High-Growth Fundraising the Silicon Valley Way

7The Donor Experience

Chapters 4–6 have emphasized cryptocurrency, stock donations, and cash processing, which are currently the three most important asset classes for nonprofit organizations to pursue in terms of value and in terms of what is donatable in the overall market. In order to leverage these assets to maximize fundraising in the Silicon Valley way, it is not enough to focus on understanding the various monetary inputs themselves. An organization must also know how to use these inputs to create an excellent donor experience.

What Is the Importance of the Donor Experience?

Nonprofit organizations have a responsibility to be as efficient as possible with the money that donors give to maximize the effect of that money toward achieving the organization's goal. This is the basis of a trustworthy organization and the defining characteristic of the donor experience. In order to earn and keep the donor's trust, and improve donor engagement and retention, the organization needs to focus on creating an experience that donors engage with continually and enthusiastically.

Many organizations believe that they have an excellent donor experience. However, the decisions made by leadership and staff reflect decision-making driven by what the organization wants. Think about customer service and how most customer service reps are incentivized to be loyal to their brand more than the customer and their needs. The most successful technology companies have truly taken a customer-first ...