Spread Your Wings: Building a Donor Attraction and Retention Strategy for Glasswing International

By Sasha Osinovsky, University of Virginia

Client Introduction

Glasswing International, founded in 2007 by Celina de Sola in San Salvador, El Salvador, is an international nonprofit organization that provides community-led education, health, and youth empowerment programs in Latin America and New York City. Since 2007, they have directed more than $220 million in funds toward health and education programs that have impacted the lives of more than 6 million people. Their work demonstrates their commitment to addressing the root causes and consequences of violence and poverty and fostering hope. Glasswing repairs communities that people usually flee from, bringing opportunity, stability, and hope back to people’s hometowns.

With a mission centered on addressing social inequalities and creating lasting change, Glasswing relies heavily on donor support to sustain its impactful programs. Recognizing the importance of strengthening donor relationships and expanding its support base, Glasswing partnered with the Global Research and Consulting Group (GRC) at the University of Virginia to develop innovative donor retention and attraction strategies.

Project Scope

Nonprofit organizations rely on donations to complete their mission. Due to this, one of the main considerations of any nonprofit is developing a donor attraction and retention strategy. Glasswing International worked with GRC at UVA to analyze their current and potential donor base to enhance outreach and retention. The intended goal of the project was to identify top supporters and their journey with Glasswing through interviews and external data. We also explored new donor segments and provided recommendations to develop strategies that increase long-term support and engagement, ultimately strengthening Glasswing’s donor relationships and financial sustainability.

Project Execution

1. Preliminary Research

The team began by conducting preliminary research on Glasswing International, a thorough understanding of which was necessary to create a pointed strategy. Initial research helped us distill Glasswing’s work into three general categories: community development, healthcare, and education. We also researched general donor research and attraction strategies, initially finding that personalized communications and demonstrating direct impact are two strategies that Glasswing could adopt to improve their strategy. Regarding donor segmentation, we found that 60% of philanthropic giving comes from individuals, with the remaining 40% coming from foundations and corporations, showcasing that genuine, personal connections are the key to long lasting success.

2. Case Studies

The next step of our research was conducting detailed case studies on nonprofits with similar missions. We researched The Nature Conservancy, Partners in Health, and KIPP NYC. These nonprofits’ donor attraction and retention strategies have proven successful with the most notable being PIH, who attracted John Green through impactful press focused on sharing personal narratives and personalized donor communication emphasizing the direct impact of contributions. Through this research we found that CSR Aligned Partnerships, Impactful Storytelling/Communication, and Maintaining Transparency were of utmost importance for donor attraction and retention. These findings refined our strategy and reinforced their validity, as they have proven effective before.

3. Donor Interview

The last step of our research was conducting a donor interview. The team interviewed a recurring donor and volunteer for Glasswing International based out of New York City. Her insights not only allowed us to develop a donor journey map, but her stories about her work on the ground in NYC and strategy ideas influenced us to research a new donor segment and branch out our donor strategy.

Team Reflection

As a new GRC branch, our team encountered a lot of “firsts” through this project. The first client meeting, first setback, first success, and our first final deliverable. Of these firsts, one of the initial challenges we encountered was a company block preventing us from receiving internal data we had anticipated from the client. This initial setback was unexpected, as the internal data on donors seemed necessary to guide our strategy. However, we found a way around this setback and were able to find relevant data through external sources. This challenge allowed the team to be more creative with their research channels and conduct thorough case studies.

One of the first successes we encountered as a team was after presenting our Midterm Presentation to our client, who remarked that our results were more than what she had been expecting and truly “illuminating.” This success reassured the hard work of our team and influenced us to continue working hard for our final deliverable.

After sharing our Midterm findings, we found that transforming our analytical insights into practical, tangible steps was also a challenging task. Not only did we have to provide an implementation roadmap and donor journey map, we also had to ensure that it would be feasible within Glasswing’s operational plan. Another consideration we had to take into account was the longevity of our plan. Taking on this challenge helped us strengthen our consulting capabilities by understanding how to apply knowledge to different situations.

Conclusion

Our final deliverable for Glasswing International provided a comprehensive donor retention and attraction strategy that focuses on communicating direct impact and building long lasting donor relationships. Our approach maximized current outreach channels while also stepping into new domains including a robust social media presence and on the ground campaigning. Similarly, the GRC team gained multiple relevant consulting skills through this experience. As a new branch, this project was the first for all of us, and the team refined research, data analysis, and client communication skills. It was incredibly rewarding to have real-world impact on the important work of our client while developing our skills as consultants.

Cover photo taken from Nara & DVIDS Public Domain Archive.