5 Tips for Creating a Nonprofit Donor Communications Plan

by Sierra Catcott, Marketing Director, CGC

The 2024 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report revealed that many nonprofits are currently updating their communications strategies. According to the report:

36% of nonprofits said they updated word choices or language to better describe their work or programs in 2023 and another 39% said they plan to in 2024.
Almost 30% changed their email newsletter template significantly in 2023 and 31% expect to do so this year.
26% did a significant website redesign last year and 38% plan on doing so in 2024.

Why this is important: If your nonprofit wants to make similar changes to your communications strategy to keep up with the evolving communications space, you’ve come to the right place! This guide explores tips for creating a strong nonprofit donor communications plan to serve as a foundation for your outreach and stewardship efforts. These tips will help you approach communications updates strategically, with a solid plan designed to be effective no matter what communication platforms and methods are trending.

1. Set communication goals.

The foundation of your communications plan is the specific, measurable goals you set. Base your goals on relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) for the most popular nonprofit communications platforms, including email, your website, and social media.

Here are examples of different types of metrics you can track on these platforms:

Communications platform	Metrics to track
Email	-Total subscribers and new subscribers -Open rate -Clickthrough rate (the number of recipients who complete a next action from your email) -Response rate
Website	-Time on page -Conversion rate (the amount of users who complete a next action from visiting your site) -Bounce rate (the amount of users who leave the site immediately after entering) -Unique visitors
Social media	-Social media followers -Social media engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) -Share of voice (how often your nonprofit is organically discussed across social media as compared to your competitors) -Impressions (the number of times content is displayed)

For example, you may aim to create a comprehensive communications plan that increases email subscribers, widens your social media share of voice, and boosts your website’s donation conversion rate. Set specific goals, such as increasing your subscriber list by 1,000 subscribers over six months. This will give your communications team practical targets to work toward.

Use your nonprofit’s software solutions, including your email and social media marketing platforms and website analytics solutions, to understand your current metrics performance. Set up recurring reports and regular meetings with your communications team to check in on progress made toward your goals.

2. Develop your messaging.

Before getting down to the nitty-gritty details of your communications plan, you should understand the message you want to communicate to your audience. Your message should be based on your nonprofit’s values and mission.

Think through the following aspects of your messaging strategy:

Brand guidelines. What colors, typography, and logo design will you use to communicate your nonprofit message? Create or update your nonprofit’s style guide to ensure it clearly specifies how your brand elements should be used across your communications.
Tone. How you speak to your audience can significantly impact their perception of your nonprofit’s effectiveness and productivity. Determine the tone of your message, whether friendly, educational, upbeat, or inclusive.
Calls to action. How will you invite your audience to join your nonprofit’s mission? For example, you could include calls to action such as donating, registering to volunteer, becoming a peer-to-peer fundraiser, or planning a fundraising event.

Your communications team members can return to your core messaging any time they feel uncertain about how to approach an interaction with a donor and adapt your messaging depending on who they’re speaking to.

For example, they might offer different calls to action depending on each prospective donor’s level of engagement with your marketing campaigns. They could invite a highly engaged prospect to become a monthly donor while emphasizing non-donation opportunities like volunteering to a prospect who isn’t ready to give yet.

3. Gather supplementary marketing materials.

The success of your communications relies on more than just the words you say to your audience. You need additional marketing materials to bring your message to life.

Create a media library using a shared drive or your nonprofit’s website content management system (CMS). Include supplemental multimedia materials such as:

Beneficiary testimonials and quotes
Photos
Videos
Infographics
Audio/podcast clips

Adapt this collateral to each marketing platform to maximize engagement. For example, let’s say you’re planning a text-to-give campaign. Bloomerang’s text-to-donate guide recommends designing a simple mobile donation page to simplify the giving process. Include just one hero image on the page and ensure your text and buttons are large enough to be read and touched on a mobile screen.

4. Segment your donors.

Donor segmentation is the process of grouping supporters based on shared traits or preferences. One of the most common ways to group donors is through RFM segmentation. RFM stands for:

Recency: New donors vs. long-time donors
Frequency: Frequent, occasional, one-time, and lapsed donors
Monetary value: Small, mid-level, and major donors

You can also create donor segments based on:

Reasons for giving: Personal connection to your mission, giving to support a loved one, or personal values
Additional ways donors are involved: Volunteering, peer-to-peer fundraising, or event attendance
Preferred communication platform: Email, direct mail, phone calls, text, social media, or in-person communication
Donation type: Online gift, mail-in donation, or in-person gift

Use your segments to personalize your message for each audience. For example, donors who also volunteer would be interested in content about how their gifts keep your volunteer program in motion. New donors would benefit from background information about your nonprofit’s history and mission, while long-time donors would be better served by updates about the impact of their donations.

5. Define your communications cadence.

A communications cadence unites all elements of your communications strategy—your goals, messaging, supplemental materials, and donor segments—into a step-by-step game plan for engaging different donor groups.

Each donor group has unique communications preferences and needs. Therefore, your communications cadence should assign different types of communications and outreach frequencies to different audiences.

For example, take a look at this example of an email communications cadence for new, long-time, and lapsed donor segments:

Donor segment	Type of messaging	Timespan	Content
New donors	Welcome series	Three weeks, at the rate of two emails per week	Introduce new donors to your nonprofit’s mission, explain the impact of their gifts, and highlight ways they can continue supporting your cause.
Long-time, recurring donors	Impact series	Year-round, at the rate of two emails per month	Share data and beneficiary testimonials showcasing the positive impact of donations. Include gratitude messages from beneficiaries, staff members, board members, and volunteers.
Lapsed donors	Reengagement series	One month, at the rate of one email per week	Send a feedback survey, updates about your nonprofit’s current activities, and invitations to get involved with non-donation opportunities. If lapsed donors are receptive to your outreach, you can also send an additional donation request and a link to your online giving page.

Once you’ve rolled out these cadences, track engagement metrics to determine how effectively you’re reaching donors with your mission. Some nonprofit CRMs offer interaction timelines where you can note every time a donor engages with your communications. Using this feature, you can track every touchpoint you have with donors to build on previous interactions and determine which communications they respond best to.

Meet regularly with your communications team to share wins and best practices. Celebrate and build on your successes by emphasizing your most effective communication strategies and platforms. This will allow you to leverage your communications as a crucial donor engagement and retention tool.