A donor journey maps common donor experiences so you can keep track of where your supporters are along their path toward giving. For example, a journey for new donor acquisition might include someone discovering your nonprofit, you create a donor record for them, and sign them up for a special welcome email series. If they interact with your welcome emails, they’ll move along your journey to the next stage of continued engagement.

With donor journeys, you can use your technology to automate or reduce manual parts of fundraising, and free your time and energy up for more personalized engagement.

Donor journeys also help you know what it feels like to be a giver at your organization. How often do you communicate with your supporters, and what do you say? Do loyal donors get different messages from new donors? Donor journeys help remove ambiguity and ensure no supporter falls through the cracks.

Crafting different donor journeys honors that each of your supporters has a special and unique connection to your mission, but still allows you to track larger donor engagement patterns.

In DonorPerfect, we’ve started with the New Donor Acquisition Journey, the Donor Retention and Upgrade Journey, and the Lapsed Donor Reactivation Journey.

• For those in the New Donor Acquisition Journey, you can send introductory and informative communications to help them learn the basics of your nonprofit.
• For those in the Donor Retention and Upgrade Journey, you can acknowledge and thank their loyal support and trust that they know the basics.
• For those in the Lapsed Donor Reactivation Journey, you can invite them to tell you why they stopped giving, and what it might take to re-ignite their passion for your cause.

No two nonprofits are alike – and no two donors are alike either! The best way to engage with your supporters is to turn to your own data, your community, and your team. Take notes from the expert advice linked above, and add your flavor along the way.

The free guide, The Donor Journey, offers expert advice on how to evaluate and adapt your donor journeys to be as agile as your community requires.

We can help you build donor journeys directly into your system! Learn more about our Professional Services offerings to set you up for donor journey success.

We also offer free guides, webinars, classes, and more to help ensure your success. Our best-in-class training and support teams are ready to help you make the most of your DonorPerfect system, no matter the size of your organization or budget.