Many organizations struggle with attaining growth in their revenue, especially when the economy lags and the needs of their programs are increasing. One way to address the need for revenue growth is through building your donor base.

First, though, what do I mean by “building your donor base”? There are at least two possible answers: 1) increasing the number of donors to your organization; and 2) increasing the support from your existing donors. I maintain that you need to do both, but for mature organizations, it’s likely that increasing the support from your existing donors should be a higher priority.

Young organizations or organizations that have not depended much on fund raising revenue often do need to increase the number of donors to their organization. They are at the beginning of the fund raising maturation curve, and attracting masses of donors at modest giving levels is usually a good thing – 200+ donors giving $50 or more annually, for instance. Over time, some number of those – perhaps 5 or even 10% — can become major donors to your organization, giving $1000 or more per year. Organizations can and should strategically add donor prospects with the capacity to give major gifts even when the group is very young. But building your organization’s donor base tends to be a numbers game early in the life of your nonprofit. This is where mass mailings, social networking, and fund raising events are often utilized.

But let’s return to the second meaning of “building your donor base” – increasing the support from your existing donors, or as I like to call it, “loving those who already love you.” How can it be done? Here are a few ideas to engage your current donors more deeply and stimulate more giving (and to some degree, they can also be used to attract new donors):

Be sure that you are engaging your donors and donor prospects with your mission. Find ways to let them observe your programs in action, if possible, or even participate in some way as an occasional volunteer. When you engage these prospects, be sure they are part of a small group of people, not a large one. You want to ensure that their time is meaningfully spent and they can express their reactions to the experience.

Hold prospecting sessions with your Board and former Board members to discuss lists of current donors to your organization and identify those who could give more than they have been giving. Also ask for the names of people who are not yet donors but should be, given their interest in what your organization does. Then ask for the names of others who might be good prospectors, and hold prospecting sessions with them. Gradually widen the circle of those helping you identify others who can give more or give at all.

Develop a first draft “case statement for support” for your organization – a sort of marketing prospectus 4 – 8 pages long – that lays out the reasons your organization exists and the difference you make in the world. It then describes the vision of your leadership for the next 1 – 5 years and beyond (if possible) and delineates the needs for general and specific funding. Hold small meetings with donors and donor prospects to discuss this draft document and ask them to react to the case statement and suggest improvements. Follow-up conversations with individuals who attended these meetings can be very productive.

The ideas I’ve outlined above take time and effort, as all worthwhile projects do. You might consider whether certain volunteer leaders can work closely with staff to make one or more of the above ideas come to fruition. Involving your Board or other leadership groups in such work is a double win – they become more committed and more engaged, themselves!

Above is only a sampling of ideas to build your donor base. Other great ideas will be specific to the opportunities your group faces. Go wild!