Nonprofit Lowdown #361: Plugging Donor Leaks Before Year-End

Host: Rhea Wong
Date: October 27, 2025

Episode Overview

In this solo episode, Rhea Wong dives into the critical topic of identifying and fixing “donor leaks” in nonprofit fundraising pipelines ahead of the year-end giving rush. She emphasizes that the fourth quarter is “the Super Bowl of fundraising,” urging listeners to prioritize plugging the holes in their donor funnel before executing ambitious end-of-year campaigns. Wong breaks down four key problem areas—acquisition, conversion, upgrade, and retention—with actionable strategies for each, including embracing a multichannel approach. Her advice is practical, direct, and peppered with engaging anecdotes and memorable one-liners.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Year-End Is Crucial

• The “Super Bowl of Fundraising”: Rhea stresses that although year-end giving may seem culturally driven rather than mission-driven, it’s still the most important time for fundraising, with 30% of donations often coming in during the last week of the year.
  • “This quarter is the Super Bowl of fundraising.” (02:20)
• Don’t Go on Autopilot:
  • “If you are in development... that last week should be a hard sprint. This is the time when a lot of the gifts are coming in. This is when your reminders should be going out.” (03:28)

The Four Most Common Donor Funnel Leaks

1. Acquisition Leak

• Problem: Not personalizing or targeting outreach, leading prospects to “fall out” of the funnel.
• Symptoms: Generic emails, incorrect names, and failing to recognize how donors enter your community.
• Key Quote:
  • “For a lot of nonprofits, they are not actually carefully considering areas in which there are holes in the funnel. And so they are losing donors or prospective donors without actually realizing that they're losing them along the way.” (06:30)
• Action Steps:
  • Analyze where prospects come from (e.g., volunteers, events, newsletter).
  • Clean up your CRM—ensure donor info is accurate.
  • Segment your donor list for tailored communication, but don’t get bogged down in hyper-segmentation.
  • Personalize outreach to make each donor feel “seen, valued, and like they belong.”

2. Conversion Leak

• Problem: Donors abandon giving because giving is intimidating, confusing, or too labor-intensive.
• Symptoms: Clunky forms, hard-to-find Donate buttons, poor mobile design, complicated reply slips.
• Story Highlight:
  • Rhea shares a personal experience struggling to buy a baby gift due to a convoluted website, drawing a parallel to donation pages.
  • “It felt like a choreography. It didn't make it easy...Guess what? I haven't bought anything. Not because I don't love my cousin...but it just made it so confusing.” (23:06)
• Action Steps:
  • Optimize for “speed and simplicity” for all giving methods (web, mail, phone).
  • Ensure large, legible fonts—especially for older donors.
  • Clearly display all donation options—including checks, DAFs, stocks.
  • Use DAF widgets (e.g., from MarketSmart).
  • Test your giving experience with real users: "Ask people’s opinion about what they are supposed to do." (31:44)
  • Prominently display “Donate Now” and never “bury the lead.”

3. Upgrade Leak

• Problem: Missing time-sensitive cues to ask warm donors for more.
• Symptoms: Treating a highly engaged donor the same as a first-timer; not tracking donor behavior.
• Key Quote:
  • “The leak is the failure to ask for the value upgrade from your warm lead.” (36:19)
• Action Steps:
  • Identify “upgrade signals” (event attendance, email opens/clicks, volunteering, social media engagement).
  • Leverage the board for personal thank-you or upgrade calls.
  • Pick up the phone—don’t rely solely on email.
  • Send hand-addressed envelopes and consider “lumpy mail” for higher open rates.
  • Be specific about the upgraded ask (“Tell me what I gave and then tell me what the upgrade amount is that you're asking for.”)
  • Follow a cadence: letter, phone call, then DM as needed.

4. Retention Leak (The “Mama Leak”)

• Problem: Not nurturing donor relationships; only asking, never stewarding.
• Key Quote:
  • “Please know your retention number. As a sector, we are historically not great at retaining our donors…I think across the sector we’re retaining at 18%.” (45:38)
• Symptoms: Missing heartfelt thank-yous and failing to report back on the impact of donations.
• Action Steps:
  • Create a stewardship sequence for immediate and heartfelt thank-you’s—beyond just the tax acknowledgement.
    • "Aside from the tax acknowledgement letter–all the hands go down." (48:50)
  • Report impact: “When people give, they are asking three different questions…What did you do with my money? Would I be better off giving to somebody else? How do you make me feel good or bad?” (51:20)
  • Plan a communication cadence post-gift to show donors the result of their generosity.
  • Get aggressive with outreach on December 31st—send three separate reminder emails to maximize last-minute giving.
  • “It’s like having a teenager who only calls when they need money.” (47:07)

Multi-Channel Approach

• Rhea urges fundraisers to be “omnipresent”—to not rely on just one channel but mix emails, direct mail, phone calls, DMs, and video to reach donors where they are.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You think you have a funnel, you actually have a sieve.” (06:12)
• On Personalization:
  • “The only second worst thing after ‘dear friend’ is when they misspell your name.” (10:09)
• On asking for upgrades:
  • “A warm lead might be better suited with a personalized phone call...not just a mass email.” (40:40)
• On stewardship:
  • “To me, the most important gift a donor makes is not the first gift, it is the second gift. Because the second gift implies that you have built enough trust.” (49:38)
• On urgency:
  • “You need to be aggressive. …send three separate emails on the final day to capture every last minute gift.” (54:40)
• On sector-wide challenges:
  • “Over 80% of the people that...you invited them to make an investment and they did, they're leaving you.” (46:12)

Key Timestamps

• 02:20 – Why year-end is so critical (“Super Bowl of fundraising”)
• 06:12 – The “sieve” vs. the funnel
• 10:09 – Worst personalization mistakes ("dear friend"/wrong name)
• 23:06 – Rhea’s analogy about a confusing gift purchase online
• 31:44 – User testing your donation experience
• 36:19 – Upgrade leak and how to spot warm leads
• 45:38 – Retention leak: sector retention realities
• 47:07 – “Thank you void”/teenager analogy
• 49:38 – The importance of the second gift
• 51:20 – Donors’ three core questions after giving
• 54:40 – Sending three emails on December 31

Resources & Tools Mentioned

• Free DAF Widget: MarketSmart.com
• Holiday Giving Readiness Checklist: Linked in show notes and at riawong.com/leaks
• Episode on DAFs with Mitch Stein (For listeners unsure of DAFs)

Episode Takeaways

• Before leaping into end-of-year campaigns, fix the four big donor leaks: acquisition, conversion, upgrade, retention.
• Personalize at every stage; generic approaches drive donors away.
• Optimize all donation channels for clarity, simplicity, and accessibility.
• Upgrade by identifying donors ready to give more and using creative outreach.
• Steward donors immediately, persistently, and purposefully—especially after their first and second gifts.
• "Be omnipresent": use every channel your donors use—not just digital.

Final Thought

“Don’t just download [the checklist], use it. ...Let’s stop the sieve and turn your funnel into a flood of support.” — Rhea Wong (56:03)