The Impact Issue #96: How To Stop Losing First-Time Donors

Hey there, and welcome to The Impact! This is your weekly roundup of grant writing tips, nonprofit insights, and funding opportunities brought to you by Instrumentl.

This week, we’re tackling one of the biggest drains on fundraising ROI: first-time donor drop-off. If you’re losing donors before their second gift, we’ve got a smarter way to bring them back.

Also inside:

• Post-award grant management tips from the pros
• Eye-opening data on funding volunteer programs
• A free donation tool you can set up in minutes
• New grant opportunities for Q1
• Can’t-miss webinars and conferences

Let’s get into it!

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Pitfalls and Pointers: First-Time Donor Drop-Off

Donor acquisition is expensive, and yet most nonprofits are losing up to 80% of donors before they even give a second gift. That’s a lot of lost potential, and a major drain on fundraising ROI.

⚠️ Pitfall: Treating first-time donors like long-time supporters.

It’s easy to drop new donors into your standard communication flow. But first-time donors are still deciding whether they trust your organization. If your messaging assumes deep buy-in, or feels generic, they’re more likely to opt out - silently.

💡 Pointer: Create a separate journey for first-time givers.

Instead of lumping all donors together, create a tailored experience for first-time donors.

Start with:

• Tagging first-time donors in your CRM so you can track their journey.
• Personalizing your follow-up with specific references to their gift, how they gave, or what program they supported.
• Sending mission impact updates within 2-4 weeks, showing what their donation made possible.
• Building automated workflows that prompt staff to re-engage donors at key intervals (e.g., 30 days, 60 days).
• Making the second ask clear, easy, and relevant; think low-barrier, high-impact next steps.

A repeatable system that treats first-time donors like the VIPs they are can significantly increase your second-gift conversion rate and set the stage for long-term loyalty.

🧠 Learn more best practices for smarter donor management here!

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Tech You Should Know

What:

Pledge is a free donation platform that makes it easy for nonprofits to collect gifts in minutes using mobile-friendly methods like text-to-donate, QR codes, and embeddable online forms—all accessible without setup fees or steep monthly costs.

How Grant Writers Can Use It:

While you may not be setting up the tech yourself, grant writers can use platforms like Pledge to bolster funding proposals with tactics for increasing unrestricted revenue, which can appeal to funders supporting capacity building.

Use it to demonstrate your nonprofit’s readiness to capture donations efficiently, especially when funders ask how you’re diversifying revenue.

Keep in Mind:

You’ll still need a system to track and steward the donors who give through Pledge. The tool gets you the donation, but retention is still on you. It’s also best used alongside, not instead of, your CRM.

💸 Explore how Pledge works!

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Expert Perspectives

🏆 Colette Rice & Kim Joyce on Post-Award Grant Management

Winning the grant isn’t the finish line. In this strategy-focused session, grant experts Collete Rice, who leads institutional giving at YoloCares, and Kim Joyce, a nationally recognized grant consultant, share what sets high-performing teams apart after the award is secured.

Here’s their expert advice:

• Treat post-award grant management work like a strategic process, not just compliance
• Launch each grant with clear roles, timelines, and shared expectations
• Create systems for staying on top of reporting, deliverables, and funder communications
• Document workflows so teams stay aligned, especially when managing multiple grants
• Use tools to streamline tracking and relationship-building across your portfolio

Post-award management isn’t just about compliance; it’s your chance to prove credibility, deepen trust, and tee up the next “yes”.

👉 Watch the full webinar: Post-Award Grant Management Like a Pro!

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The Latest Numbers

New data from Points of Light, in partnership with The Bridgespan Group, reminds us: if you’re not leveraging volunteerism in your fundraising strategy, you’re leaving money—and impact—on the table.

Their April 2025 report, From Nice to Necessary: Unleashing the Impact of Volunteering Through Transformational Investment, reveals how undervalued volunteer programs are, especially by funders:

• One-third of the nonprofit workforce is made up of volunteers, meaning volunteers constitute a major share of the people carrying out this important work.
• 72% of nonprofits say volunteers are essential. Only 25% of funders agree. The result? Just 0.19% of $1 trillion in foundation giving from 2016 to 2025 went to volunteer support.
• Nonprofits report spending $136-$2,000 per volunteer on onboarding and engagement, but most get little to no funding for these efforts.

