#358- Donor Retention with Erika Carley

I’m so excited about this episode with the amazing Erika Carley, Chief Impact Officer at National Angels (and one of the smartest donor retention minds I know).

If you’ve ever said, “We just need more donors,” STOP. What you really need is to keep the donors you already have — and Erica is here to show us how.

In this episode, we dive deep into:
✨ Why donor retention should be your first priority
✨ The “golden donation” (spoiler: it’s the second gift)
✨ How to make donors feel something — and why that matters
✨ Real stewardship strategies: handwritten cards, voice memos, texts, stickers… even angel wings!
✨ What it means to create belonging for your donors

One of my favorite takeaways? It’s not about the number of stewardship touches — it’s about the quality and the consistency. And yes, we even talk about ghosting donors… and being ghosted 😬

If you do nothing else this year, please — I beg you — look at your donor retention numbers. This episode will give you the tools (and hopefully the inspiration) to turn those numbers around.

Important Links:

Zeffy: ⁠https://www.zeffy.com/?ref=Rhea⁠ 

Connect with Erika: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-carley123/

How to Train ChatGPT:  ⁠https://go.rheawong.com/annual-fundraising-plan-tracker1-3127-4300⁠ 

My Big Ask Gifts Program: ⁠https://go.rheawong.com/big-ask-gifts-program⁠ 

My Book, Get That Money Honey: ⁠https://go.rheawong.com/get-that-money-honey⁠ 

My Newsletter: ⁠https://www.rheawong.com/⁠