Do you know that feeling? It's time to reach out to a donor for their annual gift, and you realize you haven't spoken in nine months. You feel uncomfortable making an ask without having connected in a long time. You tell yourself you'll reconnect now and make the ask in a month or two. Another part of your brain says, 'He'll see right through this. I might as well just ask now.'
Let's solve this challenge and begin building stronger, more natural connections with our donors.
Before defining donor cultivation, it helps to divide our partners into three groups.
The first group believes in the work we do or feels connected to the mission, but does not attend programs. They may not even be open to frequent interaction throughout the year and are generally comfortable with a once-a-year ask.
The second group is very active. They come to shul, attend classes and programs, send their children to preschool, Hebrew school, or camp, and feel deeply connected. We often feel very close to these donors.
The third group falls somewhere in between. They show up occasionally, are happy to support us, and we feel a moderate level of connection.
The three methods of donor cultivation apply to all three groups. The first two are easier to implement across the board. The third depends more on the type of donor, with the middle group being the easiest, the highly active group requiring intentionality, and the first group being the most challenging. If you consistently apply the first two methods and make your best effort with the third, whatever level of access the donor allows will be sufficient.
So what is donor cultivation? It is simply about connection and about demonstrating that their gift is valued, respected, and making an impact.
There are three methods of cultivation.
Education, keeping partners informed about how their investment is performing.
Passive touch points.
Personal touch points.
Education should include a quarterly impact newsletter, an annual report, and a monthly donor update. The more consistently you communicate impact, the more a donor feels that their investment truly matters.
Passive touch points can often be combined with Mivtzoim. These include Mishloach Manos before Purim, matzah before Pesach, honey cake before Rosh Hashanah, a thoughtful book before Shavuot or the summer, candles before Chanukah, and always a hand-signed thank you letter after a donation. When possible, an occasional handwritten note adds even more meaning.
Personal touch points include Good Shabbos calls, Happy Jewish Birthday phone calls, one-on-one learning, coffee or lunch meetings, and invitations for Friday night Shabbos meals.
Some communication can be automated. Many passive touch points can be scheduled in advance and built into a regular system. For personal touch points, automate birthday and yahrzeit reminders, and keep a rotating list of donors in a simple tool like Google Keep to ensure ongoing personal outreach. Once you complete the list, start again.
Texting, for the most part, does not count as personal. When donors feel genuinely connected, the ask no longer feels awkward. It becomes a natural continuation of a relationship that has been nurtured all year long.