghosting” – that thing that happens when someone you are interested in abruptly stops communicating with you. With no explanation, you hear nothing at all and whoosh – they’ve vanished.

When this happens socially, it’s hurtful. But when supporters of your mission get ghosted, it’s unimaginable. After all, your supporters felt your organization was important enough to get involved. Now they’re left scratching their heads, trying to understand why they don’t hear from you. Didn’t you appreciate their donation or their time volunteering?

Did you know, 56% of North American donors say they are most likely to give repeatedly to an organization if they receive regular communication about the work the organization is doing and the impact that their donation is making?

Yes, ghosting is probably more common in dating scenarios, but it has also spilled over in the nonprofit industry. Of course, it’s not intentional, but it happens. And when it does, it hurts.

So how does this happen?

You’ve done everything you can to get the attention of donors and drive them to donate, so why did your organization go radio silent? Usually, it boils down to:

  • Limited budgets or resources
  • Lack of access to current or clean data
  • Inefficient processes
  • And silos of critical information

When your donor data scatters across the organization, information is inevitably going to get lost, and some supporters will fall into oblivion. But if you continue to ignore, overlook, or ghost supporters and their experience (accidental or not), you’re risking your organization’s reputation and possibly losing supporters for good.

Here’s the thing – it’s hard to build solid relationships with your donors and scale your mission without trust in your donor data.

Ask yourself:

  • Are you confident that none of your supporters are falling through the cracks?
  • What about those volunteer spreadsheets living throughout your organization?
  • What about the event attendee list, who is appropriately entering those contacts?

The bottom line is, if you aren’t 100% confident in your donor data, you’re most likely ghosting supporters without realizing it.

An Abila Donor Engagement Study found that 21% of donors say they were never thanked for their gift. Ouch! Could you imagine? I don’t know about you, but if someone pulled the disappearing act after I donated, I’d think long and hard before giving to them again.

Your relationships are at the heart of your mission. Make sure you aren’t knowingly or unknowingly ghosting any of your supporters. Ask us how data health and integration can help make sure your supporters aren’t falling through the cracks.

 

 

In case you missed it, check out these other resources.

Stu Manewith, CFRE
Stu Manewith, CFRE joined Omatic Software six years ago and serves as the company’s Director of Thought Leadership and Advocacy. In that role, he is Omatic’s nonprofit sector domain specialist and subject-matter expert and is responsible for actively promoting and demonstrating Omatic’s position as the nonprofit industry’s leading partner in the areas of data health and integration. Prior to Omatic, Stu spent 13 years at Blackbaud, working with Raiser’s Edge, Financial Edge, and Blackbaud CRM client organizations as a consultant, solution architect, and practice manager. Previously, Stu spent the first half of his career as a nonprofit executive, fundraiser, and finance director, working in both the healthcare and arts/cultural arenas of the nonprofit sector. He holds business degrees from Washington University and the University of Wisconsin, and he earned his CFRE credential in 1999.

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