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Description
SOS Children’s Villages Romania mission is to ensure that no child grows up alone. For this, we depend on support from generous and committed donors and companies. The Covid-19 pandemic made even harder to gain new donor’s support as important fundraising activities were suspended (Face2Face), and the economic crisis dropped revenues from corporate sponsorships. All these, concurring with high donor attrition rates, especially in the first year (50% in the digital channel), indicated it is crucial to allocate resources for strengthening relationships with existing donors and developing their value over time.
The overall project objective is to improve financial sustainability and increase donor retention by: building internal capacity (additional member in the team), developing in-house telemarketing activities and investing in research to understand donors’ need. Through a donor-centered and data driven approach we aim at developing long-lasting donor relationships.
We expect to have an improved fundraising efficiency and return on investment; financial growth by „saving” donors and increasing donations value; increased donor trust, commitment and satisfaction.
The lack of staff and internal resources are now the major challenges we face in order to create a comprehensive retention program. The existing team in place is motivated but lacks the time and funds to develop further these activities. Therefore, investment in the team is highly needed. Our previous experience confirmed that building a skilled fundraising team is more effective and cost-efficient than contracting external services.
The partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Norway is bringing important value as it facilitates knowledge transfer and best practice sharing from an organization with long-term experience and expertise in donor retention. We aim to cascade this know-how and the learnings of the project at sector level, though online events and learning tools for fundraising professionals.
Summary of project results
Through the project implemented by SOS Children’s Villages Romania, the aim was to develop internal capacity for nurturing donor relationships, with objectives focused on increasing donor loyalty and retention as well as maximizing individual donation revenues.
The direct beneficiaries were 439 donors with whom bidirectional communication was established, and 332 of these donors participated in the Net Promoter Score (NPS) evaluation, which recorded a score of 8.4. This evaluation provides a foundation for improving communication and increasing donor loyalty.
The goal of enhancing the association’s fundraising capacity was achieved through telemarketing activities and constant communication. A significant outcome was the 10% increase in donor retention rates, achieved by strengthening relationships through listening to feedback, maintaining transparency, and valuing donors'' contributions to the SOS cause.
The partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Norway proved extremely valuable, offering advanced expertise in telemarketing campaigns and activities aimed at increasing donor loyalty. Additionally, insights were shared on performance indicators within the donor journey. The knowledge exchange conducted in Oslo benefited both parties, enabling the accumulation of expertise in donor profiling, Donor Care, and loyalty, which were subsequently leveraged by SOS Children’s Villages Romania.
A significant outcome was the 10% increase in donor retention rates, achieved by strengthening relationships through listening to feedback, maintaining transparency, and valuing donors'' contributions to the SOS cause. Another important outcome was the transfer of knowledge regarding donor retention, acquired through the partnership with SOS Norway and the project activities, to 48 organizations within the non-profit sector.
Summary of bilateral results
The partnership with SOS Children’s Villages Norway proved extremely valuable, offering advanced expertise in telemarketing campaigns and activities aimed at increasing donor loyalty. Additionally, insights were shared on performance indicators within the donor journey. The knowledge exchange conducted in Oslo benefited both parties, enabling the accumulation of expertise in donor profiling, Donor Care, and loyalty, which were subsequently leveraged by SOS Children’s Villages Romania.