How to maintain relationships with donors (and keep them giving)

Donor retention is one of the clearest indicators of fundraising health, and the numbers tell a interesting story.

• UK charities typically retain only 40–50% of donors year on year
• Acquiring a new donor costs 5–7 times more than retaining an existing one
• Even a small increase in donor retention can significantly increase lifetime value

As the Institute of Fundraising has long highlighted,

“Retention is the single most important metric for long-term fundraising growth.”

When charities focus on how to maintain relationships with donors, they reduce churn, stabilise income, and build a more resilient supporter base.

What do donors expect from charities today?

Donors haven’t become less generous ... they’ve become more selective. Research (and experience) consistently shows that donors stay loyal when they:

• Feel recognised as individuals
• Understand the impact of their gift
• Trust the organisation to use their data responsibly
• Receive communications that are timely and relevant

In other words, donor expect relationships that are emotional, not just transactional.

How to maintain relationships with donors in a digital-first world

Maintaining donor relationships today requires both empathy and infrastructure, and here’s what consistently works.

1. Personalise every interaction (using data you already have)

One of the most effective ways to maintain relationships with donors is personalisation. 

This doesn’t mean overcomplicating things. You can use what you already know, such as:

• Donation history
• Communication preferences
• Engagement with events, volunteering or memberships
• Areas of interest

When this information lives in spreadsheets or disconnected systems, personalisation becomes impossible. A charity CRM brings everything together so communications feel considered rather than generic.

Acorn's Children's Hospice are an inspirational example of personalisation in action! With segmentation, automation and triggers firing on all cylinders, they’re building highly personalised, efficient donor journeys at serious scale. 

"It’s a lovely experience for supporters, and it means we save time and build long-term value.” 

Read their success story

This is where tools like Access Charity CRM quietly do the heavy lifting, enabling segmentation, targeted messaging and joined-up donor records across teams.

2. Share impact regularly, not just when you’re asking

Donors want to see progress, not perfection. Regular impact updates, even small ones, help supporters feel involved and informed. These might include:

• Short stories from beneficiaries
• Updates on a specific project they supported
• Behind-the-scenes insights from your team

Charities that do this well use their CRM to link donations directly to outcomes, making reporting easier and more meaningful.

3. Invite donors into the wider community

Maintaining relationships with donors isn’t just about communications, it’s about belonging.

High-performing charities give supporters opportunities to engage beyond giving:

• Invitations to events or webinars
• Surveys and feedback
• Volunteering or advocacy opportunities
• Exclusive updates for members or alumni

This is especially powerful for membership-based and alumni charities, where identity and connection are just as important as fundraising.

Alumni charities in the UK often excel at donor relationships because they think in decades, not campaigns. Their success comes from:

• Lifecycle-based engagement
• Clear value exchange
• Strong sense of belonging
• Consistent, relevant communication

Membership charities tend to retain donors better because supporters feel invested in the mission, not just the outcome. Regular touchpoints, exclusive content and recognition play a major role.

There's lots to learn from both!

4. Take a long-term view of donor stewardship

Charities that succeed don’t treat donations as one-off wins, they plan donor journeys.

A strong stewardship approach includes:

• A warm welcome for new donors
• Nurture communications between asks
• Recognition for loyalty
• Clear next steps for deeper involvement

The role of a charity CRM in maintaining donor relationships

Maintaining relationships with donors at scale is much tougher without the right systems. A charity CRM helps you to:

• Build a single view of each supporter
• Segment audiences intelligently
• Automate personalised communications
• Track engagement across the donor lifecycle
• Make better fundraising decisions using real data

If you’re exploring options, this guide to the best CRM for fundraising by mission is a useful place to start.

How to maintain relationships with donors: round up

Understanding how to maintain relationships with donors is central to sustainable fundraising, beating donor fatigue, keeping supporter trust and transforming long-term impact.

If you can invest in donor relationships, supported by the right data and systems, you can do more than just raise more - you can build communities that last.