Key takeaways
- Phone fundraising (telefundraising) works best with people who already know you: donors, members, event guests and volunteers.
- The Fundraising Effectiveness Project reported donor retention of 43.3% for 2025, so keeping donors is where personal calls can matter most.
- Good calls follow a simple shape: introduce, thank, share one result, listen, ask, confirm the next step.
- Track pledges through to payment, and know the rules before you call.
What is phone fundraising?
Phone fundraising, sometimes called telefundraising, is outreach in which a person calls donors, members or prospects to thank them, share news and invite support. The calls can be made by an organization's own staff and volunteers or by an outside firm working on its behalf.
Done well, it isn't a cold sales call. Most successful phone programs focus on people who already know the organization: current and past donors, members, event guests and volunteers.
Why the phone still works
Most fundraising channels are one-way. A call is a conversation: the supporter can ask questions, you can hear why they give or why they stopped, and you can respond in the moment. That makes the phone especially useful for keeping donors, which is where many organizations struggle.
The Fundraising Effectiveness Project's report on 2025 found overall donor retention of 43.3%, meaning fewer than half of donors gave again. Over the same period it estimated that the number of donors fell 3.6% while dollars raised rose 5.0%: organizations are raising more from fewer people. Personal outreach is one of the most direct ways to keep the donors you have.
Who to call
| Segment | Purpose of the call |
|---|---|
| New donors | Thank them soon after their first gift and welcome them, with no ask. |
| Lapsed donors | Reconnect, thank them for past support and invite them back. |
| Loyal annual donors | Thank them and invite them to give monthly or increase their gift. |
| Monthly donors with failed payments | Help them update their gift before it lapses. |
| Event guests and volunteers | Turn engagement into a first gift. |
| Members | Renew memberships and invite former members back. |
What a good fundraising call sounds like
- Introduce yourself and the organization. Say who you are, who you're calling for and why. Paid callers must give the charity's name and say the call is a request for a contribution before making any ask.
- Thank them. Mention their history with you: their last gift, their membership or an event they attended.
- Share one specific result. A short story or number about what support made possible.
- Listen. Ask what connects them to the cause, and let them talk.
- Make a clear, comfortable ask. A specific amount or option, with room to say no.
- Confirm the next step. How they'll give, when they'll hear from you and how they'll be thanked.
Talk tracks work better than word-for-word scripts. They keep callers on message while letting each conversation sound natural.
How to measure a phone campaign
- Contact rate: the share of people on the list you actually reach.
- Conversation rate: reached contacts who have a real conversation.
- Response rate: conversations that end in a gift, pledge or renewal.
- Average gift and pledge fulfillment: how much was promised and how much actually arrived.
- Retention afterward: whether called donors give again at a higher rate than donors who weren't called.
- Cost per dollar raised: total campaign cost divided by dollars received.
Track pledges all the way to payment. A pledge that never arrives isn't revenue, and a follow-up email or letter within a few days helps close the gap.
In-house or outsourced?
Many organizations start with staff and volunteer calls, such as board thank-you calls, and bring in an outside team when they need more volume or consistency. Our guide to outsourced fundraising vs. hiring staff covers the trade-offs.
Know the rules
Charities calling for themselves face fewer federal restrictions than paid firms calling on their behalf, but both have rules to follow, including limits on automated calls to cell phones and state registration for paid solicitors. See our overview of the rules for nonprofit fundraising calls.