Nonprofit Lowdown #358: Donor Retention with Erika Carley

Host: Rhea Wong
Guest: Erika Carley, Chief Impact Officer, National Angels
Date: October 6, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Rhea Wong sits down with Erika Carley, Chief Impact Officer of National Angels, to dive deep into the critical topic of donor retention in the nonprofit sector. Together, they break down why retention (not just acquisition) is the lifeblood of fundraising success, practical strategies to boost donor loyalty, and how meaningful stewardship can turn first-time givers into lifelong supporters. Erika shares both data-driven insights and actionable tips, grounded in her hands-on experience leading fundraising at scale, with real stories and a focus on building genuine, lasting relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Erika’s Path to Nonprofit Work

• Background in Film to Nonprofits: Erika describes starting in film production, transferring those “storytelling, creative, relationship-building” skills to the nonprofit world.

  “The skills I developed in production were so well suited for fundraising... the mission, the stories that are developing and possible in the community you're serving because of the work. It unites you.” — Erika [02:12]

Acquisition vs. Retention: Changing the Fundraising Mindset

• Retention Over Acquisition
  • Erika and Rhea both stress the real, often-overlooked value of donor retention versus the constant scramble for new donors.
  • Erika reframes retention: it’s about cultivating “a deep sense of belonging” for donors—people stay and increase giving as they identify with your mission.

  “When people feel like they belong, they stay, they give, and they grow with you.” — Erika [03:50]

• Maya Angelou's Insight
  • Referenced to ground fundraising in emotion and experience:

  “People will forget what you said... but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou, cited by Erika [05:20]

• Unreasonable Hospitality:
  • Inspired by Will Guidara’s philosophy (and book), Erika’s team gifts every new member a copy, making hospitality organizational culture—across donors, staff, and service recipients.

Numbers That Matter in Donor Retention

• National Donor Retention Rates are Dismal:
  • Citing rates as low as 18% nationally—“makes me just want to cry” — Rhea [06:19].
• The “Golden Donation”: The Second Gift
  • Erika emphasizes the second donation as the true measure of a donor. It's crucial to create a plan and pursuit for that next gift.

  “If you can acquire that second donation, you've got something going for you... The percentage of ongoing giving skyrockets.” — Erika [06:43]

• Persistence Pays Off
  • Even if a donor misses a year or two, Erika suggests continuing efforts to re-engage them, never writing someone off after a single lapse.

First-Time Donor Experience: Making It Special

• Handwritten Cards & Meaningful Touches
  • Every first-time giver receives a handwritten note (or a personal call or text if no address is available).
  • Recurring donors get added “swag”—like stickers or an angel-wing charm, building emotional connection.

  “A donor came up to me... and she said, ‘Erika, I get your emails every single month. I got your handwritten card. It meant so much...’” — Erika [10:40]

• Persistent Stewardship Matters
  • Donors often don’t respond to every communication, but it still lands. In-person feedback at events often reveals notes were deeply appreciated, even if recipients were silent before.

Addressing Time & Capacity Concerns—Prioritizing Stewardship

• Making Time for Donor Connections
  • Erika insists even busy leaders can and must integrate stewardship—handwritten notes, calls—into their weekly schedule, suggesting:
    • Block 20 minutes per week.
    • Engage staff & board members.
    • Don’t go it alone; make it a team or even board exercise.

  “You gotta make time... you will see the benefit when it comes to the retention of your donors, but you will see a shift in how you're feeling throughout the day.” — Erika [11:47]

• Customization and Context
  • Build a stewardship plan that aligns with staff bandwidth, assigning roles, and remaining agile for special one-off opportunities that will delight donors.

Automating—but Personalizing—Stewardship

• Recurring Donation Receipts as Storytelling
  • Erika recommends editing monthly system receipts to include impact stories, making them feel less like receipts and more like “gratitude updates.”

  “It doesn’t even look like a receipt... It is a story that they have made possible... I get responses to those emails frequently.” — Erika [16:07]

Quality over Quantity: What Good Stewardship Really Means

• Beyond the Tax Receipt
  • Rhea calls out the “bare minimum” approach, stating the thank-you letter/tax receipt doesn’t count as a stewardship touch.
• Answering Donor Questions Before They’re Asked
  • Every communication should answer:
    1. What did you do with my money?
    2. Am I better off giving to someone else?
    3. How do you make me feel about my gift?
• Multi-Channel, Real Storytelling
  • Erika champions multiple touchpoints: cards, voice memos, texts, emails.

  “Voice memos... text messages... are cutting through the noise that is oftentimes in our inboxes.” — Erika [19:05]

  • Real impact stories (from program staff) are shaped into stewardship messages, sent before any additional ask.

Recognizing (and Saving) At-Risk Donors

• Spotting Early Warning Signs

  • Erika tracks failed payments, lost recurring gifts, and unsubscribes. Being proactive—“intervening right away with radical hospitality”—can save retainable donors.

  “If we do not intervene right then with radical hospitality, we can lose them.” — Erika [23:11]

• Accountability in Lapsed Donors

  • Instead of letting a lapsed donor go, reach out with radical ownership—ask what could be improved, and always seek feedback, especially during direct interactions.

