Cultivating Diverse Donors: A Practical Roadmap for Nonprofit Leaders

For nonprofit leaders, the landscape is changing quickly. Executive orders, economic uncertainty, and shifts in donor behavior have made it clear that funding can be unpredictable. Depending on the same grants or funders is no longer a reliable strategy. Now is the time to take a closer look at the types of revenue funding your nonprofit and brainstorm ways to diversify the sources of that funding. In the area of individual giving, seeking out diverse donors could help open new funding streams that have gone untapped.

If you’ve never considered the diversity of your donor database, you’re not alone. During a recent nonprofit workshop on cultivating diverse donors, conducted by Crayons & Marketers, a development manager shared a familiar discovery. In preparation for the session, she analyzed her organization’s donor base and found a strikingly similar donor profile – White males. And she wasn’t alone. If most nonprofits were to do the same, they’d likely see the same challenge: a largely homogeneous group supporting their mission. That sameness signals a fundraising gap and a major missed opportunity to build deeper, more inclusive relationships in the community, and most importantly, to serve more people.

That’s why this conversation is so meaningful right now. While we cannot control executive orders or the economy, you do have some control over who your organization engages with and how you build community with them. Community is where the giving happens.

What the Data Tells Us About Diverse Donors

There may be pockets of diverse donors outside your current base who would be willing to give to your organization but haven’t been asked. Similarly, there are probably pockets of donors within your base that have donated once or twice but not consistently, and most certainly not recently. Then you have your faithful donors who typically give. However, when economic uncertainty and political tensions are factored in, data shows that individuals often reassess where they make donations, if they make them at all, which means less money to fund your mission.

Let’s look at the data.  

The Giving USA 2024 Annual Report on Philanthropy reveals that charitable giving reached record highs in 2023, but when adjusted for inflation, giving actually dropped by 2.1%. For nonprofit leaders already grappling with rising costs and tightening budgets, this signals a critical reality: you can no longer rely on the same pool of donors, giving the same way, year after year.

At the micro level, it gets more urgent.

According to data from Kinetic, 45% of first-time donors never give again. But if you can motivate that donor to make a second gift, the retention rate jumps to over 63%. That second gift represents commitment. For nonprofits with monolithic donor profiles, particularly those that lack racial and ethnic diversity, the gap is even more pronounced.

Research from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (The Philanthropy Initiative: Everyday Donors of Color, August 2021) found that diverse donors, particularly donors of color, are often overlooked or undersolicited by mainstream nonprofits, despite strong traditions of giving and generosity within those communities. It’s not that they’re unwilling to give. It’s that they’re not being asked, or not being engaged in ways that resonate with them.

Taking an inclusive fundraising approach helps democratize your organization’s mission, making it accessible to more communities so they can see themselves reflected in your work and see a place for themselves in supporting it. When people feel included, not just as beneficiaries but as partners and investors in your mission, they are far more likely to engage, give, and stay connected over time.

But success begins with a genuine understanding of who those individuals are, coupled with respectful and responsible outreach. When you pair that with clearly articulating how their contributions will make an impact, you have a strong appeal.  

Trust Begins with Belonging

Think about the communities you serve. Now, think about the communities you fundraise from. Are there potential donors in your orbit—people who align with your mission and share your values—who haven’t yet been asked to engage? Or worse, who don’t feel like they’re truly welcome? This is where inclusive fundraising matters most.

The Everyday Donors of Color report goes on to say that many donors of color actively support their communities through informal giving, mutual aid, giving circles, and direct support, often because they don’t feel seen, valued, or engaged by traditional nonprofit approaches. That lack of intentional outreach erodes trust before a conversation even begins. These concepts lay the foundation for building trust with diverse donors and for transforming fundraising from a transactional approach into a relationship-based one. Transactions are unreliable, but strong relationships drive consistent support over time.

