A small charity counts its supporter enquiries for a month and finds that a third were answered more than a week later, and some never. Among them were people offering to volunteer, asking how to set up a monthly gift and wanting to run a marathon for the cause. Most of them never followed up.
Every unanswered supporter is support the charity never receives.
Why supporters rarely try twice
People who offer help or ask how to give are acting on an impulse. If they hear nothing, the impulse fades. They may give to another cause instead, or simply move on. Donor questions that go unanswered are described in donor questions that go unanswered on charity websites.
What a supporter is worth
A single donation is only part of the picture. A regular donor might give monthly for years. A volunteer might give hundreds of hours. A fundraiser might run events year after year and bring friends. The real value of a supporter is measured over time.
Illustrating the loss
These figures are only an illustration. Every charity's numbers are different.
A charity receives 40 supporter enquiries a month: people asking about monthly giving, volunteering and fundraising. If a quarter go unanswered or are answered too late, that is ten lost supporters a month, or 120 a year.
If even a third of those would have become regular donors or long-term volunteers, that is 40 lost long-term supporters a year. Over several years of giving and volunteering, the lost value is substantial. Model your own charity's figures with the chatbot ROI calculator.
Similar losses elsewhere
Businesses of every kind see the same pattern, as shown for contractors in what an unanswered building enquiry costs a contractor. The value of a single captured enquiry is explored in value of one captured enquiry.
Website gaps make it worse
Supporters who cannot find answers on the website are more likely to send a question and wait, or give up. Common website gaps are covered in charity website mistakes that lose donors and volunteers.
Volunteers are worth more than their hours
Volunteers do more than give time. They tell friends about the cause, often become donors themselves and sometimes join the board or take on leadership roles. A volunteer lost at the first enquiry is a whole chain of future support that never begins. The same is true of fundraisers, who bring their own networks of sponsors to the charity.
The emotional cost
There is also a cost that no calculation captures: people who offered help and heard nothing may feel ignored, and may be less likely to support any cause in future. Every prompt, warm reply protects the charity's reputation as well as its income.
Protecting the value
SpideyChat for nonprofits answers supporter questions from your own pages at any hour and captures volunteer, fundraiser and donor details for the team.
Comparing the cost
Compare the value of the supporters you are losing with the cost of answering them. Plans are on the pricing page, starting free.
Thank-you messages matter
Supporters who do get a reply, and a warm thank-you, are far more likely to give or volunteer again.
Counting your own
For one month, record every supporter enquiry and how quickly it was answered. The number that waited more than a week is often a surprise, and a strong reason to change.