How passionate are your donors about your radio ministry? One way you can tell is by how frequently they give.
Finney Media recently performed a nationwide study of Christian radio listeners to all major programming formats (Why Listen 2018). Most participants in this study were donors. In the graph below, you can see how frequently they say they give to the radio ministry that sent them the questionnaire.
Monthly donors are the most passionate, followed by periodic donors. Donors in the “Seldom” category are normally labelled “lapsed” donors.
Notice that slightly more than one in four (27%) are monthly donors and one in five (19%) are periodic donors.
There are significant differences among donors on their frequency of giving, depending on the programming format of their stations.
How does your donors’ giving frequency compare to these overall statistics? Better than, worse than or on par with these numbers?
So, how can you increase your donors’ excitement and passion for your ministry?
One of the best ways to grow your donors’ passion and excitement is to assess what other “causes” your donors care about and are willing to take action for—by giving, volunteering, praying for or recommending the cause to others.
If you have a major donor program, you can have your director of development or major gift officer ask donors what other ministries they support. Ask them what excites them about those other ministries.
Another way is to directly ask donors about their level of passion for your ministry when you conduct a donor survey. There are several unobtrusive ways you can ask about donors’ passion for causes.
The next step is to take a careful look at your radio station’s or network’s programming and what listeners tell you on Facebook as well as in emails and phone calls about the impact of your ministry in their lives. Look for those areas where the impact of your programming intersects with donors’ interests and passions and use that information strategically in your communications with them.
If your station participated in the Why Listen 2018 study, you have already received data on giving frequency. If not, upon special request Advocace can show you data for other stations in your format.
Through Major Gift Coaching and Donor Research, Advocace’s consultants can help you assess and get your donors’ even more excited and passionate about your ministry.
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