A new approach to reactivation before year-end

Nonprofit email lists lose 16% of subscribers every year, according to the 2026 M+R Benchmarks Report.

Acquisition is a critical investment to keep growing your file, but it’s not the only one. 

Another fix is already sitting in your file: donors who gave once and went quiet. 

Reactivate them this summer with the right approach, and they’re warm again before year-end campaigns launch.

The memory question
Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans and Acadiana and M+R ran a smart test across lapsed donors with a cultivation survey asking the simple question: 

Did they remember their last gift?

Donors who received the cultivation email delivered a 34% higher response rate and a 14% higher average gift during Second Harvest’s year-end campaign.

That’s the kind of result you can’t ignore.

The question before the ask
Humane World for Animals and Raise the Roots split lapsed supporters by how recently they’d drifted from their last open: 4-6 months (recently drifting) versus 7-12 (seriously lapsed).

For the more recently drifting group, Humane World sent a five-question survey about their pets, social media habits, and more. 

For the seriously lapsed group, asked super simple questions — including “What best describes you?” with options such as Animal Advocate, Activist, and Animal Lover.

The recently drifting group averaged an open rate of 23.8% and a click-through rate of 18.5%.

While the seriously lapsed group landed lower, at 13.9% opens and 6.7% clicks, it was still enough to matter.

1.4 million supporters went through the journeys. More than 38,000 eventually donated.

When you sit down to write re-engagement emails
Ask the lapsed supporter something first. A question about why they initially donated or their interests, earns a reply. 

A donation ask on its own usually doesn’t always land with donors who are long lapsed, so save it for the email that follows.

Segment by how long someone’s been gone. Humane World wrote a different survey for donors who lapsed within a 4-6 month window than for those who lapsed within a 7-12 month window. 

The tone and the ask should both shift with that gap.

Use what they tell you. A reply is data you didn’t have before. 

Humane World turned survey answers into tailored petition topics, and even a short response can sharpen the direction of your appeals moving forward.

The bottom line
Two nonprofits landed on the same fix without comparing notes: earn a reply before you ask for a gift.

You really don’t need a full rebuild of your program to test it. 

Pick one lapsed donor or supporter segment, send a simple survey instead of an appeal, and see how the next appeal lands with that cohort.

Check our events list for more or reply to this email to submit one for consideration.

‘Til next time!
Sara