The donor cultivation cycle is a key concept for any nonprofit fundraiser to master. It refers to the rhythm of bringing in a new donor and converting them into a long-term, repeat donor who has a robust relationship with your organization. If you’re unsure where to get started, read on to learn each step of the cycle and how it helps nonprofits. Plus, we include 21 additional donor cultivation resources – absolutely free!
Merriam-Webster defines cultivating as “to foster the growth of.” You can cultivate skills, plants, and…donors! That’s where the donor cultivation cycle comes in.
Donor cultivation is indeed about fostering the growth of your prospective donors by turning them into long-term supporters of your nonprofit. The donor cultivation cycle describes the five steps common to this journey, from planting your donor to watching them bloom!
First, let’s define donor cultivation.
Donor cultivation is the process of building a relationship with a prospective donor to successfully solicit a donation from them.
Cultivation in fundraising can look like many different actions, but it is always active. Things like connecting with your prospective donors to learn more about their interests, educating them about your mission, and inviting them to see your work in action are all excellent cultivation tactics.
Donorbox has powerful donor management tools to help you cultivate your prospects into long-term, valuable donors. With Donorbox, you can –
And more. Cultivation must always be done carefully, so having the right tool is key!
Following the steps of the donor cultivation cycle helps nonprofits create better relationships with their donors. Because a major part of the process is identifying and qualifying prospects, the cycle also helps nonprofits spend their cultivation time more efficiently. The steps promote identifying the right prospects for your organization – because you don’t have time to cultivate everyone!
When done right, donor cultivation ensures you’ll have lasting relationships with the right donors for your organization.
The donor cultivation cycle, which is similar to the donor engagement cycle, starts with identifying a potential donor and ends with caring for your newly established relationship. Here are all five steps to keep in mind.
The first step of the cycle is to find prospective donors – the people in your network who are likely to support your organization.
These prospects can be friends and colleagues of board members, major donors to other institutions in your location or field, long-time volunteers, or others. They can also be one-time donors that you want to cultivate into recurring or major donors.
Check out our blog on types of donors to help with this step!
Pro tip: You can use Donorbox donor management to pull your list of one-time or potential major donors quickly by using the filters to sort your supporters by donation frequency, number of donations, or donation amount. Here’s what it looks like to sort your donor data –
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You’ll need to narrow your list of prospects down so you know who to focus on.
This stage involves researching your prospects to determine the following –
Take your time at this stage as it will help you decide who to cultivate.
Cultivation helps you develop a relationship with your qualified prospects. This step of the donor cultivation cycle involves a lot of communication and connection with things like –
And more. Properly cultivating donors can take time and shouldn’t be rushed.
A great tool to track your cultivation process is Donorbox’s supporter profiles, which help you track all communication with a supporter. Simply record inbound and outbound communications so you know how often you’ve reached out – and so you don’t pester your prospects! Here’s what it looks like –
Donor segmentation also helps significantly with cultivation, which you can do by sorting your donor data.
You have the perfect prospect that you’ve connected with through thoughtful cultivation. Now it’s time to make the ask!
Note that this stage of the donor cultivation cycle may involve some negotiation with your potential donor. If the prospect has been properly cultivated, you should receive a donation. Congratulations!
This step is crucial. You’ve invested time and energy into this donor – now you need to maintain that relationship.
Stewardship involves the following types of actions –
The goal of stewardship is ultimately to receive more donations from this donor in the future, but other perks, like networking and in-kind donations, are also possible.
Now that we know how important it is to properly cultivate donors, let’s look at some entirely free resources to help you do it!
You can find even more resources through our blog, resource library, podcast, Academy, or webinars!
Donorbox’s donor management tools are built to make cultivating donors easier and more effective for your team. Record all prospective donor information like full name, contact information, employer, and birthday, and use this information when reaching out so your donors feel like you know them. Utilize Moments to receive notifications about important dates, like the anniversary of someone’s first donation. Any time you communicate with a prospect, record it in their supporter profile so you know just how much you’ve connected. Use filters to segment your email lists, resulting in more targeted, personalized (and more powerful!) outreach.
Plus, natively integrate with tools like MailChimp and HubSpot, as well as your favorite CRMs like Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT and Salesforce, to streamline your workflow. You can also integrate with over 5,000 apps through Zapier!
Donorbox’s powerful fundraising tools help you keep all your data in one place – seamlessly. With donation forms, fundraising pages, tools to help you expand your network like crowdfunding and peer-to-peer, on-site giving through the Donorbox Live™ Kiosk app, text-to-give functionality, and more, Donorbox has you covered.
Easy and attractive fundraising improves the donor experience and helps you build lasting relationships so donors give again and again. Join the thousands of nonprofits who use Donorbox to rocket-boost their fundraising and master the donor cultivation cycle!
To learn how to get started, check out our step-by-step guide or watch this short video –
Donor cultivation involves building a relationship with a prospective donor that results in a donation for your organization. The donor cultivation cycle includes five key steps – identifying prospects, deciding which prospects to pursue, cultivating those prospects, soliciting a donation, and stewarding that relationship for years to come.
There are a ton of free resources out there to help with every step of the process, and we’ve included 21 here to get you started.
Ultimately, the best way to cultivate donors is to have the right fundraising tools in place. Donorbox donor management and fundraising tools help nonprofits with each of the five steps of the donor cultivation cycle to increase overall contributed income. Using Donorbox, nonprofits increased their donations by upwards of 400%.
Ready to get started? Sign up today and launch your first campaign in minutes!
For more donor engagement and cultivation tips, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter for curated blogs delivered to your inbox every month!
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower