Win Back Lapsed Donors and Donor Playbooks
See which donors have gone quiet, let Muin write a short series of messages to bring them back, and turn on ready-made playbooks that follow up with donors on their own.
Most donors who stop giving were never asked again. Muin shows you who has gone quiet, writes a short, warm series of messages for them, and sends it on a schedule you approve once.
When you’d use this
- Your Overview says some donors gave last year but not yet this year, and you want to reach them before year end.
- A donor’s profile suggests a next step and you want a message drafted for you.
- You want new donors thanked and welcomed automatically, without remembering to do it.
The Win-back Coach
Go to Fundraising › Win-back Coach. The Coach lists your best next campaigns from your own giving history, most dollars first: each group of donors you could ask again and each giving moment coming up. Every card names who it is for, how many donors are in it, how many have an email address, and what is at stake.
Select Plan this campaign on a card to open the three steps below with that group and your main giving page already picked. Under the list, Recent campaigns shows the win-back series you started, how many donors each one was sent to, and how many of them gave again and how much.
What changed and what to do next
At the top of the Coach, the What changed and what to do next card looks back and ahead for you. It shows how many gifts you received in the last 90 days, from how many donors and for how much, and how your recent win-back campaigns did. It names the highlight worth knowing about, then suggests the top three campaigns to run next, from your groups of lapsed donors and your coming giving moments. Select a suggestion to plan that campaign. People who can view the Coach but cannot send messages see the same insight without the plan buttons.
Top 3 to run, three KPIs and the biggest value
The top three are ranked by the dollars each campaign is likely to bring back. For each group or giving moment, Muin multiplies what those donors gave by your came-back rate: the share of donors who gave again after your past win-back campaigns. Each suggestion shows the dollar figure and the rate it used.
Until at least 20 people have been through your own win-back campaigns, Muin uses a 5% planning rate, and the suggestion says so. After that it uses your own rate.
The card leads with the biggest value, for example “Biggest value: about $1,200 back from Gave last year, not yet this year.” Under it are three KPIs:
| KPI | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Donor retention | The share of your donors who gave again within the period shown under the number. |
| Lapsed dollars | What the two lapsed groups (gave last year, and gave in an earlier year) gave before they went quiet. |
| Q4 share of the year | The share of last full year’s giving that came in October to December. |
Who counts as lapsed
Muin puts quiet donors in four groups:
| Group | Who is in it |
|---|---|
| Gave last year, not yet this year | Donors with a gift last calendar year and none so far this year. These are the easiest to bring back. |
| Gave in an earlier year, not since | Donors whose last gift was two or more years ago. |
| Quiet this year | Donors who gave earlier this year and nothing in the last 90 days. |
| New one-time donors | Donors whose first and only gift was in the last 90 days. |
A donor is in one group only. A donor whose first and only gift was in the last 90 days is always a new one-time donor, even when that gift was last December. Anyone else is in the first group in this list that fits.
Only the donor’s own gifts count. Tuition and other payments for services are left out, and so is a company’s matching gift, which is the company’s money.
The Reconnect card at the top of your Nonprofit Overview shows the first group in one sentence, with what they gave together, and up to three donors Muin suggests you contact first.
Win back lapsed donors in three steps
Open it from Plan this campaign on the Win-back Coach, the Win them back button on the Reconnect card, from Message these donors on the donor reports, or from Draft this on a donor’s profile.
- Who. The group is picked for you, with a count. You can switch to the other group. If you came from a donor’s profile, it is just that donor.
- What. Pick a tone (warm, grateful, hopeful or urgent) and email or text message, then select Write my messages. Muin writes three messages: a thank-you with what their past gifts made possible, a short story, and a gentle ask. You can edit every word, or select Rewrite for a fresh version. Under Gifts go to, pick the giving page the messages link to; gifts made from it go to that page’s fund and program.
- When. Muin shows a plain summary, for example “3 messages to 42 donors over 11 days.” Select Start sending. Muin asks you to confirm, naming how many donors get the first message and the day it goes out. Emails cannot be unsent once they go.
The first message goes out right away and the others follow on days 5 and 11.
Who does not get the messages
Muin leaves out anyone who has unsubscribed or opted out, and anyone without an email address (or a phone number, for text messages). The result screen lists each person left out and why. If nobody in the group can be reached, nothing is sent and Muin tells you why.
Anyone who replies or unsubscribes stops getting the rest of the series.
Plan upcoming campaigns
The Coming up card on the Reconnect card and on the win-back page lists the giving moments in the next five months:
- GivingTuesday, Year-end giving and the Year-end tax deadline (the last days of December), for every organization
- Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Dhul Hijjah, when your organization has a zakat fund
Each moment shows its dates, how many days away it is (or “Happening now”), and what you raised in the same moment last year. Select Plan this campaign to open the win-back steps with the right group already picked:
- GivingTuesday and year-end giving: everyone who has supported you before. That is everyone who has given, plus the people on your supporter list who never gave, such as contacts you imported, members, volunteers and subscribers. The card shows how many of them gave last October to December on a line underneath. The messages thank people for their past support without naming a gift.
- Year-end tax deadline: donors who gave last October to December.
- Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Dhul Hijjah: donors who gave during last Ramadan.
People who receive aid, staff and vendor contacts are never in these groups. Anyone who unsubscribed, bounced or opted out is counted in the group but never sent a message, so “reachable by email” is the number who actually get it. Muin uses the dates and last year’s figure when it writes the messages. A campaign series does not stop the next one: you can plan GivingTuesday and year-end for the same people.
When nothing falls in the next five months, the card says so.
Donor playbooks
Go to Fundraising › Donor Playbooks. A playbook is a ready-made series of messages that starts on its own when something happens:
- Welcome a new donor after a first gift
- Thank a big gift
- Win back a lapsed donor after 90 days without a gift
- Welcome a monthly donor, and Save a cancelled monthly gift
- Recognize a rising donor, Birthday greeting and Welcome a new member
Each card shows the first message, an on/off switch, how many people received it, and how many of them gave again afterwards, with the amount.
Plans
The Reconnect card, the win-back steps and Donor Playbooks work on every plan. The detailed giving analytics in Reporting & Analytics › Giving come with the Growth plan; when it is not on your plan, that page says so instead of hiding the tab.
Common questions
Will donors get the same message twice? No. A donor is in a series once, and a reply or unsubscribe stops it.
Can I see what was sent? Yes. The result screen links to the series in Communications, where you can see each message and who received it.
Why is a donor I know about missing from the list? They may have given this year already, or their only payments were for services such as tuition, which are not gifts.