Trust grows from understanding, and without trust, donors, particularly diverse donors who may already feel unseen, are unlikely to give. The report highlights that when nonprofits demonstrate cultural awareness, authentic engagement, and transparency, trust and giving increase.

Diverse Donors Are Not a Monolith

It’s important to note that the term “diverse donors” goes beyond race and ethnicity, however. It includes differences in age, ability, gender identity, life experience, socioeconomic background, and more. One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is treating donors as monoliths. “Millennials,” “Black donors,” “LGBTQ+ givers,” etc, share similar traits as a cohort, but there are still nuances that should be accounted for. As humans, we have a tendency to lump people into categories and assume we know what motivates them.

Within a single demographic, there’s vast complexity. A 35-year-old Latina small business owner in Los Angeles and a 35-year-old Latina single mom in Nashville, for example, may share a cultural identity, but live in two entirely different realities. Their giving capacity, communication preferences, and expectations of your organization likely differ.

To engage them meaningfully, you need more than a segmentation strategy. You need cultural humility, curiosity, and a willingness to listen, learn, and admit that you don’t have all the answers. Seek the knowledge and resist relying on assumptions and outdated fundraising models that ignore the diverse realities of potential new donors.

Hidden Barriers In Plain Sight

Even the most well-meaning nonprofit teams carry blind spots. Perhaps your appeals only feature one type of family, or the events aren’t wheelchair accessible. Are your gala ticket prices excluding working-class supporters? Or is your messaging unintentionally reinforcing stereotypes about who “needs help” and who “has the power to help?”

These aren’t character flaws. They’re structural gaps, and every organization has them.

However, when you examine your work through an inclusive lens, those gaps become opportunities for growth. Opportunities to reach new supporters. To deepen relationships with lapsed donors. To align your external messaging with your internal values, and to raise more money in ways that are ethical, sustainable, and rooted in belonging.

What Inclusion In Action Looks Like

Inclusive fundraising isn’t about overhauling your entire strategy overnight. It’s about embedding inclusion into everything you do—how you show up, how you communicate, and how you build relationships.

And it starts close to home. Before you look at donor lists or outreach tactics, look at your organization. Who’s at the table? Does your board reflect the communities you serve? Does your team? Do your interactions with the community build trust or reinforce barriers?

From there, inclusion shows up in the everyday details like those on the following list:

• Avoid words that make donors or communities sound helpless, struggling, or like they need to be “saved.” Focus your messaging on empowerment, partnership, and shared impact. And skip the jargon—keep your words simple, clear, and easy to connect with. 
• Use imagery that shows the full spectrum of your community, not just during “heritage months,” but all year long.
• Tell stories that celebrate achievement and resilience, not just struggle or need. And remember: it’s not enough to tell a story about a community—you need to tell it with them. To do that well, you must be present, connected, and trusted within that community. And always seek permission to share someone’s story.
• Make your donor communications accessible—mobile-friendly, screen reader-compatible, and translated where needed.
• Request feedback often, and act on it so supporters know they’re heard.

Taking the First Step

So, where do you begin? You start small, and most importantly, you start now.

Review your last appeal, latest newsletter, or most recent event. Whose stories were told? Who was missing? Was your language empowering or unintentionally exclusionary and belittling? Did your visuals represent your whole community, or just a narrow slice of it? Then, choose one thing to do differently next time.

Maybe it’s reaching out to a community partner you’ve never collaborated with before. Or perhaps it’s hosting a donor focus group or community listening session to hear the needs. Whatever you do, be intentional and open to learning.

And remember, inclusive fundraising views the world as it truly is: diverse, evolving, and filled with people who care. It invites new voices, new communities, and new supporters to be part of your mission. Give those individuals real opportunities to get involved and support the organization financially.

When you do that consistently, those donor databases that look the same today will start to reflect something different over time: a broader, more connected community that can help sustain your organization’s work long term.

If you’d like to continue the conversation on inclusive fundraising, simply reach out.