------------ [ask]
Are "lapsed" donors worth the effort?
[ ] No
[ ] Yes
[ ] That depends
------
Answer: That depends
Notes and assumptions....
A straight-A student of Ahern Academy wrote: "Tom, could you recommend a book on reclaiming lapsed donors? How about a nice e-clinic? Please? Pretty please? PLEASE?!!!"
You hear the desperation. Her case is special, though. She works for a faith-based charity. Many of her natural constituency are inconstant (fickle). Sometimes they give. Sometimes they don't. Yes, they are permanently linked to the faith tradition through ancestry. But they have other things on their minds these days. Ancestry isn't everything.
"An entire book?" I replied.
Continuing: "[Canadian] Alan Sharpe's MAIL SUPERIORITY how-to book[1] has one part devoted to renewals, which covers what you're calling 'lapsed.'
"'Lapsed' is a data geek's and technocrat's term for at least two very different types of behavior: people who give to you just once (70-80% of your first-timers) — as well as people who've given to you 10 years straight and then quit for some unknown reason. ('911. What's your emergency?')
"The 70-80% you lose in year one? That's the charity's fault: poor cultivation. You might win them back, but you'll need large numbers of them probably to make it pay.
"The others you can think of as former friends or lovers … and will you ever see them again? Well, I don't know. That will be SOME letter. Love to see you — or someone — write it."
[1] Forgive the clumsy, punning title. Alan is a deeply seasoned veteran.