Members are great; turning them into donors is even better

At the risk of insulting your intelligence—because you probably already know this—but if you’re looking for donors—and of course you are—the people most likely to donate to your nonprofit are your members.

It’s easy to understand why: They value your institution (that’s why they’re members).

Although you’re not privy to their economic circumstances, you know they’re willing to pay for something if they think it’s valuable and important. Yet, that doesn’t mean you should assume they’re the philanthropic type. For example, a family membership for a zoo probably makes economic sense if you have children who love visiting it regularly, but it doesn’t necessarily mean said family will make an additional donation.

Challenges

Although your members are the people most likely to donate, motivating them to do that requires more effort than merely making an appeal. In fact, sometimes members already think of themselves as donors. Consider it from their point of view. They fork over their hard-earned money to your institution. When it’s time to pay bills, membership dues can easily get grouped in with bills they must pay. Sometimes people forget about the benefits they get in return for their membership.

Okay, yada-yada, you may be thinking—how do I turn members into donors? Well, here are four ways:

Tell your story

Don’t assume your members know about all your programs. Some members view your institution as just another place to take the kids to have fun. What they may not know is a percentage of their membership fees help fund important programs.

For example, let’s say a museum runs a botanical conservation program in the rainforests of Borneo. It’s incumbent on the museum to tell its members about the program and the important work it does. Moreover, members need to know that were it not for people like them, the museum wouldn’t be able to run the program. You can tell them your story in campaign mailings, on your website, through social media and even on signage at your institution.

Listen

Do everything you can to learn about your members. What exhibits do they like the most? What events do they attend? Do their children participate in educational activities run by your organization? Later, use that information to tailor donation requests to their interests.

Segment

You can also use this information to segment your members into groups. Do they come exclusively to family-friendly events? If so, include them on a campaign for your educational programming. Do they come to adult events in the evening? Invite them to your annual gala. If you send them appeals to all of your campaigns, you will overwhelm them. Only include them in campaigns that speak to their specific interests. In this way, you’ll also strengthen your relationship and make it more likely they’ll become donors.

Thank and reinforce

Assuming you’ve converted some of your members into donors, remember to thank them—but you already knew that. Still, the “thank you” provides another chance to reinforce your organization’s story and remind them that their gift made a huge difference. It’s a great opportunity to give them the details of what their gift helped your organization accomplish.

Tailor these tactics to work for your particular nonprofit. Maintain the momentum, and you’ll convert members to donors—and maybe even repeat donors.