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In our Faithful Giving Project, we found something that stuck with us: 82% of donors agreed that they prefer to support organizations they have a personal connection with and trust.
It was a large percentage of donors who felt that way, but it also left us with a pretty big question:
What exactly is a “personal connection”?
For some donors in the study, it meant knowing someone at the nonprofit. For others, it came from having personally experienced the issue the nonprofit addresses. Family mattered too—parents, grandparents, and mentors could influence both generosity and the organizations someone chose to support.
So when we designed our latest donor research, we intentionally dug further into this question.
We asked over 1,400 donors how personally connected they felt to the organization they supported. And then we asked what created that connection.
Had they personally benefited from the organization’s services? Had someone close to them? Were they introduced by their church or pastor? A friend or family member? Had they been involved in similar work? Did they know someone at the organization?
And, fortunately, we included an “Other” box.
Because donors had a lot more to tell us.
There Isn’t One Way to Become Connected
The write-in responses expanded our definition considerably.
Donors talked about volunteering and visiting the work firsthand.
They talked about family history and community.
They talked about faith and identification with the cause.
Some described stories and communications that helped them understand and feel closer to the work.
And some said something we find particularly interesting: Giving itself had created connection.
In other words, not everyone arrived with a personal connection. Sometimes the relationship developed through financially participating in the mission over time.
Put together, we’re beginning to see several different pathways to connection:
Relational—interacting with staff, leaders, family, friends, and pastors.
Experiential—receiving services, volunteering, visiting, or seeing the work firsthand.
Identity-based—reflecting their faith, their family values, or their community.
Participatory—giving, praying, volunteering, or otherwise taking part.
None of those is the sole definition of personal connection. They’re different ways a donor can begin to say: This has something to do with me.
Believing Isn’t the Same as Belonging
Our analysis gave us another clue that this distinction matters.
When we looked at the patterns across donors’ responses, personal connection emerged as part of a distinct “relationship” dimension of donor commitment.
It was separate from what we called “organizational conviction”—believing the organization makes a difference, addresses an urgent need, and is worthy of continued support and recommendation. A donor can believe you’re effective without feeling connected to you.
Conviction says: I believe in what you do.
Connection says: I see myself in it.
People don’t build relationships around information. They build them around identity, experience, participation, and people.
Create More Doors for Donors to Join In
This doesn’t mean every donor needs a personal relationship with a staff member.
It means organizations should create more ways for donors to find their place in the mission.
Someone may enter through giving, or through volunteering, or through connections from their church. Maybe it’s because their family has supported the organization for years. Or because the issue has touched their own life. Perhaps a story suddenly made an unfamiliar problem feel personal.
The question is: What happens next? Can the donor see the result of their gift? Feel the appreciation? Hear from someone being helped by the organization? Pray for a specific need? Participate beyond making transactions? Does what the donor tells you actually shape what they will experience next from you?
That’s how we begin moving from engagement to connection.
Four Questions Worth Asking
The Faithful Giving Project told us personal connection matters. Our latest research is helping us better understand what creates it.
I think that leaves us with four questions:
Do we know what connects our donors to the mission?
Not just which campaign acquired them, but also why the work matters personally.
Are we creating multiple ways to participate?
Giving is one. What other meaningful ways can donors become part of the work?
Are we creating opportunities for human and personal connection?
That doesn’t have to mean expensive one-to-one cultivation. It means bringing real people, stories, and experiences closer to the donor.
Are we remembering what donors tell us?
If someone tells us why they care, does their relationship with us change because we know it? Asking someone about themselves isn’t relationship building if we immediately forget their answer.
The Faithful Giving Project included a line that I think summarizes this nicely:
“Donors are generous when they feel needed. They are loyal when they feel their giving has purpose.”
Our new research adds another layer. Strong donor relationships help them say: This cause matters to me, I know how I fit into the solution, and I feel I am a part of it.