  “It’s so important to take accountability versus kind of ghost the situation yourself... practice curiosity.” — Erika [23:53]

• Systematic Alerts

  • Build CRM automations/workflows that alert staff to lapsed or unsubscribed donors, ensuring “human follow-up” with a personal touch (even a closure thank-you note).

Internal Team Practices: Data-Driven Donor Management

• Weekly and Monthly Team Rituals

  • Weekly “Stand-ups” and Deep Dives: Erika meets every Monday with the CEO and CFO (2 hours!) to align on financials, donor tracking, and major projections:
    • “We are looking at the micro... line by line...” — Erika [28:25]
  • Development Team Huddles: Weekly hour-long meetings with key development staff to strategize on stewardship, prospecting, and retention.
  • One-on-one Development Support: Frequent check-ins to break barriers and equip staff for optimal stewardship.

• Scoreboard Mentality

  • Team aligns fundraising activity to current numbers—much like tracking a game—leaving no room for “magical thinking” about last-minute windfalls.

  “You have to know the score, otherwise you don't know what you should be doing.” — Rhea [31:10]

Growing Donors: Retention as the Pipeline for Major and Planned Gifts

• Recurring Donors as Major Gift Prospects
  • Erika highlights “tiered, multi-year” giving models, encouraging recurring donors to upgrade through structured programs (e.g., becoming ‘founding members’ of higher levels of giving).

  “Your recurring donors are one of the most natural pipelines into your major gift program.” — Erika [32:03]

• Donor Identity and Belonging
  • Special identities—founding member, belonging to a family—are powerful motivators for sustained and increased giving.
• Don’t Overlook Mid-Tier Gifts
  • Rhea advises creating strong mid-tier pathways, not just jumping straight from small recurring gifts to large asks.

  “You can't just go from $100 a month to now we're going to ask for $100,000... think about your mid-tier program before you jump...” — Rhea [34:37]

Humanizing Stewardship—and Making It Generational

• Think of Donors as Family
  • Rhea’s rule of thumb: “If this were your grandmother, how would you want them to experience your stewardship?”
• Generational Giving
  • Erika shares how she engaged her young kids by letting them select causes for recurring gifts—helping to instill giving values from a young age, and showing how personal touches (like for her daughter “Scout”) can create new lines of engagement.

  “The hope is that they'll be stewarded and we can then share those messages with the kids.” — Erika [39:03]

• Making Stewardship Fun and Sticky
  • From whale adoption kits to creative and personalized donor engagement, the episode ends on the challenge to make giving “fun, creative, and sticky” so that donors feel true belonging.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|--------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:50 | Erika | “When people feel like they belong, they stay, they give, and they grow with you.” | | 05:20 | Erika | “People will forget what you said... but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (M. Angelou) | | 06:43 | Erika | “If you can acquire that second donation, you've got something going for you... ongoing giving skyrockets.” | | 10:40 | Erika | “A donor came up to me...‘Erika, I get your emails every single month. I got your handwritten card...’” | | 11:47 | Erika | “You gotta make time. ...It will pay in dividends.” | | 19:05 | Erika | “Voice memos... text messages... are cutting through the noise that is oftentimes in our inboxes.” | | 32:03 | Erika | “Your recurring donors are one of the most natural pipelines into your major gift program.” | | 38:26 | Rhea | “If this were your grandmother, how would you want them to behave? ... Just think that everyone is your grandmother.” |

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:12] Erika’s journey into nonprofits and fundraising philosophy
• [03:50] Why donor retention trumps acquisition—sense of belonging
• [06:43] The critical “second donation” and practical retention numbers
• [08:35] Making the first donor experience exceptional
• [11:47] Addressing time constraints and prioritizing stewardship
• [16:07] Automating personalized stewardship through receipts
• [19:05] Multi-channel, high-quality stewardship touch points
• [23:11] Spotting and saving lapsed donors
• [28:25] Erika’s weekly and monthly meetings for data-driven fundraising
• [32:03] Recurring donors as the path to major and planned gifts
• [38:26] The grandma rule: truly human-centered stewardship
• [39:03] Generational and creative giving: involving families and new generations

Tone and Style

The episode is lively, rooted in warmth and real-world wisdom. Rhea and Erika talk as peers, inviting listeners to “die on the hill” for donor retention, get personal, and champion genuine connections—while never losing sight of numbers and goals. Their humor and candor make technical fundraising strategies feel like an achievable, human craft.

Actionable Takeaways

• Make the second donation your focus; first-time gifts are just the beginning.
• Handwritten notes and personal touches are irreplaceable for real stewardship.
• Block time weekly for donor communication; make stewardship a team priority.
• Systematically monitor early warning signs of donor lapse and respond quickly and personally.
• Regularly review retention metrics at both leadership and team levels.
• Structure your giving pipeline—don’t skip mid-tier donors.
• Foster emotional connections at every level—appeal to donors as you would family.
• Make giving fun and immersive—consider creative add-ons like adoptions and personalized stories.

Closing Thought

Rhea and Erika challenge nonprofits to re-think stewardship as radical hospitality, rooted in identity, community, and belonging. The invitation is clear: treat every donor with the same care you’d offer a beloved family member, and your retention will soar.