Why this matters for fundraisers: Volunteer programs aren’t just “nice to have.” They’re revenue-adjacent. And as Instrumentl and Civic Champs explain in their latest guide, corporate grants can fund volunteer infrastructure—from training and onboarding to tech tools and impact tracking.

How To Turn Volunteer Programs Into Funding Magnets:

• Find mission-aligned corporate funders. Use Instrumentl’s smart-matching filters to zero in on companies that actively support volunteerism or issue areas you serve.
• Pitch the volunteer angle. Frame your proposal around community engagement, employee volunteer opportunities, or CSR alignment. Funders want to see how your cause connects with their values.
• Invest in impact tracking. Platforms like Civic Champs make it easy to collect volunteer hours, track outcomes, and package that data into reports that keep funders coming back.
• Show the story behind the service. Use real examples of how volunteers transform your programs, and back them up with hard numbers to show scale and impact.

Ready to unlock volunteer funding?

🎁 Download the full free guide: How to Leverage Corporate Grants to Build Your Volunteer Program!

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Opportunities Spotlight

💡 TE Connectivity Community Ambassador Program

Who It’s For: US-based nonprofits

Next Deadline: Rolling - applications reviewed on a quarterly basis; next deadline is April 4, 2026

Grant Amount: $5,000 - $25,000

The Details:

• Supports programs in STEM access, engineering careers, and community resilience
• Prioritizes projects near TE Connectivity’s US operating locations
• Seeks clear, measurable outcomes and strong community impact
• Applications reviewed 4x per year

👉 Apply Here!

🏀 NBA Foundation Grant Program

Who It’s For: Nonprofits supporting under-resourced youth (ages 14-24) in NBA markets

Next Deadline: Rolling 

Grant Amount: Varies based on project need

The Details:

• Focuses on school-to-career pathways for historically marginalized young people
• Open to local and national nonprofits operating in NBA team markets
• Projects must support career readiness, job placement, or economic mobility
• Applications require 501(c)(3) status, Form 990, budget documents, and a Board of Directors list

👉 Apply Here!

Don’t miss out on more funding opportunities like these!

🔍 Explore thousands of other grant opportunities now!

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Networking Nook

💻 Webinar: Strategic Planning in Times of Uncertainty

January 21, 2026 | 2:00PM

This webinar, hosted by The Bridgespan Group, explores how nonprofit leaders can design and implement strategic plans that remain flexible, focused, and actionable during periods of uncertainty and change. Participants will walk away with practical tools to help their organizations stay mission-aligned while adapting to evolving funding, staffing, and community needs.

Hurry - registration is limited!

✅ Register Now!

📅 Conference: Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum Conference (P2PForum26)

February 24-26, 2026 | Baltimore, MD

This national conference, hosted by the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum, brings together nonprofit professionals focused on peer-to-peer and community-driven fundraising. The event features workshops, keynote sessions, and networking opportunities designed to strengthen fundraising strategies, build partnerships, and share real-world best practices.

Early registration pricing is available for a limited time!

✅ Register Now!

To check out more recent and upcoming live events, go here.

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In Case You Missed It

📑 Article: Grant Writing with AI: What Nonprofits Need to Know

AI is rapidly reshaping how nonprofits approach grant writing, but knowing how (and when) to use it matters. In this Instrumentl article, the team breaks down how AI can support grant writers without replacing strategy, nuance, or human judgment.

👉 Get the Full Story!

📼 Video: Three Top Tips for Writing Grant Proposals (with Cheryl Kester)

In this short video from Candid, grant expert Cheryl Kester shares three simple, actionable ways to stay organized and keep proposal content fresh – great for busy teams who are writing a lot of grants at once!

👉 Watch the Master Class!

🎙️ Podcast: Grant Writing & Funding - How AI is Changing Grant Writing and What You Need to Know

A quick, practical episode from the Grant Writing & Funding podcast that covers what AI can help with in grant writing (and what still needs human input), along with clear do’s and don’ts for using tools like ChatGPT responsibly.

👉 Listen to the Episode!

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Spend Less Time Searching and More Time Winning!

With Instrumentl, you can find, manage, and win more grants, without the spreadsheet stress.

You’ll get personalized matches, insights into funder giving history, and tools to track deadlines, collaborate with your team, and build a strategy that actually works.

‼️ Start your 14-day free trial now - no credit card required!