Donor acquisition has always been a challenge. Now, in the face of rising costs, crowded fundraising spaces, and unpredictable disruptions, it’s getting even tougher to draw in new supporters. That’s where digital donor acquisition comes into play.

Instead of relying solely on one-time campaigns or traditional outreach methods like direct mail, nonprofits can change donor acquisition from a one-off activity to an ongoing, relationship-building discipline. A steady, always-on approach can help you consistently reach new audiences and build out an engaging donor journey that leads to retention.

Watch instead: Check out our recent webinar on demand! From Clicks to Committed: A Smarter Path to New Donor Acquisition

Why It’s Time to Try a Digital-First Donor Acquisition Approach

While total giving is increasing year over year, the donor base is shrinking by as much as 3.6%.

“One thing that we’ve noticed is that average gift has been pretty strong, but the amount of donors that we’re seeing has gotten a lot weaker,” said Amanda Lee, Senior Director at The Aber Group.

If your outreach efforts aren’t focused on acquiring new donors and building up a larger base, you run the risk of targeting the same shrinking pool of supporters (who can only donate so much).

There are potential issues with relying too much on traditional methods of donor outreach as well. Take direct mail, for example. While this is still a good channel for many nonprofits, it’s not always as reliable as it has been in the past. Michael Ragsdale, Senior Director of Community Fundraising at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, experienced a major disruption in his team’s fundraising efforts during two Canada Post stoppages in 2024 and 2025.

Michael and his team relied on direct mail for new donor acquisition. During these stoppages, they had no way of reaching prospects who had never given before — and that was a sign that it was time to diversify donor outreach.

“These were things outside of our donors’ control and our control. It really hit home that we had to diversify our approaches to communicating with existing supporters and bringing in new supporters, whether digitally, out-of-home, or through other events as well.”
– Michael Ragsdale, Senior Director of Community Fundraising at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

On top of these pressures, digital advertising is becoming increasingly crowded. It’s difficult to stand out and capture donors’ attention, especially as advertising costs rise. Many nonprofits are focusing their spend narrowly in response. The 2026 M+R Benchmarks report shows that, in 2025, more than half (58%) of digital ad spend went toward direct fundraising — 21% went toward building brand awareness, and only 15% was allocated for lead generation.

Faced with a shrinking donor base, unreliable traditional outreach channels, and higher advertising competition and costs, one thing is clear: It’s time for a change in donor acquisition strategy.

Seeing Digital Donor Acquisition as a Long-Term Strategy

Using digital channels to fuel your donor acquisition isn’t a one-time activity; it needs sustained effort to keep the donor funnel filled with new prospects. While one digital acquisition campaign might deliver fast results, don’t fall into the trap of assuming that success will always be that simple.

“You’re going to have a lot of wins, and you’re going to have a lot of losses, but everything is going to be a really, really good learning opportunity. You’re probably going to see a lower return on investment at the beginning, but as the years go on and you’re nurturing this audience, you’re going to continue to grow this donor pool. You’re going to get them to commit to you long-term, as well.”
– Amanda Lee, Senior Director at The Aber Group

According to Amanda, digital donor acquisition campaigns don’t always deliver a positive return on investment right away. It takes time to understand your audience, nurture them, test campaigns, and establish internal campaign benchmarks. Sustained digital donor acquisition requires patience, consistent investment, and a willingness to learn, rather than judging success on short-term campaign metrics.

A core piece of this puzzle is making sure that your nonprofit leadership team doesn’t lose interest as you go through this learning and testing process. Managing leadership’s expectations is crucial to make sure you get the support and budget you need to build out a successful digital-first donor acquisition strategy. Donor acquisition success is built over time through consistent learning, testing, and relationship building, not overnight wins.

Tech and Creative Are Core to Successful Digital Donor Acquisition

You can set yourself up for success by making sure that two key assets are in place as you build out your donor acquisition strategy: The right technology to organize, track, and measure campaign data, and well-done creative assets to grab donor attention and build trust.

Make Sure Your Tech Can Support the Digital Donor Funnel

To build, track, and maintain a donor acquisition funnel, you need a tool that can track donor behavior across both digital and offline channels and touchpoints. The right tool can pinpoint where a new donor came from: Was it a social ad that first got their attention, or an out-of-home ad placement? What communication inspired them to sign up for updates from your nonprofit, and which ones finally moved them to convert?

An eCRM acts as a data-rich, digital hub for donor information. eCRMs let you create and keep track of information like UTM codes, campaign attributes, and appeal codes, all of which can help you understand where your donors are actually coming from. They also allow you to report on that data and, most importantly, learn from it. Once you understand which acquisition campaigns are most successful, you can replicate those wins for long-term donor (and fundraising) growth.

Related reading: Planning a Nonprofit Digital Transformation: A Guide to Seamless Tech Migration

Build Creative Assets and Digital Campaigns That Drive New Donor Engagement

Leverage values-based content to speak to your prospective donor pool. Values-based visual content highlights the aspects of your mission most likely to resonate with your donors’ values.

“We find that the call to action that you use with your ideal audience should be a reflection of what that prospect believes about themselves, or believes about how they see the world,” said Claire Kerr, Senior Director at Care2. “If your values align with your prospect’s values, and they understand that your values align, that really helps people feel the trust, the security, and they’re compelled to click and explore.”

If you’re not sure what values your donors hold, your best way forward is to ask them about it directly. Use content like online petitions or quizzes to gauge what they care most about, or ask donors for feedback on what aspects of your mission matter most to them. You can also test different digital campaigns to find out what converts — using your eCRM to track and benchmark those results.

User-generated content (UGC) is also incredibly helpful for showing your donor base that your values align with theirs. Sharing UGC shows your audience that you’ve got legitimate, organic buy-in from people just like them. That social proof tends to resonate with prospective donors. Amanda recommends leaning on vertical video for this — that format works best for scrolling on social platforms where people are used to discovering new brands.

Moving From Digital Donor Acquisition to Digital Donor Retention

Acquiring a new donor is only the beginning. The real work starts once someone joins your list, when you guide them through the donor journey — from first click, to first gift, to long‑term commitment.

So what should an early-stage supporter journey look like after the first sign up? New potential donors should get an immediate, coordinated follow-up message (through email or SMS) to keep the momentum going. A strong, well-crafted welcome message within the first moments of signing up can encourage better donor engagement and set the stage for the relationship.

Before you jump into a donation ask, offer some easier, low-stakes engagement options. This can help you earn their trust before you ask for their dollars. You might ask new supporters to:

• Watch a video
• Sign a petition or action
• Take a quiz
• Give their feedback

Be sure you’re showing off your best creative assets throughout this welcome series too — you want new potential donors to recognize your organization and your cause. Even a small investment in branding can make a difference in your donor acquisition.

Use automated digital donor acquisition journeys to take the manual work of tracking and personalizing off your plate. Automated journeys can adapt based on how supporters engage. People are moved into different paths if they don’t convert or if they show interest in specific topics. And, thanks to the flexibility of digital channels, it’s easier to test and learn how your audience responds and make quick changes to grab their attention.

Build and Maintain a Healthy Digital Donor Funnel

Donor acquisition is the first step to building a thriving donor funnel. Once you have the attention of a new donor, you have to work to keep it — and that’s no easy feat. Using a digital fundraising platform like Engaging Networks can help you keep detailed records of where new donors come from, what campaigns and messaging work best, what communication touchpoints are needed, and much more.

Understanding donor behavior gives you the knowledge you need to tailor your approach until you land on a successful acquisition formula. Talk to a member of our team today to see how Engaging Networks can help your team find (and keep) new donors.