The counterintuitive fix for a shrinking donor file

Email fundraising is going well.

Response rates are decent, the average gift is solid, and you’re breaking even on schedule.

But your donor file is shrinking.

That was the situation at NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness. During COVID, the organization grew from an $11 million organization to a $30 million organization in just five years as mental health awareness exploded.

Demand for their helpline quadrupled. New donors flooded in — then started to fade.

It turns out the acquisition program was optimizing for the wrong thing.

The reframe
NAMI and its agency, Allegiance Group + Pursuant, quickly identified that supporter acquisition had been built to break even as quickly as possible. 

That meant high suggested gift amounts, high average gifts, and low response rates.

So they flipped the strategy: lower the ask amounts, boost response rate, and pair it with stewardship that would actually keep new donors around.

It worked!

Response rates climbed from 0.4% to 0.76%, nearly doubling, and new donors per send jumped from roughly 900 to about 1,600. 

The average gift dropped from $52 to $34, as expected.

Making the math work on the back end
More donors at lower gift amounts only pays off if those donors give again. 

NAMI knew that, so they built stewardship into the program in a way it hadn’t been before.

Their new donor welcome package has no ask. It includes a letter from NAMI’s director of individual giving, a short survey asking what donors care about, and two packets of coffee from a partner brand.

The survey data feeds future communications, so donors hear about the programs that actually matter to them. 

They expanded who donors hear from, too, moving beyond CEO-only communications to include development staff, advocacy teams, and people sharing lived experience.

What to take from this
These are early numbers from a partnership that’s playing a long game.

The strategic reframe is still worth sitting with:

Take a hard look at what your acquisition program is optimizing for. If it’s breakeven speed at the expense of volume, you might be winning the battle and losing the file.

Build at least one non-ask touchpoint into your new donor journey. A welcome email with a survey, a casual video, or even a plain-text thank you from someone other than your executive director.

Use early touches to learn something. NAMI’s survey doubles as data collection, making every future message more relevant.

The bottom line
NAMI’s donor file was shrinking despite steady acquisition. 

They turned it around by rethinking what acquisition should optimize for and by building a donor experience that earns the second gift.

This is worth watching as the retention numbers come in.

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

‘Til next time!
Sara