Donor Cultivation: 5 Strategies to Build Relationships

When you think about the donor journey, you realize that there is a lot of real estate between a prospective donor learning about your nonprofit and clicking the "Donate" button on your website.

Which raises this question: What is your organization doing to cultivate and nurture these donors? Without a plan, you risk losing these valuable donors — especially those who might become major donors.

In this guide, we will examine what donor cultivation is and its importance, and then outline five proven strategies.

What is Donor Cultivation?

Donor cultivation is the process of building and nurturing relationships with donors and prospective donors. It usually involves meaningful, personalized communication, engagement, and stewardship.

It goes beyond asking for a financial gift; in fact, it's about what happens leading up to the ask. It's understanding a donor's values, connecting them to your mission, and offering opportunities for them to engage with your organization outside of a donation.

Strong donor cultivation inspires gifts of time and treasure, and also lays the foundation for long-term loyalty and deeper engagement.

The Donor Cultivation Cycle

The donor cultivation cycle is part of your fundraising strategy. It refers to an intentional process nonprofits use to guide supporters from awareness to a long-term partnership.

There are four distinct phases of the cycle:

• Identification:  Potential donors are recognized because of a connection to your mission. Perhaps they visited your website or attended an event.
• Engagement and cultivation: From there, nonprofits focus on creating touchpoints that make the donor feel seen and appreciated. This could be an invitation to an event or highly personalized communications.
• Solicitation: Once the relationship is established, the nonprofit can make a thoughtful and timely ask for a donation. This can be part of a campaign or even a phone call, tying the donor's interest in the mission to the impact of a gift.
• Stewardship: This is almost the most essential step! You acknowledge their generosity, report on how their donation has helped your mission, and continue to nurture the relationship. You can use your nonprofit CRM to automate personalized emails, ensuring consistent and ongoing communication.

Stewardship flows right back to engagement and cultivation, creating a cycle that emphasizes an ongoing connection rather than a one-time transaction. When well executed, this cycle builds lasting donor loyalty.

5 Top Donor Cultivation Strategies

How you engage and recognize your donors can directly affect how often and much they’ll give as well as their overall relationship with your mission. Donor cultivation is about building authentic, lasting relationships rather than securing one-time gifts.

Here are five strategies you can implement to deepen those relationships, increase retention rates, and inspire greater generosity over time:

1. Ensure your mission is clear.

Donors want to know what they're supporting. Make sure your mission is front and center everywhere - on your website, social media, even emails and fundraising appeals. 

Reinforce the connection between a donation and your nonprofit's impact so supporters are reminded of the power of their gifts.

Here are some other examples of how you can emphasize your mission:

• Reiterate the mission in social media posts with photos of the community you’ve helped.
• Display your mission statement proudly on your website and in your social media bios.
• Remind recipients in direct fundraising appeals of how exactly their gift will affect your mission.
• Incorporate your mission statement into your nonprofit logo and use it to brand all of your content.

When your mission is clearly stated, your donors are consistently reminded of it and can visualize how their support can make a difference.  

2. Celebrate successes and milestones.

Cultivating is about more than asking. It's also about sharing! When your nonprofit reaches a goal, completes a campaign, or achieves a milestone, let your donors know. Share stories, photos, and videos that show the impact of donations.

For example,  let’s say your organization has been aiming to feed 1,000 families in a month during an ongoing online fundraising campaign. Once this metric is met, you might:

• Send an email announcement to everyone who contributed to the campaign.
• Post on social media to celebrate your successes.
• Create a video or photo montage of the specific actions you’ve taken or the community members you’ve helped.

This way, your supporters see themselves as partners in your success. 

3. Show plenty of appreciation. 

A sincere, well-timed thank-you goes a long way. Ensure your communications are personalized with the donor's name, gift amount, or specific impact.

Including a thank-you as a regular part of your donor engagement strategy will go a long way, especially if you want to further develop those relationships. According to Eleven Fifty Seven, “When you understand how to thank donors in a meaningful, intentional way, you will be able to form stronger ties with supporters and better pursue your mission over time.”

This means going beyond just a general email and looking for ways to reach out in an engaging, personalized way. Mix up your recognition methods! Emails, handwritten notes, phone calls, and invitations to donor appreciation events can all make donors feel valued.

4. Reach out to them for feedback.

Donor cultivation is a two-way street! Ask your donors how they want to be contacted, what events interest them, or even what inspires them to give. Demonstrating that you value their opinions strengthens your relationships and helps you refine your engagement strategies.

You can send an email or even a survey from your nonprofit CRM. Your team can also pick up the phone and call a handful of donors a day, asking for their preferences and thoughts.

When donors see you're listening, they'll feel a deeper sense of belonging and engagement with your mission. And you get valuable information to shape future strategies and campaigns, whether that's tailoring your messaging, designing events people want to attend, or identifying aspects of your work that spark passion.

Closing the loop is critical: implement their suggestions! 

5. Create opportunities for deeper engagement. 

Donors want to be part of your nonprofit family! Invite them to events or ask them to volunteer. Offer behind-the-scenes access or invite them to participate in advocacy efforts.

As your relationship grows, thoughtful invitations for increased engagement become meaningful and are effective. 

Here are a few more strategies you can try:

• Create a donor recognition wall. This is a permanent display that thanks and celebrates an organization’s supporters. If you’re building one for an existing campaign,  consider expanding it or designing it in a way that you'll have room to showcase and call out your donors. 
• Send physical mail or make a phone call. If you want to take a donor’s relationship to the next level, going past online engagements is a great next step. Consider writing a handwritten note or making a phone call the next time you want to show your appreciation or invite them to an event. 
• Send a direct fundraising ask (when the time is right). If you want to increase gift sizes, consider sending a direct fundraising ask with a gift amount slightly higher than their previous donations. Make sure to reiterate their previous impact and then clearly explain what an additional gift may bring. 
• Be very specific with impact. Being really specific about the impact of previous support is crucial. This is the best way you’re going to show donors that they’re integral to your mission and that increased involvement will make a huge difference.

Ready to Implement Your Donor Cultivation Plan?

Donor cultivation is never a one-time task—it’s an ongoing, intentional process that helps turn casual supporters into lifelong partners.

By making your mission clear, celebrating successes, showing authentic appreciation, inviting feedback, and creating meaningful ways for donors to get more involved, you demonstrate that they are at the heart of your mission.

And a well-thought-out plan using some of the recommended strategies is the fastest way to prioritize donor cultivation. When this happens, donors don't just give! They stay, engage, and grow with your nonprofit, ensuring stability and success.