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Lapsed donor survey template

Find out why donors stopped, and what would bring them back

Three questions for donors who stopped giving: the main reason, whether they heard enough about what their gifts achieved and what would bring them back. Use it as it is or change any question, and Usertick reads every written answer for you.

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What this lapsed donor survey tells you

A lapsed donor survey asks people who used to give why they stopped, without asking for money in the same breath. This template takes about 45 seconds: the main reason, a yes or no on whether they heard enough about impact, and one open question on what would bring them back.

It is written for about a year after a donor's last gift, sent by Usertick to a list of lapsed donors you import from your donor database, with the first question inside the email. The same survey runs as a link in a letter or in a reactivation email your own system sends. Add each donor's name when you import the list, so the email can greet them by name.

Every written answer is read as it arrives and filed under a category from your list, such as giving and donations or impact and updates, with a type, a sentiment and a customer risk reading. Results shows the share of each reason and the share who felt they heard enough, against the period before.

In an emailAs a linkOn your websiteAs a conversation
Questions
3
Time to answer
About a minute
Written for
About a year after the last gift, by email to lapsed donors
Plans
Every plan, the free plan included

See it on every channel

The same template on your website, behind a link, in an email and as a conversation.

In an email

Send it from Usertick to a contact list, with the first question inside the email. A tap on an answer opens the rest of the survey with that answer already kept. Usertick sends 50 emails a month on the free plan, or connect your own sender.

The 3 questions, one by one

What each question asks, why it is there, what it shows you and what to change.

Question 1 of 3 · Multiple choice

What's the main reason you stopped giving?

Why ask it
One main reason sorts lapsed donors into groups you can answer differently: changed finances call for patience, too many asks call for fewer emails, and missing impact news calls for better updates.
What you learn
A donut shows the share and count of each reason, with typed Other answers listed beside it. Select I was asked too often to read what those donors would want instead. Over time, the stacked shares show whether fewer appeals or better updates change why donors leave.
Make it yours
Keep No particular reason, since some donors simply drifted, and that share shows how many might return with a plain invitation.
Question 2 of 3 · Yes / No

Did you feel you heard enough about what your gifts achieved?

Why ask it
The yes or no checks your impact reporting with every lapsed donor, including the ones who picked another main reason.
What you learn
Results shows the share who said yes. Select No to see which reasons those donors gave and what would bring them back.
Make it yours
When most say No, send this list an impact update before any new appeal.
Question 3 of 3 · Text · Optional

What would bring you back?

Why ask it
The open question gives each donor room to name the one thing that would change their mind, in their own words. The answer is often practical, such as a smaller monthly amount, a program they care about more than the rest or fewer letters.
What you learn
Usertick reads each answer as it arrives, files it under a category and a theme, marks it as a complaint, an idea or a question, and Results shows up to 8 themes with their trends.
Make it yours
Keep it optional, and answer every donor who names something you can do, such as fewer emails or a different way to give.

What the answers show

Results turns each question into numbers you can follow week by week.

What's the main reason you stopped giving?

The share of each answer with its count. Select an answer to narrow the whole page to those people and read what else they said.

Every written answer, read for you

Each answer arrives with its category, theme, type and urgency, so the urgent ones reach your team first.

Use this template in four steps

From the template to the first answers.

  1. 1

    Open the template

    Sign up free and pick Lapsed donor in the template gallery. It opens in a matching style, ready to change.

  2. 2

    Make the questions yours

    Reword any question, change the options, and add logic or more questions.

  3. 3

    Choose where it runs

    Show it on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.

  4. 4

    Publish and read the answers

    Answers arrive in Results and the inbox as people send them, each written one read and filed by Usertick.

Tips for this survey

Small choices that keep people answering and the answers useful.

  1. 01

    Ask before you appeal

    Leave the donate button out of the survey email, so the donor reads it as a question. Use what they say to shape the next appeal.

  2. 02

    Build the list by last gift date

    Usertick doesn't know when a donor last gave. Each month, export the donors whose last gift was about 12 months ago, import them as a CSV into a list and send to it.

  3. 03

    Act on I was asked too often

    Send fewer appeals to the donors who picked it, and say so the next time you write to them.

  4. 04

    Let donors opt out

    Every Usertick email carries an unsubscribe link, and an unsubscribe is final. Treat it as an answer too, and remove that donor from your appeal lists.

Churn surveysNonprofit surveysEmail surveysDonors and giving questions

More churn templates and questions

Templates like this one, and single questions from the library to add to it.

Templates

Browse all templates
ChurnCancellation surveyUnderstand why customers cancel, so you can fix the biggest reasons first. Show it in the cancel flow, just before the final confirmation.
ChurnBefore you goA cancellation flow that asks why, offers a pause instead and learns what would win the customer back. Place it between the cancel button and the final confirmation.
ChurnUnsubscribe reasonLearn why people leave your email list and whether fewer emails would have kept them. Place it on your unsubscribe confirmation page.
ChurnAccount deletionLearn why people delete their account and what would have changed their mind. Show it on the account deletion screen, before the final step.

Questions from the library

Browse the question library
  1. How was the donation experience?Stars · Donors and giving
  2. How easy was it to give?Customer effort · Donors and giving
  3. What moved you to give?Multiple choice · Donors and giving
  4. Have you thought about leaving a gift in your will?Yes / No · Gifts in a will
  5. What would help you decide?Multiple choice · Gifts in a will
  6. How comfortable do you feel talking about wills?Big scale · Gifts in a will

Frequently asked questions

About 12 months after a donor's last gift, once their usual time to give has passed. Monthly donors who stopped can be asked sooner, two or three months after the last payment.

Usertick doesn't send a survey when a date passes in your donor database. Build the list of lapsed donors each month and schedule the send, up to 30 days ahead.

Keep the survey email free of an ask, so the donor reads it as a question. Write the next appeal from what they told you.

Group the donors by reason. Those who said I was asked too often get fewer appeals, those who said No to the impact question get an impact update, and those who named something specific get a personal reply.

Yes, when Usertick sent the email: each answer is tied to the donor's contact. Answers from a link in your own letter aren't tied to a name unless the survey asks for one. Send by Usertick email when you plan to reply to each donor personally.

Yes. Every template comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.

Yes. The template becomes your own survey, so reword any question, add or remove questions, and change the options and the logic. The gallery stays as it is.

Yes, from Starter. The template is written in US English. Add languages by hand or with AI translation, and each person sees the survey in their browser's language.

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