Donor lapse is a reality for every healthcare organization, but it doesn’t have to be catastrophic. While some attrition will always occur, understanding why donors stop giving is the first step to winning them back and preventing others from leaving.

For healthcare fundraising professionals, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Every retained donor means lower acquisition costs, a more reliable funding stream, and greater stability in the face of budget cuts or reduced government funding.

According to research from philanthropy expert Adrian Sergeant, these are the top reasons why donors stop giving to charitable organizations:

  1. They feel others are more deserving, or that the organization no longer needs their support.
  2. Their contribution wasn’t acknowledged.
  3. They don’t remember making the gift.
  4. They never learned how their gift was used.

In this guide, we’ll explore these challenges in detail, explaining why they happen and what your team can do to re-engage lapsed donors. With the right strategies, your healthcare organization or foundation can strengthen donor relationships, boost retention, and build a sustainable support pipeline.

1. Donors feel that others are more deserving.

Demonstrating the immediacy and importance of your healthcare mission shouldn’t be a one-time effort. Reframe the urgency of your fundraising initiatives to ensure donors see how their support can make a difference right now. 

This involves perception management, or shifting donors’ mindsets from “they have enough” to “my gift matters now.”

Donor journey phase: Before donors make their first or recurring gift.

Why supporters don’t give for the first time or don’t give again: Perceived lack of need.

Tips to Reconnect with These Donors

  • Include data points or visual impact stories showing unmet needs, waitlists, patient demand, or new initiatives that require funding.
  • Use platforms like social media, email, and marketing automation tools to promote content explaining why your organization needs donations to continue working toward its mission.
  • Review marketing metrics, such as email click-through rates and online donation page conversion rates, to determine which messages resonate most with donors.

Some donors also stop giving because they think the mission has plateaued—that your organization has achieved what it set out to achieve—or they’re emotionally fatigued by constant need-based messaging. Consider refreshing your case for support to address this concern within your donor audience.

Ensure you’re not just saying “we still need money” but also “here’s how we’re innovating and expanding care with your support.” Provide specific examples of new innovations and initiatives funded by charitable gifts, such as new healthcare tech or expanded programs for underserved communities.

2. The organization didn’t properly acknowledge donors’ support

This scenario typically occurs the moment after donors give. How your organization thanks donors and the emotional impact of personalized gratitude play significant roles in whether donors decide to stay or leave. Make every effort to promptly follow up with donors and demonstrate genuine appreciation.

Donor journey phase: Immediately after the donation.

Reason why donors stop giving: Missing acknowledgment.

Tips to Reconnect with These Donors

  • Follow up with gratitude messages right after the donor gives. Send an automated donation receipt right away. Then, send a more detailed appreciation email personalized with donors’ names and gift amounts within 24 hours of the gift.
  • Leverage unique thank-you formats to appeal to a variety of donor interests. Video messages from doctors, patient stories, and AI-powered personalized messages based on donors’ giving history are all compelling ways to show donors that you care about them and are paying attention to how they’re showing up for your mission.
  • Acknowledge donors publicly and offer opportunities for them to see themselves as part of your healthcare mission. Publish donor spotlights on your blog, create a virtual donor wall, and offer behind-the-scenes hospital tours so supporters can see your mission up close.
  • Track outreach and engagement in your CRM. Monitor how donors engage with your gratitude efforts, including what emails they open, which donor appreciation events they attend, and which social media posts they engage with. Note donors’ preferred appreciation methods in their profiles stored in your fundraising CRM.

As BWF’s grateful patient fundraising guide explains, you should also use this opportunity to address donors’ common concerns, stating, “Donors may have questions about how your organization protects their data, or whether you’re maintaining an equally positive healthcare experience for all patients (donors or not).” Provide a robust FAQ page on your website, along with a detailed overview of how your healthcare organization leverages gifts, to reassure donors that you’ll put their contributions to good use.

3. Supporters don’t remember donating.

This situation presents a continuity challenge—donors gave once but drifted away because the organization wasn’t top of mind. It’s a reminder to make an effort to stay on donors’ radars.

Donor journey phase: Between gifts.

Reason donors stop giving: Connection fades.

Tips to Reconnect with These Donors

  • Stay in touch with donors by sharing ongoing updates about your mission, event invites, and information about volunteer opportunities.
  • Map out a naturally-paced donor journey for each new supporter. Set a communications cadence that naturally moves new donors from casual supporters to dedicated donors with gradually escalating engagement opportunities. For example, start by sending impact updates and then spotlight more involved opportunities like monthly giving or peer-to-peer fundraising.
  • Plan reactivation campaigns for lapsed donors. Send a “We miss you” email update or have a development officer personally call a donor. Segment lapsed donors based on last gift date to tailor messages for those who are 12, 24, or 36 months lapsed. Donors who lapsed more than 36 months ago will require more dedicated reactivation efforts than those who lapsed more recently.

By making donors feel like valued members of your organization’s wider community, they’ll be more likely to continue supporting you long term. Increasing your donor retention rate can save your organization thousands of dollars over time.

Bloomerang’s donor retention guide shows that increasing your retention rate from 41% to 51% (starting from an average gift amount of $200) can generate over $450,000 more from the same 5,000 donors over a 14-year period. These findings demonstrate how important it is to stay in touch with donors and make an effort to reach out to them before they’re gone for good.

4. Supporters didn’t receive information about how the funding was used.

This issue commonly occurs after charitable organizations use donations to further their goals. Healthcare organizations may get so wrapped up in their projects and programs that they neglect to follow up with the donors who made it possible.

Donor journey phase: After impact is delivered.

Reasons donors stop giving: No reporting.

Tips to Reconnect with These Donors

  • Be transparent about how you use donations. Spotlight measurable results, before-and-after stories of how donations allowed you to innovate your programs, and specific patient outcomes funded by gifts.
  • Create relevant impact updates for different donor segments. For example, major donors may want detailed reports, while casual donors may prefer short impact snapshots on social media. Providing tailored updates makes your messages more relevant and engaging to each group.
  • Use multi-channel storytelling to resonate with different donor preferences. Create short patient quotes for social media, infographics for annual reports, and in-depth case studies for major donor briefings. This strategy helps avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to impact reporting, ensuring donors can find a reporting format that suits their needs and interests.

Make donating a full-circle experience by demonstrating to donors how their gifts make a positive impact, both in the short term and the long run.

Just because a donor stops giving doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. With intentional stewardship efforts, you can meet supporters where they are and build a giving experience that supports retention at every phase of the donor journey.

Start by reviewing your donor acknowledgment process this week. Where are the gaps in your strategy, and what changes can you make to strengthen the foundation for your healthcare fundraising program? With this approach, you can continue to deliver the high-quality experience your community deserves.