.png)
The Closest, Fastest, and Best Dollars Are Already Near You
- Frances Roen
- May 1
- 4 min read
There’s a moment I see all the time with nonprofit teams.
You’re sitting in a planning meeting. Maybe it’s a campaign conversation. Maybe it’s year-end. Maybe things feel a little tight, a little uncertain.
And someone says: “We need more donors.”
So the conversation shifts.
New lists.
New strategies.
New events.
New tools.
New ideas.
And before you know it, the focus is outward—chasing people who don’t yet know you—while something much more powerful is sitting quietly, right in front of you.
Your current donors.
Here’s the truth that can change everything about how your fundraising feels: The closest, fastest, biggest, and best dollars are already near you.
They’ve Already Said Yes
Every donor in your system—whether they gave $25 or $25,000—has already done something incredibly meaningful.
They raised their hands.
They said:
Yes, I believe in this work.
Yes, I’m willing to invest in it.
Yes, I want to be connected to this mission.
That’s not small.
And yet, so many organizations treat that “yes” as the end of the interaction instead of the beginning of a relationship.
Instead of asking: How do we deepen this?
They move on to: Who else can we find?
If You Can’t Manage the Relationships You Have…
This is the part that might feel a little uncomfortable, but it’s important.
If you can’t consistently care for, respond to, and build relationships with the donors you already have…
You won’t suddenly be able to do it at scale with more people.
More donors don’t fix a strained system.
More donors don’t fix unclear priorities.
More donors don’t fix inconsistent communication.
They amplify those problems.
So before you invest energy into growth, there’s a more powerful question to ask: Have we optimized what’s already working?
Re-Engagement Is the Fastest Path to Growth
When organizations think about increasing revenue, they often default to acquisition. But acquisition is slow. It’s expensive. And it requires building trust from scratch.
Re-engagement, on the other hand, is different.
You’re reaching out to people who:
Know you
Like you
Trust you (at least a little)
That’s your warmest audience. And it’s often your most underutilized one.
Re-engagement doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the simpler it is, the more effective it tends to be.
It can sound like:
“We’ve been thinking about you and wanted to reconnect.”
“We miss you.”
“Thank you for your past support—I’d love to share what’s been happening.”“We’re beginning to gather a group of people to help shape and champion what’s next. Would you be open to hearing more?”
That’s it.
Just a genuine invitation back into the work.
Your Key to Ease: Optimize What’s Already Working
There’s a version of fundraising that feels heavy. And then there’s a version that feels more grounded.
That version starts here: Optimize what is already working.
You already have proof of concept:
People have given.
People have engaged.
People have said yes.
Your job isn’t to reinvent everything. It’s to build on that foundation.
Three Ways to Start (Without Overcomplicating It)
If you’re wondering what this actually looks like in practice, start simple.
Say Thank You. Quickly. Like It Matters (Because It Does)
A delayed thank-you is a missed opportunity.
If it takes three weeks to send a formal acknowledgement because of internal systems or processes, don’t wait. Send something right away.
A simple, human email can go a long way:
“Hi [Name],I saw your gift come through today, and it genuinely made my day. I’m so grateful you’re part of this work. Yesterday, I was walking through our drop-in center, and it was filled with more than 50 young people attending a career fair. Opportunities like that don’t happen without support like yours. Thank you.”
That’s it. Just gratitude, in real time.
And that kind of responsiveness does something important: It reinforces that their gift mattered.
Do One Thing Exceptionally Well
There are a hundred things you could do to engage donors.
Events.
Phone-a-thons.
Open houses.
Tours.
Newsletters.
You don’t need to do all of them right now.
Pick one. Just one. And do it really well.
'
Maybe it’s creating a stewardship plan and actually implementing it.
That could look like this:
For every donation over $50, we do one of the following:
Send a highly personalized acknowledgment.
Leave a thoughtful voicemail or text.
Ask a board member to write a thank-you card.
Invite the donor to coffee.
Send a photo and a quick story after the gift.
Make it manageable. Make it consistent.
Then—only once it feels smooth—add another strategy or focus.
This is how you build a system that lasts. Not by layering everything at once, but by strengthening one piece at a time.
Stop Shoehorning in “More”
This is where things tend to go sideways.
You attend a conference and hear a great idea.
A vendor pitches a new CRM or tool that promises to solve your fundraising challenges.
A board member suggests a friendraiser event.
A colleague tells you about what they did to create a successful monthly donor program.
None of these ideas are bad. But not all of them are right for you—right now.
So here’s a phrase worth practicing: “Not right now.”
Not because the idea isn’t good. But because timing matters.
If you keep pivoting to the next thing, you’ll never fully build the thing that matters most.
In Closing: Before You Look Outward, Look Inward
Growth doesn’t always come from expansion.
So before you build your next list…
Before you plan your next event…
Before you invest in your next tool…
Pause and ask: What would it look like to truly care for the donors we already have?
Because when you do that well… You don’t just retain donors.
You deepen relationships.
You increase giving.
You build advocates.
You create momentum that is much easier to sustain.
And often, that is where your next season of growth begins.
Frances Roen is the Founder of Fundraising Sol and a fundraising consultant with two decades of experience. She is deeply passionate about relationship building, individual donor work, and supporting nonprofit professionals’ health and wellness to enable them to deliver their best work.
Comments