Sprout Nonprofit | the podcast for small shop nonprofits · Rachel Bearbower

58 | How to create a new donor welcome series [REPLAY]

·33 min·2 clips

A first donation starts a relationship, and 72% of donors do not give a second gift.

Rachel opens by naming the strain small-shop nonprofit leaders live with every day. She keeps the tone grounded and practical. Donor relationships, she says, can be simplified into acquisition and retention. That framing matters because many teams spend nearly all of their energy chasing the next gift. She points out that keeping a donor costs a lot less than finding a new one. She also notes that retention gets ignored when organizations are stuck in survival mode. From there, she introduces the idea of a donor welcome series as a system, not a one-off thank-you. The first email should acknowledge the gift and welcome the donor into the nonprofit family. She draws a clear line between that email and the standard receipt or quick donor-management-system template. The timing matters, and she recommends sending it within 48 hours. She says that early contact helps create a better first impression. It also builds the donor’s confidence that the gift was the right decision and helps create donor loyalty. She underscores one statistic that drives the point home: 72% of donors do not give a second gift. The second email is designed to spark a two-way conversation. She encourages listeners to ask an open-ended question that invites a reply. Her examples are direct and easy to use: what motivated you to give, how are you connected to the organization, why are you excited about this work, or is there a way the organization can provide value. The third email shifts into sharing what the nonprofit does. Rachel is careful here not to turn it into a self-focused monologue. The series is meant to build trust through clarity and connection. Across the segment, she keeps coming back to the reality of small teams. Her advice is structured, but it never loses the conversational coaching feel that defines the show. The episode closes with the Sprout invitation to keep learning, including a quiz and a curated playlist for listeners who want a next step.

As heard by us

A practical donor retention guide for small nonprofits, centered on a five email welcome sequence.

Rachel treats donor work as two jobs, finding people and keeping them. The retention side gets the stronger case here: keeping a donor costs less than starting over with a new one.

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Why you'd press play

Turn first-time donors into repeat supporters with a welcome series built around trust and retention.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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