February 17, 2025 | Donor Engagement, Donor Journeys, Donor Retention, Fundraising Communication, Nonprofit Trends, Online Fundraising

Create Your Donor Journey Roadmap

A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Effective Donor Journeys

A road trip is an excellent way to get to know someone. You travel the same path together, have plenty of time for conversation, and make stops that later become fond memories.

Planning a road trip is a lot like plotting a donor journey. Donor journeys are the paths taken by donors and nonprofits as their relationship grows over time. When you plan a road trip, you plot out your route and important stops along the way, with the understanding that there may be traffic, detours, or weather that change your plans. 

But no matter what happens along the road, your plan gives you a sense of where you’re going and what it will feel like to reach your final destination. Similarly, a donor journey gives structure to your donor relationships, allowing you to find opportunities for better efficiency and more personalization. By integrating donor journeys into your nonprofit CRM, you can streamline engagement and strengthen relationships over time. 

Here’s how you can think about donor journeys as a roadmap to guide relationships with your donors. 

Step 1. Who’s coming?

Build your donor journey around a specific audience

Who would you like to focus on for this particular donor journey? Perhaps you’re working with a general fundraising journey — like one for new donors — or you’re working with something more specialized, like one for current supporters of a specific program. Either way, try narrowing your focus at least a little. 

Start imagining what an enjoyable and fruitful trip with this audience might look like. Are they interested in keeping up-to-date on your latest successes? Do they especially love hands-on experiences? Do they want to be thanked for their giving with a text message, or a handwritten card in the mail? 

Not sure where to start? Use your data to create donor personas that are unique to your community! 

If you’re building a New Donor Journey to acquire new donors and retain first-time givers, try pulling data on all of your new donors from the past few years. Are there any patterns? Use them to create an imaginary character—Prospective Donor Pat, for example—and craft outreach plans that will best resonate with this group. Get the free guide, Your Data-Driven Persona Checklist, to get started.

Donor Persona Checklist Mockup

Step 2. Where are we going?

Pick the start and end points for your donor journey map

What is your ultimate goal for this donor journey? Ignore the middle for now; what are the start and end points for your donor journey? If all goes according to plan, what action does your audience take? 

Imagine the moment that kickstarts your donor journey and the moment that concludes it in great detail. As an example, let’s use getting a new email address as step one of your New Donor Journey. 

  • Who is there?
    • Prospective donors, community members, staff and volunteers from your nonprofit
  • What are they doing?
    • Browsing booths at a local street fair 
  • How are they feeling?
    • Mildly curious, interested in learning more about you, but not quite committed to giving yet
  • What is the end goal?
    • Collect names, email addresses, and vital contact information of people who are genuinely interested in your mission

START:
Prospective donor provides contact information

END:
Prospect makes their first gift!

Step 3. What are the key stops? 

Fill in a few critical stages of your donor journey

No matter where your road trip leads, you’ll have to stop for food, gas, and to stretch your legs. Depending on who’s in the car, there might be can’t-miss roadside attractions, scenic lookouts, playgrounds, or restaurants. Pick three to five key moments and map them along your donor journey. 

As with your first and final stops, imagine these moments in great detail. What does it feel like to travel along this donor journey? What are the most memorable moments for your donors, and how do you mark them? 

Let’s continue with our example of a new donor journey. 

  • Who is there?
    • Prospective donors
    • Nonprofit staff and volunteers
  • What are they doing?
    • Opening an e-newsletter and engaging with the links
    • Filling out a new subscriber survey to tell you more about themselves
    • Attending an event
  • What are they feeling?
    • Interested 
    • Engaged
    • Inspired
  • What is the end goal?
    • Help show the prospective donors what their gifts could mean for your community

Prospect opens and engages with e-newsletter

Prospect fills out new reader survey

Prospect attends an event

Step 4. What happens next? 

Transition supporters seamlessly to their next donor journey

It’s important to know all of your exits! What happens with your audience as they wrap up their donor journey? Keep your donors engaged with a smooth transition into their next donor journey. For example, once you thank a new donor, they move directly to a Donor Retention and Upgrade Journey. 

Transitioning donors between journeys at their own pace helps honor each donor’s unique situation while gently guiding them toward sustained connection and giving. New and lifelong donors will connect with your nonprofit differently, and they’ll want you to engage with them in ways that are meaningful and specific. 

Build donor journeys for new and prospective donors, retained and upgraded donors, and lapsed donor reactivation with our free guide, The Donor Journey! Get the “how” and “why” of donor journeys from fundraising expert Cherian Koshy and the DonorPerfect team.

Step 5. What tools will make this easier? 

Create your donor journey map in your nonprofit CRM

Luckily, we’re not limited to road trips based on outdated maps and asking for directions at truck stops. Newer technologies like GPS, music streaming services, and built-in reminders from your car to give your eyes a break from driving can all make your road trip significantly more relaxed and more personalized to your preferences. 

Similarly, building donor journeys directly into your CRM and using communication technologies like text and email marketing tools can make your donor journey one your supporters will enjoy and fondly remember. 

Here are a few ways DonorPerfect can help you build donor journeys with opportunities for automation: 

  • SmartActions – Create automated workflows specific to your processes 
  • Constant Contact – Connect with your community with the best email and digital marketing tools, included with every DonorPerfect system
  • Report automation – Schedule your favorite reports to automatically send updates to you and your team, according to your preferred frequency
  • Calculated Fields – Create formulas inside DonorPerfect fields that give you the information you need, like largest donations to a fund or number of volunteer hours worked by each constituent

Want to see Donor Journeys in DonorPerfect? See how we’re mapping the best processes into DonorPerfect systems! Get a personal or group demo today to learn how we can be your partner in fundraising success. 

Donor Retention Pie Chart and Fundraising Goal Thermometer Graph Screenshots

We’ve taken the art of fundraising and built it into the science of CRMs with DonorPerfect fundraising software. On average, new nonprofit clients raise 25% more funding in their first year with us, with many seeing results within the first six months. Want to learn more about how our donor journey features can help get you there? 

Get the free guide,
The Donor Journey

and stay in touch!

Emily Zacek
Meet the author: Emily Zacek

Emily Zacek is a copywriter, fundraiser, and nonprofit advocate. She brings a decade of professional fundraising experience, including specializations in grateful patient work, annual giving, stewardship, events, community engagement,...

Learn more about Emily Zacek